Death of a Parent

Karyn and Aidan – The what if game and guilt

Karyn and Aidan explain how they have dealt with guilt

Jackie – Expressive arts can help when grief is confusing

Jackie talks about how working with an artist therapist helped her after her sister and mother died

Amber – Talking about death

Amber explains why it’s so important to talk about grief and her kids

Karyn and Aidan – Supporting each other

Karyn and Aidan talk about how they supported each other and how they coped with John being hospitalized

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.

Zoreena – Support systems

Zoreena explains the importance of support systems

Matt – Adoption and grief

Matt talks about how adoption and grief have similarities. Matt continues to grieve the death of his birth mother.

Margaux – “Find People in Similar Situations”

Margaux talks about group therapy and writing as tools for processing grief. Margaux continues to grieve the death of her mother from breast cancer.

Grief & Ice Cream

When my wife of 18 years died in 2016, I became a single father missing the love of my life, and also had to learn how to raise two girls (13-17 at the time) on my own. I remember a conversation I had with my mother-in-law and oldest daughter that began as reminiscing over a person who became a lost love to all of us. We all talked about different aspects of my wife but shortly, it transformed into a “who meant more to her” fest.