“A mourner is perforce, a person with a story. The pity is, how very rarely it gets told.” Christian McEwen The first Thanksgiving after my mother died I spent with my godmother Ginny and her family. I had known Ginny … Continue reading →

I began skipping school in eighth grade with Marjorie. (Sorry, Marjorie.) I don’t know what was up with her but I know what was bugging me. My dad had just been diagnosed with cancer. He had surgery and wore a … Continue reading →

Don’t leave me!” the little girl with pink ribbons in her hair sobbed as her aunt and young cousin said good-bye to her at the Denver airport. I was returning from a conference in Colorado and was sitting next to … Continue reading →

Jackie Kennedy and Corretta Scott King were our nation’s role models for mourning in the 1960’s and in the decades since. They were praised for their strength and stoicism, their courage and grace, and rightly so. They were great role … Continue reading →

“I feel my dad’s presence next to me at the kitchen table.” Elizabeth, age 10 I first began working in the field of children’s grief support in 1997 as a volunteer for the Rainbows program in Montclair. I’ll never forget a … Continue reading →

“How can I prepare my children?” a friend asked when he found out they had to euthanize their beloved dog Starbuck who was dying. Here is what we said: Be sure to take time as a family to share memories … Continue reading →

A mother once said to me, “(My child) only lost her father, I lost my husband!” This is understandable because we think children cannot grieve to the same depth we do as adults. Grieving children look different from grieving adults. … Continue reading →