Death of a Parent

Lyss – Responsibilities

Lyss talks about her mother’s death, being the eldest and how it has effected the way she feels about responsibilities

Hope – Camp for grief

Hope talks about the benefits of grief camp for her and her twin sister

Antoinetta – Story

Antoinetta tells her story of grief and her father getting lung cancer

Matt – Crying

Matt talks about men and crying. Matt continues to grieve the death of his birth mother.

Learning from Grief

Grief is weird. Odd start, I know, but that was the sentence I used a lot whenever someone asked me how I was. It was never a constant feeling; it changed day to day. And still does. It’s the full gambit of emotions from sadness to anger to guilt and, though dark, even humour found its way in.

Karyn and Aidan – Humour

Karyn and Aidan talk about how they use humour as a connection and a coping tool

Hope – Not wanting to burden my Mom and siblings

Hope shares how much her Mom had to do after her father died and how they worked out their relationship

Sam – Mental health tools and resources

Sam discusses talking care of his mental health and group therapy after losing his father, uncle and cousin

Zoreena – My Story

Zoreena talks about COVID and the loss of her father and a cousin

Keeping Records

I pulled the photos out of their envelope one at a time, turning over each one to carefully record the date, place, and people in the photo. Sometimes, I included comments. “Apple picking in Hamilton with Pop Pop, Fall, 2023. You loved the wagon ride!”. I slipped each picture into an empty pocket in my son’s photo album.

Matt – Wisdom to pass on

Matt offers advice to his younger self about grief. Matt continues to grieve the death of his birth mother.

Sam – How grief changes

Sam who lost his father, uncle and cousin talks about time and grief