Grief Digest Articles

Over my varied nursing career that has spanned 39 years; I often describe the topic of death and grief as a professional companion of mine. It has walked with me while I was at countless bedsides of those who have died and for the past 15 years as I have facilitated a grief support group and published a monthly grief newsletter. It has been a sacred privilege to be a fellow companion with those who have started on the journey called grief and for those that continue on this journey.On a personal …

They say when you lose someone that it creates a hole in your heart, but I think it is more like a splintering in your soul. Prior to the first time you lose a loved one, your soul is a smooth path. There are twists and turns, ups and downs. You carry on in that vulnerable optimism that we associate with youth. The world is full of opportunity. Then a fracture occurs. Sometimes you lose someone quickly. There is no reason for this type of loss. A life cut short. It is impossible to make …

Never apologize for love. Because that’s what grief is: love.Love is defined as: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Love is an idea, an intangible thing that we put into play consistently every day to make it tangible. We make it real, palpable, important. It’s a staple of human thriving. When it’s threatened or gone we…..we react.Although expressed differently, grief i …

As I got up from by desk to head downstairs from my office, from the balcony above I saw him walking into the mail room below. He looked as he always did, a fifty-something professor, the same colleague I had known for 20 some years. I reached the last stair step and glanced at him as he spoke with the building secretary. There was absolutely nothing in his demeanor that would indicate his 50-year-old wife had died the day before. My first thought was. “Oh no, he’s going to be finishing up with …

Grief Digest, April 2010I 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 shelt …