Death of a Parent

The First Fathers’ Day Without Dad

When you lose a person in the generation before you, you begin to think about what they meant to you. When you lose a parent, you think about all they meant, and you hoped you either lived up to the best of yourself, or in some cases where the parenting was not as instructive or kind, you hope you’ve raised yourself beyond difficult circumstances.

Mary S – Coping with multiple loss

Mary explains the challenges of dealing with the death of her partner and then her parents

Karyn and Aidan – The what if game and guilt

Karyn and Aidan explain how they have dealt with guilt

Jackie – Finger painting and grief

Jackie discusses how finger painting help her with her feelings while she was grieving the loss of her mother and sister

Cheryl and Mike – “Their Story”

Cheryl and Mike discuss losing more than one family member. They continue to grieve Cheryl’s father and the death their daughter in a car accident.

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

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.

Lyss – Depression, Anxiety, and Self Harm

Depression, anxiety, self harm, theapy, support, mental health, suicide

Hope – Camp for grief

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

Kim – Self care

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

Matt – Grief changes

Matt explains how he deals with his grief. Matt continues to grieve the death of his birth mother.

Zoreena – Passing on kindness

Zoreena talks about wakes, funerals, COVID and the importance of kindness