Grappling with Grief

It’s Grief and My Dance With It: Edy Nathan

by Edy Nathan   I’m not unacquainted with grief. At a very young age, it seemed to me grief was everywhere. There was nothing morbid about it. It was as natural as breathing. Unrest and trauma were imprinted in my young mind as I saw homeless dogs and cats scavenging for food, witnessed loud, aggressive […]

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Learning to Grow from the Pain

by Mary Jane Cronin   At the age of twenty-three and having only been married for a few years, I found myself giving birth to my first son. I loved being a mom and welcomed every day as a new adventure to learn more about him. Just a year later I found myself pregnant again. […]

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Losing My Mom: Chelsea Ohlemiller

by Chelsea Ohlemiller   In 2017 I lost my mother, my best friend, and the greatest woman I’ve ever known. She was 57. I was in my early thirties and days away from my wedding. I found myself surrounded by compassionate souls that wanted to help, but also souls that had never experienced significant loss. […]

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Love is Infinite: Jeanette Koncikowski

by Jeanette Koncikowski   Dr. Mark Koncikowski was a chiropractor, counselor, and devoted father from Buffalo, New York. Mark passed away from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) on October 30, 2014. Mark was only 36 years old when he died, leaving me a  young widow with a five-year-old and a nine-year-old to care for […]

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Losing Joe and Finding My Way Through Grief

by Elaine Suarez   Grief. I once read an article that described how grief impacts life after losing a loved one. It said, “Grief is love with nowhere to go.” Initially, I didn’t get what it meant. I questioned why grief is connected to love when love is beauty and grief is suffering. I didn’t […]

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The Greatest Gift: Laura Becraft

by Laura Becraft   Almost nine years later and there are times when I tell myself that I have this grief thing mastered. I have accepted all the lessons that have come with my husband’s untimely passing at forty-three. Maybe I’ve made it to the other side. But as I stand in the middle of […]

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Understanding Ambiguous Grief: David Grant

by David Grant   To be human is to grieve. As shared members of the human family, we all experience great joy – but to be human means that we live with the flip side of the coin. We all experience grief. My first real experience with grief came to me after the sudden loss […]

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Learning to Dance with the Limp

by Julia K. Morin   “You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. […]

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Grief Reminds Us, Love Never Dies

by Karla J. Noland   It’s been two years since my mother passed away unexpectedly from Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) melanoma. However, as I write this, my mind and body can seamlessly transport me back to the emotions of that day. I can retell and see the images as if I am rewinding back […]

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I Have Been Irrevocably Changed

by Jessica Trobaugh   I have been irrevocably changed. In a time where all can comprehend the literal screeching halt of the earth beneath our feet, I am but one of many. Grief has become a part of societal DNA. Weaving its way under swings and through leaves. It’s on our tv, magazine, and the […]

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