Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn

Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn is the author of The Empty Room: Surviving Sibling Loss, a memoir and journalistic exploration of sibling loss. Her brother, Ted, suffered from a rare immune deficiency disorder and spent 8 years in an isolation room behind a plastic curtain before he died. He was one of two boys upon whom the movie “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” was based. She is a contributing writer for More magazine, and has also written for Self, Discover, Psychology Today and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications. Elizabeth is currently working on a new book, The Death of Cancer, with her father, Dr. Vincent T. DeVita. She lives in New York City with her husband, writer Paul Raeburn, and her son, Henry. To learn more about Elizabeth and her work go to: www.devitaraeburn.com or visit her blog: www.tedishere.blogspot.com Elizabeth appeared on the radio show “Healing the Grieving Heart” discussing the Death of a Sibling. To hear her interviewed by Dr. Gloria & Dr. Heidi Horsley, click on the following link: www.voiceamericapd.com/health/010157/horsley070705.mp3

Articles:

Reminders of a Brother Who Rarely Saw the Sky

By Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn — A few years ago, I ended up at the American Folk Art Museum quite by accident. A friend was visiting from out of town, and we’d intended to go to the newly opened MOMA. But the lines were insane. Next door, at the AFAM, however, there were no lines at all. So we thought, what the heck? It’s a great museum. But what very much caught my attention was an exhibit on prison art. To be honest, I don’t remember the details. But the idea that these people were expressing what it was like to live […]

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Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn: Death of a Sibling

HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART Death of a Sibling Host: Dr. Gloria Horsley With guest: Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn July 7, 2005 G: Welcome to Healing the Grieving Heart. There are no simple or quick solutions to dealing with death. Each one of us is unique and special as are our relationships and our responses to loss. Healing the Grieving Heart is about nourishing the heart and removing the blocks that slow the miracle of renewal. I know you may be struggling, sad, and confused, missing a special child in your life. You may be a bereaved sibling feeling unacknowledged, lost, and wondering […]

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