Death of A Loved One

Jean – My Story

Jean talks about isolation and grieving during a pandemic

Doug – “Two sides of the story”

Doug talks about perspective and forgiveness. Doug continues to grieve the death of his daughter in a car accident.

Krista – “Strength”

Krista talks about how she sees strength and sucking it up. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Russell – “Need to talk”

Russell talks about both mothers and fathers having needs. Russell continues to grieve the perinatal death of his son.

Holly – Befriending our mortality workshops

Holly explains how creating can be helpful with grief and how we don’t talk about death

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.

Sam – Mental health tools and resources

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

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.

Hope – Waves of grief

Hope talks about the loss of her father and how grief comes in waves and how a therapist helped her understand that she had pushed her emotions down

Doodles

On the first anniversary, I invited people who would understand – friends who knew Marshal’s love of art, and his creative spirit. They all came.

I had copied several of Marshal’s doodles of incomplete characters and creatures, with some finished for the kids to color. I eagerly watched to see which doodle or drawing each person chose.

Cheryl and Mike – “Getting help”

Mike and Cheryl talk about their surviving daughter and getting help. They continue to grieve the death their daughter in a car accident.

Jane – Grief and meditation

Jane shares how she practices daily meditation and how that helps her manage her thoughts and feelings.