Death of a Parent

Craig – Resilience in the Face of Adversity

Craig how he overcame a series of challenges, including the loss of his marriage, his job, and his home. He talks about how he found the strength to keep going and how he learned to be more resilient.

Katie – Reminders in nature

Katie talks about crying privately and how nature can help. Cardinals remind her of her father

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

Keith – “Grief at any age”

Keith discusses grief and age.

Shawn – “Dad”

Shawn describes finding out his father died by suicide and the shock and grief that followed. Shawn continues to grieve the death of his father by suicide

Kim – Self care

Kim talks about looking after yourself and how much it helps. In particular be kind to yourself

Amber – Talking to your kids about death

Amber talks about how important it is to talk about grief, especially with kids

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.

Lisa – Music and her connection with her father

Lisa talks about the gratitude she has for reconnecting with her father before he died and how much music was a connection for them

Amber – My Story

Amber talks about the traumatic death of her father in an explosion and being 17

Bryan – Empathy for others

Bryan talks about how losing his father to gun violence was difficult and how taking things day by day helped him get through many difficult times. Now he wants to help children who are going through something similar to what he did. Things will get better and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel

Hope – Not wanting to burden my Mom and school

Hope talks about her fathers death, burdens and the importance of sharing emotions