I Am A Griever

Lyss – Losing My Mother

Lyss discusses losing her mother and how her first thought was that her mother would never meet her kids Now being a mother herself brings back many memories of her.

Nicole – Pandemic Leads to Increase in Drug Poisoning

Nicole discusses the increase in drug poisonings during the pandemic due to a number of factors.

Lyss – My Story

Lyss talks about being 16 and her Mom dying from cancer. The second part of her story is about miscarriages

Betsy – Adoption and grief

Betsy tell her story of losing her adopted son to cancer

Lyss – Seasonal Reminders

Lyss seasonal reminders and her mother dying at New Years

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.

John – Foggy Brain

John discusses how difficult it is to concentrate after loss

Kate – Things I do that help

Kate talks about how art, hiking and visiting the cemetery can be very therapeutic

Scott – Music that can transport you somewhere else

Scott explains his thoughts about the emotional connection of music and how it can transport you

Adam – Crying and singing

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Adam talks about how crying and singing helps him cope even at the cemetary

A Million Other Things: Grieving a Drug Poisoning Death

Sister, father, son, niece, best friend – some of these words might be how you would describe your loved one who has died of an overdose or drug poisoning. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are not defined by their substance use – they are a million other things to those who love and miss them dearly. Drug poisoning and overdose deaths are stigmatized in our society. The focus is on how the person died, not who they are. Society still holds onto old notions and beliefs about drugs which come with a value judgment about people who use drugs, which further contributes to stigma. Not everyone who uses drugs is an addict and not all drug use is inherently problematic. People who use drugs deserve dignity and respect when we are remembering and honouring those who have died by overdose or drug poisoning.

Scott – Lyrics

Scott – Talks about how a friend in grief helped with the lyrics of “So far away”.Find the song at his website www.dotbmusic.ca