Grief Digest Articles

If you have hair my color—nearly all white now—you’ll remember this from Bob Dylan and the 60s:“Come gather ‘round people wherever you roam,and admit that the waters around you have grown.And accept that soon you’ll be drenched to the boneand if your time to you is worth savin’then you’d better start swimmin’ or sink like a stone,for The Times They are A’Changin’.”During that same time, when Bob Dylan swung a guitar over his shoulder and took to the road, I was standing (get this) with long red …

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; …