I Am A Griever

Kate – Stigma

Kate discusses how difficult the stigma is to deal with

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…

Jim – Helping by listening

Jim – ” I talk about how to be a good listener to someone who is grieving. I believe that one of the most important things you can do for someone who is grieving is to simply listen. Don’t try to fix their problems or offer advice. Just listen and be there for them. It can be as simple as meeting for coffee or taking a walk together. You’re doing more help than you realize when you simply listen to someone.

Kate – Triggers

Kate discusses how she deals with her emotions when something triggers her grief

Nicole – Power of Speaking About Lost Ones

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

Jim – Supporting someone in crisis

Jim talks about supporting someone in crisis and how being there for them can help. That may mean answering the phone at 2am, taking them to the doctor’s appointment, and checking tup on them. It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to do. He was fortunate to have a friend who did this for him, and is still grateful for their support. If you know someone who is struggling, don’t be afraid to step up. It could make all the difference.

Joyce – Walking beside people who are stuggling with addiction

Joyce explains why it so important to help people who are struggling with addiction

Joyce -The pandemics impact on drug poisonings

Joyce talks about drug poisonings during the pandemic

Betsy – Adoption and grief

Betsy tell her story of losing her adopted son to cancer

Joyce – When you are a mother who loses a child

Joyce shares about how she has felt as a mother who lost a child

John – Lasagna

John talks about the “widower’s meal”… Lasagna, and learning how to cook for his daughters after his wife died

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.