Love and Light in Newark
In honor of Black History Month, I want to share more love and light with you from our collective work and our mission.
Got Grief? It’s that holiday time of year.
For years after my father died my mom carried on at the holidays as if nothing had changed. Her intentions were good — to keep things the same and not bring any sadness into the room. But things weren’t the same, there was a person missing. My dad. The person who sawed off the bottom of the tree to fit into the tree stand. And who wired the tree with lights and watched as we all decorated it with the familiar ornaments and sipped hot chocolate. Except now I was the one trying to saw off the bottom of the tree and get the lights on just so the way my mom liked. His missing presence lodged itself like a lump in my throat and sometimes it was all I could do not to cry. Not to cry.
Grief AND Gratitude: Living in the “AND” During the Holidays
Recently I asked a friend how he dealt with the death of his mother right before he went away to college. Without skipping a beat, he said, “I learned how to live in the “AND”. I am sure I looked confused, so he explained, “I was really sad about my dad AND I wanted to enjoy college, so I continued to missed my dad AND I had fun.”
Voices of Grief and Resilience: Remembering September 11th
Imagine Clinical Training Director, Connie Palmer, LCSW shares a reflection on the 20th anniversary of 9/11
United by Our Grief: Memorial Day
Imagine Clinical Training Director, Connie Palmer, LCSW shares a reflection on Memorial Day 2021
Coping Skills Toolbox
Use this toolbox to find ways to cope when you are going through a difficult time.
Black History Month: Grief and Love
Black history month is a time to honor the achievements of Black Americans but this year, when there has been so much loss, we need to acknowledge that, “We are in the middle of a black bereavement crisis.” This quote, from Marissa Evan’s recent article in The Atlantic entitled, “The Relentlessness of Black Grief”, speaks to the overwhelming and cumulative grief experienced by many in the Black community.
Around the Holiday Table: Talking about Someone Who Died
My mother died on October 23, 2008. A month later I spent that first Thanksgiving without her at my godmother Ginny’s house with her family. I had known Ginny my whole life and her three daughters, all around my age, were like cousins to me. They were all there too, one of them with her own three daughters.
The Gift of Having all of Your Feelings: Grief and the Holidays
There is so much pressure to be happy in our culture, especially at the holidays. We are supposed to have a Happy Thanksgiving, a “merry little Christmas” or a Happy Hanukah. But grief doesn’t take a holiday.
Election 2020: A Lesson in Learning How to Lose
Imagine Clinical Training Director, Connie Palmer, LCSW shares lessons on losing in healthy, constructive ways.