It’s Never Too Late to Grieve

    How do I make peace and forgiveness with myself for not grieving and mourning my sisters Margie and Jane for 30 years? It is more the regrets, of years lost, of memories forgotten, of a soul missing, of dreams shattered, of a hole in my heart. Was the the pain too hard? I got used to being so alone and having no one to share my grief or my sisters with. I had no one to walk with me on…

    Dr. Kay Fowler: Adult Sibling Loss

    Adult sibling loss is a common disenfranchised loss. Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Kay Fowler at an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. Dr. Fowler is the editor of the ADEC Forum, and she lost three adult sisters in a 15 year period. The deaths of Jenny, Ann, and Mary Grace have largely impacted Dr. Fowler’s life and work.  Mary Grace died of a heart attack at 44, and Dr. Fowler just couldn’t process it. There was no…

    Bridget Park: Teens and Sibling Loss

    The Executive Director of the Open to Hope Foundation, Dr. Heidi Horsley, talks to Bridget Park about losing a brother. Sibling loss is often a disenfranchised one. Park recommends leaning on your family and letting others love you and just be there for you. It’s tempting to push people away because you don’t want them to feel sorry for you. Being there for one another is critical. Parents worry when a teen doesn’t talk after losing their sibling. Parents think…

    Celebration of Sisters: Full Circle After 30 Years

    Celebration of Sisters, an annual ice skating fundraiser to honor and commemorate the lives and memories of my sisters Jane E. Lipson and Marjorie E. Lipson to benefit The John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ice skating is my passion, solace, peace, and where I have come full circle in my grief to remember and pay tribute to my sisters. I lost my beloved sister Jane at age 22 in an automobile accident in…

    Photographs Help Sister Heal After Sibling Losses

    There is an expression originating from a Chinese proverb: “One picture is worth ten thousand words.”  My vote is that one picture or video is worth ten thousand memories. When I lost my beloved sisters, Margie and Jane, I scrambled to find pictures to compose a collage, to place my beloved sisters' images into frames. I feared I might forget them. Now, after 30 years, I went through that exercise again, designating a photo album for each sister and one album…

    Jennifer Collins Taylor: Conversations About Death

    Dr. Heidi Horsley of the Open to Hope Foundation interviews Jennifer Collins Taylor on behalf of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization. Taylor is the founder of Living Life, Dying Death, an author, and a speaker specializing in how to have meaningful and healthy conversations about death, dying, and grieving. She lost her brother 31 years ago, and that was the catalyst for pursuing a career in death and dying. “Who am I now that he’s not…

    Sibling Bereavement

    Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Betty Davies, a professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Nursing. Also a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Davies wrote Shadows in the Sun: The Experiences of Sibling Bereavement in Childhood for her students, those who have lost a sibling themselves, or anyone in the bereavement field. A leader in the field of sibling bereavement, Dr. Davies says she thinks of this type of bereavement as…

    The Day I Lost My Oxygen…and How I Got It Back

    "I'm sorry, but there was nothing we could do...she's gone," the doctor stated in a professional tone of voice on that life-changing Thanksgiving morning. I felt as though my stomach and heart had been knocked out of me, then after the initial shock, as though I couldn't breathe at all. It felt as though grief and life had knocked my breath out of me and took all of my oxygen away. I was only 19 when my 22 year-old sister,…

    Remembering Izzy

    It was a baby rat. Recently, after years of contemplating the possibility, I obtained two adult rats as pets. They were potentially to be used as live examples in the psychology classes I taught, and in a fun way—treats all around! A day after I received the rats, the previous owner informed me that one of the 5-month-old females “might” be pregnant. Two weeks later, that possibility became a reality. Ten baby rats emerged, and all were seemingly healthy and…

    Erika Barber: Navigating Life Stages Post Sibling Death

    Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talk with Erika Barber about her experience with losing a sibling. Barber enjoyed life with her sister for 15 years, but after her sister committed suicide, Barber found herself lost. It’s been a lifelong exploration to define who she is without her sister’s physical presence. She wrote Letters from a Friend: A Sibling’s Guide for Coping and Grief to help others in similar situations, but also to help herself work through the unique challenges of…