It is a challenge to carry grief through the winter holidays. When I am asked how the grief caused by losing someone you love changes over time, I suggest that unfortunately the grief journey is not linear and there are no reliable mileposts to help guide you along the way. Grief is not something you get over or even through, as I’ve heard people say. In my experience, grief … [Read more...]
Hope … on the way to Faith?
A leaf … like hope ... connected to a branch of faith? I’m often asked if I believe in the afterlife. Perhaps because I’ve lost a child, which many believe is the worst possible thing that can happen to a person, my opinion on the subject carries a little extra weight. Or perhaps the asker is simply seeking a pebble of “proof” to add to their own ponderings on what happens … [Read more...]
The Tides of Summer, Emma & Me
Emma Mebane as a young girl, afloat on a carefree summer day … Summer has been my least favorite season ever since I graduated from college. Growing up, of course, it was magical – my grandparents had a summer house at Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island along the Jersey Shore, and I spent many a lazy summer day searching for whatever treasures the tides had left on the beach … [Read more...]
The Light in Sheryl Sandberg’s Post on Grief
Spotlight on Grief By now, you may have read Sheryl Sandberg’s Facebook post from June 3rd that she wrote to mark the end of sheloshim – a period of religious mourning – for her late husband, Dave Goldberg. (See Sheryl’s original Facebook Post.) On May 1st, Dave died in a gym accident while on vacation with his family. He was 47. Sheryl’s profoundly personal, deeply … [Read more...]