Death of a Parent

Hope – Not wanting to burden my Mom and siblings

Hope shares how much her Mom had to do after her father died and how they worked out their relationship

Sam – Prostate Cancer

Sam talks about prostate cancer and losing his father and uncle to it

Karyn and Aidan – Grief changes

Karyn and Aidan talk about how grief changes, coping, strength, crying, talking, comfort and support

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

Jackie – Finger painting and grief

Jackie discusses how finger painting help her with her feelings while she was grieving the loss of her mother and sister

Katie – Getting stronger

Katie talks losing her mother when she was young and how the experience helped her when she lost her Dad

Lyss – Support, Family, and Friends

Lyss discusses the long process of her mother dying, miscarriages and support from family and friends

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.

Adam – Things that are OK to do

Adam talks about things he does to cope with grief like singing and crying

Hope – Benefits of play in helping kids work through grief

Hope discusses how recreation and play can help kids understand deal with their loss.

Bryan – Empathy for others

Bryan talks about how losing his father to gun violence was difficult and how taking things day by day helped him get through many difficult times. Now he wants to help children who are going through something similar to what he did. Things will get better and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel

Karyn and Aidan – Challenges with COVID restrictions

Karyn and Aidan discuss the COVID restrictions on visitations and how they managed