

2016: New Beginnings
Whether it is the turn of a new year, a new month or even a new day means each of us has an opportunity to begin again. For those who are grieving, this may sound like just another well-intentioned platitude that you have heard a thousand times. The truth is, however, you can recover from grief and be happy again. It is never too soon or too late to begin, and it does not matter the type of loss. When you suffer a loss, you join a community of grievers, of which we are all me


Holiday Tips for Grievers
The holidays are a season of good cheer and optimism for many as they look forward to the New Year. Friends and family are busy with parties, shopping and celebrating. According to Karen Higgins, MD, everything seems “merry and bright”, but for those who are grieving, it can be a time of loneliness, isolation and disconnection. Dr. Higgins, a psychiatrist with Western Sierra Medical Center in Green Valley, California, wrote a very helpful article last year offering a number o


Escaping the Present by Living in the Past: Part 4, How Will I Ever Get Out of This Labyrinth?
In his novel, Looking for Alaska, John Green (2012) reminds readers of the following: “Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.... You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” Imaging a future without grief is alluring and comforting. In our imaginations, our future can be whatever we