We treasure what loved ones left behind, like a favorite piece of jewelry. Or was it? My mother’s engagement ring has quite a story, and now at age 67, I understand why she never wore it. She married my dad in 1950, and later in the 1980’s, after my mother’s death, the sparkly European-cut diamond […]
Writing about death is intimate. More personal than writing about sex, your bank balance, or whatever “stayed in Las Vegas.” Beginning Tuesday, October 12, 2021, I will teach a 7-week writing course for The School of American Thanatology. My classes will blend practical writing tips and guided imagery exercises toward authenticity, vulnerability, and effective writing […]
Once upon a time, in what feels like a galaxy far, far away, faith was about love, compassion, protection, and building each other up. Those things create a quiet, personal righteousness. But now a loud, public righteousness is fueled by anger with no room for forgiveness or redemption. Passover and Easter symbolize the power to […]
Grief is on pause, but it does not have to be. By necessity, funerals are sparsely attended or postponed. Currently, there are 510,777 Covid-related deaths. In 2019 a total of all deaths in the U.S. was 2,854,838. (Note: 2020 statistics are not released yet). This means millions have been unable to mourn together and to […]
Feel what you feel for as long as it takes to process through it. The right word recognizes our deepest emotions. When I mourn, but my grief is not attached to a physical death, there is a word for it, “shadowloss.” The term was coined by Cole Imperi, founder of The School of American Thanatology, […]