I want to tell you the story of Louella Gaines from Ypsilanti, Michigan, who has persevered through many bouts of cancer, during which she has lost a lung, a kidney, her female organs, …

Last weekend, my husband and I took our granddaughter to college. She is a freshman at a small, historic, respected college in Iowa. We are excited about her college choice and acceptance. But our emotions …

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share …

I always thought that going through a profound loss would make someone an expert on loss.  I mean, we always work with what we know, right? 
You would think after experiencing the death of my husband …

When you’re a couple in a family, there are things that are no brainers. Who will run to the grocery store, who will pick up the kids, who will help with the kid’s …

It was a Friday night when I received a call from my Uncle Paul who told me that my Aunt Jerry, who had end-stage Alzheimer’s disease, had suffered two seizures and a heart attack and …

The emotions of grief are the same for men and women.  How and when these emotions surface is what defines each journey.  But what I am struck with the most in my practice as a …

In his book, The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents, Dennis Klass, Ph.D., discusses the importance of bereaved parents maintaining connection with their deceased children in communities that support that connection. Our ability as bereaved parents …

I always used to get upset when I lost something.
Other people could misplace a key, lose a glove, or forget where they set down their wallet without going nuts. But whenever that happened to me, I …

Humans were meant to laugh. The ability to laugh is wired into our minds, and that is a good thing for all who mourn. Four of my loved ones, including my elder daughter, died in …

Is there some magic amount of time to grieve a death, or the break up of a relationship, the break up of a family, loss of a job, financial downturns, loss of a pet? I’m talking about …

When your child dies—at any age—a part of you dies with them. Whether they only lived within the womb or whether they lived thirty years, a part of you is lifeless. The question you must …

If anyone believes that losses experienced by others is not their concern, I’d ask them to think again. The cost to our society, both individually and collectively, of those experiencing complications from mourning is astronomical …

Five years ago, my kids’ dad died.  Their father died from pancreas cancer.  I did not know what it was like to lose a parent. Both my parents were still living.  They were still married …

“But after tempest . . . /There came a day as still as heaven” (Tennyson)
Still. An ordinary word, brief, easy to pronounce. When my sons were toddlers, I often told them to hold still while I …

The other day, I came across a rerun of Oprah Winfrey’s television show. Interior designer Nate Berkus was one of her guests. He was there to talk about recovering from loss, something Berkus knows all …