Joy Johnson Brown
In 1978, Joy Johnson and Dr. Marvin Johnson founded Centering Corporation. The Centering Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education on grief and loss for professionals and the families they serve. Centering Corporation has done remarkably well in the industry, with now a compilation of over 500 resources for grief and loss including the magazine Grief Digest. They continue to provide educational offerings, bookstores, and workshops for caregivers and families, with a heritage of becoming the largest provider of resources for Grief and Loss in the nation. Joy received the Professional Service Award from the Compassionate Friends in 2004 and has written or edited 150 books on grief. She has co-presented more than 500 workshops at seminars and conferences. Joy is the author of "Keys to Helping Children Deal With Death and Grief," published by Barrons in New York, and The Very Beautiful Dragon series, published by Centering Corporation. The Johnsons live in Omaha, Nebraska, and have six children and seven grandchildren. Joy appeared on the radio show “Healing the Grieving Heart” with Dr. Gloria & Dr. Heidi Horsley to discuss “Thanksgiving Reflections.”
Articles:
How to Help Our Friends Help Us When We’re Grieving
By Joy Johnson, Centering Corporation — When the goddess emerged from the cave of her sorrow she wept anew for there was no one there to greet her. (ancient Greek myth) One widow said it well: “You find out who your friends are!” Many people think that illness, death and other tragedies bring people closer together. Actually, the opposite is more often true. Stresses build, relationships have changed, anger, guilt, sadness and all the other emotions that come with grief seem to attack everyone at different times and in different ways. Recognize that all your family and friends will be […]
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How Can We Help Grieving Children?
By Joy Johnson — It breaks our hearts, it troubles our minds, it rattles our souls; seeing children we love devastated, weeping, sorrow-filled. We want to fix it and we can’t. I can’t just go out and buy a new daddy. I could always do that with broken Barbies. I can’t put a BAND-AID on it. I can’t kiss it and make it stop hurting. I can’t even tell her it will be all right. All I can do is hold her and help her cry. (Mom in Seattle) Grieving children usually face at least four tasks. In a way, […]
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Public Grief Rituals: What You Can DO
By Joy Johnson — There are wonderful public rituals to enrich and comfort us after a death. The Bringing of Food In most communities people bring casseroles or snacks to the home following a death. It’s a time of talking and remembering and telling the story. Every time the doorbell rang, a friend was there with everything from my favorite cookies to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Every time they came in I told them what happened. The Story Asking, “What happened?” may be as caring as saying, “I love you.” When we tell the story of the death, what we did, […]
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Getting to Know Grief
By Joy Johnson — Grief: the range of emotions or feelings we experience when someone we love dies. Grief is the price we pay for loving. If you are reading this, it’s likely you loved, and still love, someone special who has died. You are grieving, and knowing some things about grief lets you know you are not alone. o Everyone in the world grieves. o Everyone in the world also does it differently. o And most people grieve in four ways. Physically – Our bodies grieve. As my father lay dying, my Aunt Ada hurried out to the restroom. […]
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November 23, 2006 Thanksgiving Reflections Joy Johnson
NOVEMBER 23, 2006 – THANKSGIVING REFLECTIONS:? JOY JOHNSON has written or edited more than 150 books on grief.? She is co-founder, along with her husband, Dr. Marvin Johnson, of Centering Corporation and Ted E. Bear Hollow, a center for grieving children. Centering Corporation, has received the TCF Professional award, and is North America?s oldest and largest bereavement resource center.? Centering is also the official bookstore for The Compassionate Friends.? Her compassion and understanding have touched many lives. Join us for a discussion of traditions, memories, and challenges of Thanksgiving Day without that special person.? http://www.centeringcorp.com/catalog/ and http://www.tedebearhollow.org/
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