David Roberts

David J. Roberts, LMSW, became a parent who experienced the death of a child, when his daughter Jeannine died of cancer on 3/1/03 at the age of 18. He is a retired addiction professional and an adjunct professor in the psychology and psychology child-life departments at Utica University in Utica, New York. Dave is a featured speaker, workshop facilitator and coach for Aspire Place, LLC. Dave has also been a past national workshop facilitator for The Compassionate Friends and a past national workshop facilitator and keynote speaker for The Bereaved Parents of the USA. Dave also co-presented a workshop titled “Helping Faculty After Traumatic Loss” for the Parkland, Florida community in May of 2018,in the aftermath of the mass shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School. Dave was also a keynote speaker at The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Remembrance Weekend during in June of 2019 in Ponte Vedra, Florida .Dave has also done numerous workshops at the local and regional levels related to transformation from grief and loss. He is the co-author with Reverend Patty Furino of the recently published book "When The Psychology Professor Met The Minister" which is available for purchase on Amazon. For more information about their book,please go to: https://psychologyprofessorandminister.com/ Dave has been a past HuffPost contributor and has also published articles with the Open to Hope Foundation, The Grief Toolbox, Recovering the Self Journal, Mindfulness and Grief, and Thrive Global. He is currently a regular contributor to Medium. One of Dave's articles, My Daughter is Never Far Away, can also be found in Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories of Healing and Loss. Excerpts from Dave's article for The Open to Hope Foundation, called The Broken Places were featured in the Paraclete Press DVD video, Grieving the Sudden Death of a Loved One. He has appeared on numerous radio and internet broadcasts and Open to Hope Television. Dave was also part of a panel in 2016 for the BBC Podcast, World Have Your Say, with other grief experts, discussing the death of Carrie Fisher. Dave’s website: www.bootsyandangel.com is devoted to providing support and resources for individuals experiencing loss.

Articles:

The End of the Innocence: Honoring the Sandy Hook Families

Living With Ambiguity The older I get, the more that I realize how quickly and drastically life can change. There are some events that defy logic, and despite our best efforts to try to make sense of them, many unanswered questions will remain. I have learned in the almost ten years since the death of my own child to live with some unanswered questions, some ambiguity. I believe that as long as I do my best to find meaning and significance in a world that has permanently changed and can help others in the process, I can live with some […]

Father Learns How to Deal with Holidays After Daughter’s Death

In early grief, it is difficult to find any meaning in pain. After my daughter Jeannine’s death in 2003, the pain I experienced in early grief was raw and something that I feared. If I had a choice, I would have avoided it at all costs. However, as I have learned, we need to work through pain in order to be able to find greater meaning in our lives. During the holidays, our grief and pain tends to become more intensified. The stress of holiday shopping and get togethers is stressful enough. The stress of grief makes these holiday events […]

Carlos Santana and the Shape Shifting Wolf: Which Emotions Should You Feed?

After my daughter Jeannine died at the age of 18 in March of 2003, there were signs of her everlasting presence in my life. In the beginning of my journey, though I acknowledged these signs, I didn’t develop a greater appreciation for what they communicated to me about the sacredness of the relationship that I developed with Jeannine in the ethereal plane, until much later in my journey. Because of my ongoing relationship with Jeannine, I have determined that we can receive clarity about our life transitions from all that is part of the universe. One More Off The Bucket […]

The Transformative Power of Grief

Embracing a Different Perspective Since my daughter Jeannine’s death at the age of 18 in March of 2003, I have undergone a radical spiritual transformation. I have learned to embrace all that is part of the universe, to help me gain a different perspective on Jeannine’s entry into eternal life. In the process I have learned that my relationship with Jeannine is ongoing. Who she is, is now a permanent part of who I am and who I want to be. I still have much to learn on my journey and am poised for that to happen from anyone who […]

After Child-Loss, Life on Infinity Boulevard

The Number 8 In Ted Andrews book, Animal Speak, there is a page devoted specifically to the meanings of numbers as they relate to our understanding of nature. The number 8 signifies, among other things, the symbol for infinity or eternal life. It is ironic that eternal life arises from death, an event so emotionally painful to those who bear witness to it. Death is an event that all of us would wish to avoid or talk about. However, death is woven into the fabric of our very existence and can be one of life’s greatest teachers and can help […]

The Miracle of Stating Your Intent During Your Grief Journey

Just a sign, to remind me That tomorrow’s worth the fight From the song “Miracle” lyrics by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett. From the album Amaryllis by Shinedown The above lyrics from the song “Miracle” by a musical group known as Shinedown nicely capture the essence of my journey as a parent who has experienced the death of a child. After my 18-year-old daughter Jeannine’s death in March of 2003, I looked for any source of inspiration amidst the raw pain of my grief, that signaled “tomorrow’s worth the fight”. I regularly asked for signs of her everlasting presence. The […]

The Bootsy Chronicles: More End-of Life Lessons From My Feline Companion

A Brief Recap On February 23, 2012, my article titled Daughter’s Cats Help Dad Keep Connection was published on this site. In it, I focused on the recent health challenges that my daughter Jeannine’s cat, Bootsy, had been experiencing. Specifically, he had lost weight and was looking pretty lethargic. Bootsy, who is 14, was a Christmas Eve gift to Jeannine from her best friend. After Jeannine died at the age of 18 in 2003, Bootsy became attached to me. I became attached to him as well as Jeannine’s other cat, Angel, who is about a year younger than Bootsy. I […]

The Importance of Consistency in Grief

During the past 27 years, I have worked with chemically dependent clients who functioned exclusively in chaos because that is what they knew. I can also proudly say that I have witnessed the success stories of many chemically dependent clients who embraced recovery, because they made a conscious choice to detach themselves from a lifestyle of chaos. Challenges-A Part of Life Individuals who come from less dysfunctional circumstances are not immune to experiencing chaos or uncertainty in their lives. After all, life is full of challenges that test the resolve of the human spirit. Life isn’t meant to be […]

Out of the Darkness, Into the Light

A Cold Case State of Mind On most Fridays from 5:00pm to 11:00PM, I am parked on the couch or in my bedroom, watching the “Cold Case” marathon on the ION channel. This seven-year television series revolved around a dedicated and passionate group of detectives who came together as a team to solve open murder cases. The series had great acting, scripts and story lines. Each episode ended with a song that reflected the personality, struggles and more so, the legacy of the murder victim. A Child Dies There was one episode that I watched on Friday, 5/4/12, that left […]

My Grief Journey Exposed in a Dream

I have had several dreams since my daughter Jeannine died in March of 2003. Through further exploration with a dear friend of mine whose passion is projective dream work, I have discovered that the lessons revealed have always been relevant to my journey. Walking and Lost With that, I want to share with you all a dream that I had several evenings ago. I was walking down an unnamed street which was near my place of work. It appeared to be first light; but I believe that I was walking at either 2:00 or 2:30am. That was the time frame […]

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