I Am A Griever

Things That Helped When My Dog Was Dying

I lived with a dog named Althea, who belonged to my roommate, during my undergrad. Every year, my partner, our roommate, and I would go to a summer solstice festival. The year Althea was pregnant, my roommate brought her to the festival. The first night there, he retired to his tent to nap in preparation…

Joyce – Beliefs

Joyce talks about her belief system after her son died

John – Dating again

John talks about being asked by his daughters if he would ever date again

John – Being helpful to someone in grief

John shares his thoughts on how to help someone in grief

Scott – The importance of processing

Scott discusses having a nervous breakdown and realizing that he hadn’t fully processed the grief he had been through with the loss of his mother and father. He also discusses how music helped him moving forward

Nicole – Power of Speaking About Lost Ones

Nicole discusses the importance of sharing memories of those lost to drug poisoning and speaking their names.

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.

Jessica M – Finding Hope

Jessica shares memories of her brothers birthday which was just before her mothers death and how they all found hope

Holding Space for The Many Faces of Grief on Father’s Day

A lot of blog posts and articles about grief and special days tend to focus on how to navigate these moments when our loved one has died. Often these articles of grief also talk about the ways we have deeply loved or cared for the person who has died. Grief is a natural response to…

Joyce – Being gentle on yourself

Joyce explains the importance of being gentle on yourself in grief as you face guilt and should haves

Preparing For and Coping with Special Days

Special Days can be days we have honoured with our loved ones that many others celebrate or more personal dates and milestones with your loved one. As these days approach, it can be difficult to figure out how to move through a Special Day. Do you do what you’ve always done? What do you do…

Kate – Things I do that help

Kate talks about how art, hiking and visiting the cemetery can be very therapeutic