Grief Digest Articles

© Iris Waichler A cloud of cigarette smoke stood stationary as my mother held court at our kitchen table.  It hung in the air surrounding the overhead hanging light. The smoke cloud was ever present with  her three packs a day habit smoking Virginia Slims. Our home was in a suburb of Chicago called  Skokie. It was 1966 and I was twelve years old. Even at that young age my siblings and I  knew there was something dangerous about smoking. Back then she would send me to bu …

© Tim Koechlin On May 16, 2023 - the day after my son Alex died, at age 32 - I pulled off of Route 95 North in Palm Beach, Florida. The 45th Street exit. There was a red light at the end of the exit ramp, so I came to a stop. I was third in line. Up ahead I could see a worn-out, wiry man – 45 years old or so - with a worn-out cardboard sign in hand, in conversation with the driver of the first car in line. No money changed hands so, I thought, it’s likely that the driver of the …

© Jason Tuttle, February 26, 2024 --------------------------------------- Stressed. Depressed. Emotions Confessed. Society wants my feelings suppressed. My grief on the daily is a jumbled mess. ------------ Life is grief contaminated. My world view is now very jaded. Simple things have me irritated. How I, the man, should act is debated. My need for you will never, ever be satiated. ------------ What I feel comes in stages. The stress of the “new norm” quickly ages. When I feel …

By Barbara Dwyer-Heidkamp, LMHC  No Matter What Happens, Please Don’t Forget the Children. Tools to support Children in Grief and Loss. I am often curious about what leads an individual to a particular profession. Is it tradition, adult modeling, or perhaps childhood experience? When I first met my therapist, what I resonated with most was not only her kindness and openness but also her ability to validate my feelings and experiences without making me feel ashamed. Many months into bu …

By Hilda Villaverde I met Joe when I was thirty-five and he was forty-two. We married seven years later and divorced after ten years of marriage. Our friendship of forty years never ended until his passing a few weeks ago. Ours was a unique relationship of healing until the end.  Joe was a quiet private man. An only child, born in Kentucky and raised by his German grandmother while his father served in World War II and mother worked for the Red Coss, he earned degrees in engineering and bec …