Death of A Loved One

Russell – “Be good to yourself”

Russell explains that looking after himself gives him the strength to look after others. Russell continues to grieve the perinatal death of his son.

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

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.

Matt – Telling my young son

Matt describes the death of his birth mother to his young son.

Krista – “It does get easier”

Krista talks about time and acceptance. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Zoreena – Ask for help

Zoreena explains how important it is to ask for help

John – Support over time

John discusses how support changes over time

Karyn and Aidan – Grief changes

Karyn and Aidan talk about how grief changes, coping, strength, crying, talking, comfort and support

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.

Adrianna – Therapy and loss

Adrianna talks about how different kinds of therapy helps

Lisa – What I do with my music

Lisa discusses what she does with the songs she writes and how they work for her when she needs to tap into a safe space

Reflections on Mother’s Day

Mother’s day is a holiday where we show appreciation and care for the maternal roles in our lives. However, this holiday can feel very overwhelming for those of us who are grieving the death of a mother figure, a mother grieving their child, or those of us grieving the loss of not being able to become mothers ourselves.