When my sister was murdered in her home in September of 2009, my life changed forever. The questions that flood your mind in these circumstances are unbearable. Not knowing who murdered my sister was all-consuming.
Every …

My beloved partner Brian was a very young man when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Doctors gave him an estimate of 6 – 12 months to live.
As timing would have it, the movie “Bucket …

Last year, when the 30th anniversary of his death was coming up, I set out on a journey of healing…

Recently, I started dating. This major event in my life has brought up questions about my mother and father. What would they think of this man? Would my father be protective?  Would my mother tell me …

A person who is gone can live on in memory as an active agent in one’s life, not just as someone you love and miss, not just as a nostalgic sadness. – Elizabeth Harper Neeld, …

What is the meaning of hope, and how can it help us through the days and nights of our despair?
For many, hope is a quality that imbues us with grace in the face of adversity. …

“I couldn’t care less.”  That’s how I felt in the months and years after I lost my 17-year old son, Michael.  I felt like the life was taken out of me.  I was stripped down …

Incredible things are heard when nobody thinks you’re listening. Recently, in downtown San Francisco, I was walking behind a 20-something–year-old couple. They were forced to reduce their fast pace as they approached an elderly man …

It is the summer of 2007. At eighty-five years old, my mother is in the hospital for the second time in as many weeks. She is weak and tired and more than a little frightened. …

In 2004, I got a call that my best friend died.  Mark Jamison was a neon artist from Roanoke, Virginia, who was electrocuted after he was blown into a power line while hanging a neon sign. He was only …

My wife died of ALS; during her final 13 months, my mom and dad also died.  It was almost overwhelming, and I learned more grieving than I ever thought I would.  My most effective way …

In high school, I worked as a kitchen aide in a nearby rest home.  The home was a beautiful Victorian, formerly owned by a prominent business man.  Throughout renovations to accommodate the elderly, the façade …

It doesn’t matter
What age you are.
When a loved one dies
It’s very, very hard.
I was sweet sixteen
When my brother died.
I shut down
Never once, did I cry.
Over the years
I’ve learned to accept.
As a man, a soldier
He fought …

Oh, by gosh, by golly, whaddayaknow, it’s Happy Holiday time, again! And that red-suited man standing on your street corner’s extolling, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” making, you, dear widow, want to scream, “No! No! No!” instead, …

Why, do you show your face?
Is it because it is cold outside
Or, because the leaves have fallen
Because, the snow is blanketing
The ground with white crystals?
Why?
You visit often, just recently
Taking a life, my father
Then, you took …

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late . . . the love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to …