Death of A Loved One

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.

Jane – Loneliness while processing grief

Jane talks about grieving without her extended family because of the pandemic and how that’s impacted things like scattering ashes and having celebrations of life.

Weathering the Intense Emotions of Grief

Grief often comes with powerful, unpredictable emotional shifts that can be painful to experience. While it’s important to find ways to sit with these feelings, to acknowledge the pain of grief and accept loss, it’s also necessary to find ways to ease and manage the pain. There are several simple activities that you can explore to help.

Kara – Starting a grief journey again

Kara explains how Covid-19 has made her have to relearn tools to help in her grief. The pandemic changed the way Kara continued to grieve the loss of her partner.

Adam – Advice

Adam shares his advice about losing and remembering a loved one

Hope – Going back to school

Hope talks about the shift she felt when she went back to school after her father’s death.

Bryan – Trauma

Bryan discusses trauma anxiety, support and the loss of his father to gun violence

Betsy – Mother’s day

Betsy shares her challenges around mother’s day when her adopted son died

Making Space to Hear Them: supporting children in grief

Children tend to be naturally curious as they grow and learn to navigate the world. As adults, it’s our job to walk with them through that process of learning and to support their curiosity. It can be hard to do that with respect when we are situated in cultures that don’t acknowledge children as autonomous humans worthy of mutual respect. It can be tempting to encourage kids to ignore their feelings about death and grief or to shut down conversations about it when they ask questions. Sometimes, this is because we just don’t know what to say that is developmentally appropriate, especially with young children. Sometimes, it’s because we haven’t allowed ourselves to develop our own thoughts and feelings about death and grief and it feels uncomfortable for us to talk about.

Donna B – “Seeking Help”

Donna talks about the importance of speaking to someone. Donna continues to grieve the death her son during service in Afghanistan.

Jean – What grief feels like physically

Jean discusses the physical effects she has experienced in grief

Amber – Talking about death

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