Death of A Loved One

Matt – My Story

Matt tells how he found his birth mother and then lost her.

Holly – Singing in the last days

Holly talks about her partner’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis, the pandemic, their decisions, faith and how singing

Betsy – Anticipation

Betsy discusses the anticipation of her adopted son dying of cancer and now or her aging parents

Donna B – “Accepting support”

Donna explains how support can help. Donna continues to grieve the death her son during service in Afghanistan.

Doug M – “Planning for Death”

Doug talks about how planning for a funeral and life after his wife’s death was helpful. Doug continues to grieve the death of his first wife.

Jessica’s Reflections as an Adult Grieving Child

Parents or trusted adults are people children often turn to for support, but my circle of trusted adults was shrinking. My peers were focused on what to wear on civvies day (a day where we didn’t have to wear a uniform), while I was focused on just surviving.

Zoreena – COVID and isolation

Zoreena discusses COVID isolation and the loss of time to spend with her Dad and her cousing

Doug M – “Coming to Terms with Sibling Death”

Doug talks about the loss of his brother when he was young and how it effected his fear of loss and separation of his own children. Doug continues to grieve the death of his first wife.

Cheryl and Mike – “Time”

Cheryl and Mike talk about time and their journeys. They continue to grieve the death their daughter in a car accident.

Karyn and Aidan – Grief changes

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

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.