Barbara Hofmeister is the author of “To be or not to be – the choice is YOURS!”. Her book and training take people from where they are today to where they want to go.  She …

Guest:  Barbara Hofmeister
Barbara Hofmeister is the author of  To Be or Not to Be… The Choice is YOURS! Her book and training take people from where they are today to where they want to go.  …

Until I lost four loved ones in 2007, I did not realize recovering from grief was a personal choice. The shock of multiple losses was so great I could hardly think. Two choices were open …

Families and loved ones of those who choose to end their own lives are all faced with the unanswerable question, Why?
We may assume that for those families where the deceased left a note, the answer to …

Patrick Malone’s remarks at The Compassionate Friends Atlanta Chapter 2009 Candle Light Remembrance.
We would have traded places with our child without a second thought, but we weren’t given that choice. When that enormous pain …

That Sunday morning that I found Adam’s body in the car in the garage was the worst day of my life.
The horror that is suicide produces a grief that is like no other. It is not …

By Yvonne E. Lancaster –??
When I was a little girl, I fell from our tree swing.? I was gently picked up and carried into the house where Band-Aids were carefully placed on my scuffed-up knees.? …

By Patrick T. Malone –??
Jack Gordon, former president of the Hospice Foundation of America, once said: “In a very real sense in our society, the workplace has become a kind of extended family. Businesses have …

By Patrick Malone —
Technically, grief is the intense emotional suffering caused by a loss. If you are among those who have suffered the death of a child, spouse, parent or grandparent, you know an …

By Reg Green –
It may seem like?the ultimate in narcissism, but my choice for best grief film is a TV?movie that was made about my own family. It is called “Nicholas’ Gift” and is the …

The full process of forgiveness is a liberating experience. One that if practiced smartly can lead to a terrific life experience. Interestingly, forgiveness can only occur because we have been given the gift of the ability to make choices. We have the choice to forgive or not to forgive and no one can force us to do either. Conversely, if we want to forgive someone no one can stop us no matter how poorly they may act. This ability to forgive is a manifestation of the personal control we have over our lives. It is nice to reflect upon and feel the respect that we have been given to be able to make such profound choices.

Compellingly, the option to forgive also implies that we had discretion as to whether or not we took offense in the first place. While forgiving may be a difficult enough choice for many of us, imagine how our lives would be if we rarely or never used our power of choice to take offense. Since we have choice, wouldn’t it make sense to limit the amount of times we are hurt or offended so that the need to forgive rarely if ever arises? The ability to live life without taking offense, without giving blame, and by offering forgiveness are choices that offer a life of great peace.

Printed with permissions and courtesy of
Dr. Henya Shanun-Klein, Ph.D.
When Grief drags us down, leaving us breathlessly beat at the bottom of bottoms – we are confronted with a dilemma: should we stay ‘down under’? Or …

So as it often does, once again, how we manage our grief becomes a matter of choice. I remember Rich Edler once said, ?We cannot change what happened, but we do have a choice what …

We cannot expect others to understand how we feel after the death of a child, especially if they have never gone through it. Sometimes we get angry at how friends or relatives react and respond …

HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART
How to Have a Good Bad Day
Host: Dr. Gloria Horsley
With guest: Dr. Darcie Sims
September 8, 2005
G: Welcome to Healing the Grieving Heart. I?m your host, Gloria Horsley. Healing …