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Survivors Are Breaking the Taboos Around Disenfranchised Grief
Specialists and support groups are opening up the conversation around less recognized forms of lossCan you imagine telling someone their husband had died through a text message? The idea is almost unthinkable. Such traumatic news is usually delivered through intimate, private conversations between friends, family and medical professionals. But what about the death of an ex? Jillian A. Tullis found out her ex-husband had died when a friend —…
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“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
A film about a mother’s grief, rage, and regret after the death of her daughter“Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” is a crime drama film directed by Martin McDonagh. It premiered in 2017 and won many awards, including two Oscars, which Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell took home for their acting. The American Film Institute also regards the film as one of the top 10 of 2017. Despite these…
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Our Monthly Tip: Make a Wildflower Casket Spray
Wildflowers offer an eco-friendly opportunity to decorate a loved one’s casket or graveOur Tip of the Month What better way to honor an environmentally conscious loved one than with a wildflower casket spray? Gathering local wildflowers and arranging them to create a memorial is an ideal compliment to the rising popularity of green burials — particularly during the summer and fall seasons, when they’re blooming in abundance.…
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“I Feel Little Garden’s Pain”
The groundbreaking Iranian poet channeled a tumultuous life and desire for independence into great works on sorrow and lossNobody cares for flowers.Nobody cares for birds. Nobody wants to believe that Little Garden is dying,Nobody wants to believe that Little Garden’s heart-is swollen in this parching heat. Nobody wants to know that Little Garden’s mind-is slowly losing its green past. And it seems that Little Garden’s sense is a distinct piece,perishing fast, in the…
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“All Who Wander…” The Story of a Traveler Who Lived and Died on His Own Terms
“Uncle John” lived by his own rules. I think he wanted to die that way too.This is Kam’s story as told to Melissa Gouty. Our “Opening Our Hearts” stories are based on people’s real-life experiences. By sharing these experiences publicly, we hope to help our readers feel less alone in their grief and, ultimately, to aid them in their healing process. In this story, Kam talks about a man a who…
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Making Memorials From a Box of Sandwich Bags
A New York Times series highlights the private memorials we hold while coping with loss and grief during the pandemicThe past 14 months have caused a complete reimagining of how we mourn and memorialize. How do we celebrate and remember the lives of our loved ones if we can’t gather? Virtual wakes and Zoom funerals have cropped up with many tasked to connect and grieve through a screen. Funeral homes have struggled to keep…
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How Do You Prepare for Dementia? An Interview with Stanley Terman (Interview)
A discussion on the planning, choices and strategies for dealing with dementiaStanley A. Terman, Ph.D., M.D., is CEO and Medical Director of Caring Advocates and the author of Peaceful Transitions: Stories of Success and Compassion; Plan Now, Die Later—Ironclad Strategy. He is also the creator of My Way Cards/Natural Dying Living Will Cards, a tool that generates Living Wills for Advanced Dementia as well as for other terminal…
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“Whiskey Lullaby”
Two country icons shed light on the tragedy of death by substance abuseBrad Paisley‘s “Whiskey Lullaby,” written by Jon Randall and Bill Anderson and featuring Alison Krauss, is a tender, mournful rumination on the pain of watching grief destroy someone in slow motion. Drinking — and whiskey in particular — is ubiquitous in country music. In fact, the liquor is almost synonymous with the sort of rustic…
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“Starfish”
A film about a family navigating the demands of caregiving and the fallout of serious illnessThe 2016 film “Starfish,” written and directed by Bill Clark, is a heartbreaking look at the impact of serious illness on one small family in the East Midlands of England. Based on the true story of Tom Ray and his wife, Nicola, it explores how Tom Ray’s life changed forever after contracting sepsis at the…
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