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 ...
We have officially turned the seasonal wheel from the light part of the year toward the darker days. Autumn is many people's preferred season and I absolutely understand why. It's gorgeous and cozy and offers us many treats of the ...
On this day, sixteen years ago, sitting about three miles from where I am now, I logged into MySpace and my world forever changed. This was the day that some guy in California, who had friended me a few days ...
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 ...
Children learn so many life-lessons in childhood that help prepare them throughout their life. When is it appropriate to discuss death and grief? My children were adults in their 20’s when their dad suddenly died so I did not have ...
In reading the post Widowhood Prepared Me For a Pandemic by Carla Duff, from April 16, 2020, I was struck by several things. It was written three days after we found out my husband had a mass on his pancreas, ...
Life without a husband is hard. Like, really hard. I know my husband is here in spirit, and yes we talk daily. However he’s not here to wrangle the boys when I’m trying to cook dinner, or to take them ...
Simple rituals can have a HUGE impact. Over the past few years a multiple of painful losses have poured down on me. I am thankful that I was able to take some refuge from the ancient traditions I continue to ...
Let’s begin a discussion about death and grief and send that elephant out the door. To enable this, society requires an open dialogue that provides education and empathy regarding the true reality of the grief journey. A shift in the ...
“Mrs. Johnson, we have to ask you to make a decision today,” the soft-spoken chaplain said as she offered me a box of tissues. It was at that very defining moment that I wanted to quit. Up until that point, ...