Death of a Parent

Bryan – Vulnerability

Bryan talks about things are not always OK and that’s OK and things are going to get better

The First Fathers’ Day Without Dad

When you lose a person in the generation before you, you begin to think about what they meant to you. When you lose a parent, you think about all they meant, and you hoped you either lived up to the best of yourself, or in some cases where the parenting was not as instructive or kind, you hope you’ve raised yourself beyond difficult circumstances.

Katie “Ongoing Grief”

Katie talks about the loss of her mother.

Karyn and Cathy – “Suicide”

Karyn and Cathy discuss how the stigma of suicide impacted the lack of acknowledgement of their grief and loss. Karyn and Cathy continues to grieve the death of their father by suicide.

Hope – Benefits of child-centred grief programs

Hope discusses hope grief camp gave her and her family a place to feel normal

Karyn and Aidan – The what if game and guilt

Karyn and Aidan explain how they have dealt with guilt

Adam – Story 2

Adam discusses his busy life and how he has coped after losing his mother

Keeping Records

I pulled the photos out of their envelope one at a time, turning over each one to carefully record the date, place, and people in the photo. Sometimes, I included comments. “Apple picking in Hamilton with Pop Pop, Fall, 2023. You loved the wagon ride!”. I slipped each picture into an empty pocket in my son’s photo album.

Maureen – “Unresolved conflicts”

Maureen shares about her Dad, anger, love and some tools to manage unresolved conflicts.

Margaux – “Find People in Similar Situations”

Margaux talks about group therapy and writing as tools for processing grief. Margaux continues to grieve the death of her mother from breast cancer.

Shawn – “Dad”

Shawn describes finding out his father died by suicide and the shock and grief that followed. Shawn continues to grieve the death of his father by suicide

Karyn and Aidan – Supporting each other

Karyn and Aidan talk about how they supported each other and how they coped with John being hospitalized