When I became pregnant one year after the loss of my daughter, a part of me wanted to announce our pregnancy right away, to share this wonderful news with the world. But another part of me didn’t want to risk it, to feel any more vulnerability in this life after loss. Just as I was…
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- Complicated Grief
- Dealing With Others in Grief
- Loss of an Adult Child
- Supporting a Friend After Loss
Part IV — Emotional Support in the Initial Stages and Beyond
Continue...If we’re to build strong communities, we need to learn to reach out to those who need our support. What greater crisis can a human endure than their child or loved one being killed by another? Is this not the ultimate test of our capacity for compassion for one another?
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7 Ways To Support A Grieving Friend
Continue...Watching a friend experience the loss of their baby and the grief that remains can feel so helpless. Unfortunately, there isn’t a “one-size fits all” approach to support a grieving friend through loss, but there are many ways to be supportive. When my daughter died at 33-days-old, it was the first loss of this type…
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Say Something (Anything) To Your Grieving Loved One
Continue...Almost three and a half years ago I was thrown into the world of the grieving parent. At the time, I was in a highly alert state, taking words that were said to me and dissecting them one by one. Sometimes people said things that I found confusing, and maybe even hurtful. I started reading…
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- Advocacy
- Complicated Grief
- In the Community
- Psychology and Grief
- Supporting a Friend After Loss
- Supporting a Friend Through Loss
Part III — Crisis, Trauma and the Justice System
Continue...Part I Part II This, the third article of the four-part series on homicide loss, explores in more detail the difficulties faced by co-victims and how those in their community can help them. The first area of focus — support during the legal process — deals with the justice system and how it affects…
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An Open Letter to a Happy Mama from Her Bereaved Mama Friend
Continue...My Dear Sweet Mama Friend, I see you. I see the joy radiating from your lovely smile as you eagerly embrace your precious children. You waited a long time for motherhood; I know without a doubt that you deserve this happiness. We’ve been friends for such a while, sharing in each other’s successes and failures,…
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The Lonely Road
Continue...Dear Friends and Family, I initially wanted to direct this letter to the world in a general sense. From my experience, I can tell you that in all these years, I have received more encouragement, empathy and support from strangers than I have from you, those close to me. So today I want to start…
