Grief Digest Articles

Today was a very special day for me, for I was both a seventy-eight year old man and a child again. I was in a melancholy mood because one of our best and most loyal friends had died. By our standards she had a low IQ, no formal education, had never been to been to church, but had always demonstrated to us God’s expectations for his children.This dear friend was always there for us, morning or night, Monday or Saturday. Countless times a day, our friend let us know we were loved, asked only for …

As I was reading the local newspaper recently, I wondered how many of the paper’s features reminded me of things I did or encountered on my own grief journey. When my two eldest children, twenty-one-year-old Denis and nineteen-year-old Peggy, were killed in the same car accident years ago, I never realized how much the newspaper could reinforce the grief process.The Front PageThe tops in news makes the newspaper’s front page, complete with pictures and headlines. When we are newly bereaved, our …

Mourning never really ends. Only, as time goes on, it erupts less frequently. A.W.How do you ever find your way out of the wilderness of your grief? You don’t have to dwell there forever, do you? The good news is that no, you don’t have to dwell there forever. If you follow the trail markers on your journey through the wilderness, you will find your way out. But just as with any significant experience in your life, the wilderness will always live inside of you and be a part of who you are.A numb …

By Nan ZastrowI remember growing up in a fairy tale world. Our family of five wasn’t wealthy, but we always had food on the table (even in lean times). We had clothes on our back (even if they were hand-me-downs), and an occasional PTA movie or two (even if it meant bringing your own popcorn.) Our home wasn’t a castle, but we found laughter and fun. And there certainly was love, though as a family of German descent, affection was seldom expressed openly. Some would say we lived a sheltered life; …

When my parents died in 2002, within two weeks of each other, my sisters and I received advice from bereavement counselors and others who had suffered family loss. We were cautioned not to make any sudden changes in our lives. Often, we were advised to maintain as much of a status quo as possible for the first year following their deaths.None of us had ever been very successful at living according to the conventional wisdom, but floundering in the sea of grief, one clings desperately to any life …