When someone we love leaves this mortal coil, people are quick to assure us that they are still with us. I honestly always believed that too, based on my own experiences with departed relatives. I have had so many lovely ...
CW: Suicide/Suicide methods My husband died by suicide. All loss is painful, all deaths break hearts. Deaths by suicide, however, are more than painful; they are also taboo. I am nearly five out from that utterly devastating day and in ...
I've struggled with being angry at my late husband for some time now. I forgave him right away for his decision to leave this life. I loved him in ways that I didn't think existed in the real world and ...
Life isn't usually the fairy tale that we all hoped for as children, and that's okay. Most of us are realists and never expected life to be Prince Charming, glass slippers and pumpkins that turn into carriages. (As cool as ...
I became a widow at age 43. Not super young, but not super old either. (As a proud member of Generation X, I am okay with being somewhere in the middle.) Regardless of my age, it hasn't been easy. ...
Before I lost my husband, I was vaguely familiar with the 5 stages of grief. Honestly, I think I learned about the stages of grief from some movie. So, when Todd died, I thought my emotions would have this logical ...
I am a widow au naturelle. Yep, doing it on my own. I don’t have a therapist, and I suspect options in my small town would be limited. Actually, I haven’t even looked into finding one because that would require ...
I’m not a woman who goes to marches and stands in front of elected officials’ offices demanding things. I’m not a woman who refuses to go into Walmart because of claims that some kid in a foreign country may have ...
Do you ever, among the legions of “to-dos” on the To Do List after his death, keep a few to-dos undone…just to let the reminders of his once vibrant, active life pick furiously at the smattering of wounds from your ...
A year after Mike died, my children and I moved across the country. One of the first and most lasting comments I have received on our move is that I must have needed a fresh start or to start over. ...