Grief Digest Articles

I think it’s safe to say that our society does not prepare us for the death of a loved one, either in how to experience it when it is happening or in how to grieve afterwards. We are taught to shelter the living from death as if it is an unfortunate reality, better ignored than embraced. Grieving individuals, and those that support them, often struggle for a vocabulary to talk about the loss and the resulting feelings. Instead we have a vernacular ripe with cliché that leaves mourners wanting an …

Twenty years ago, a dear friend experienced the most unimaginable loss as her husband and two daughters were killed in a house explosion and she was seriously injured. In addition to losing her family, every material item she had was destroyed except for the wedding ring that she was wearing.She was placed in a medically induced coma for weeks in order to allow her body to begin healing. The funeral for her husband and daughters took place two weeks after the explosion when it became evident tha …

It was just a whisper, a brush against my ear. “Elisheva.” He was calling my name. It was like that, on and off, since that dreadful day. Perhaps he had experienced the same calling from the grave, by his beloved parents. Both lost to him that year. My trips to the cemetery didn’t bring him closer. I’d crouch by his newly laid grave in the rose garden, and talk to him. I wasn’t supposed to be there. It was forbidden by Jewish law but I was looking for him, among the rows of unscented roses. It e …

I spent many hours looking up at the sky as I drove to and from the hospital to be with my granddaughter. As I did, I realized why God gave us such an extraordinary roof over our heads.Sometimes, UP is where we look for hope and inspiration. Other times, it could be we just want to feel the freedom of a wide-open space. No matter what time of day or night, the beauties of the sky can overwhelm us.Yes, there are scientific reasons for why the sky is blue, why clouds form and why we are blessed wi …

Taking the Risk to Grieve with Humor and TearsMom, age 65, died 2 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. A small cell carcinoma lurked in her lungs and hid behind her sternum. Undetected for months, the cancer had metastasized to her long bones of her body and her adrenal glands above her kidney. The pain was immense, uncontrolled and death was a relief. Hospice was a godsend.Frustrated and grieving, I resorted to different types of humor. Humor is my go-to strength. It balances me, bends me, …