Making the Journey
Jon Shamres still chokes up when he talks about his little sister Gabrielle. “Gabi” as he fondly refers to her was the little girl with the big personality. Gabi’s beautiful smile, sense of humor, love of dance and ability to…
Jon Shamres still chokes up when he talks about his little sister Gabrielle. “Gabi” as he fondly refers to her was the little girl with the big personality. Gabi’s beautiful smile, sense of humor, love of dance and ability to…
Hope: what an amazing word. What does it mean? Type hope into Google and you get 562 million hits. Merriam-Webster.com tells us that it is “to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or…
On May 11, 2009, our youngest daughter, Maayan Rachel Kaplan, was born. Twelve days later my oldest daughter, Michaela, went to sleep at her grandparents’ house and never woke the next day. While the official mourning period ended less than…
As a national writer and speaker on grief, I am most recognized for the death of my nine-year-old son, Kelly James Carmody, who died of a malignant brain tumor in 1987. That event changed my life forever, but many may…
We have always had choices in our lives: Should I smile or cry now? Which thumb to suck? Which shoe to lose? Who will be my best friend? Who will be my second best friend? Which to…
My 9-year-old son Kelly James died of cancer in 1987. That event changed my life forever, but many do not know of the other familial losses that preceded his. It seems life is a puzzle in progress; our losses and…
It’s summer and the air is warm upon my face. The sunlight dances across the grass, casting tiny shadows of the dandelions that wave in the afternoon breeze. It’s nice here, sitting on the step, letting my mind wander, not…
A volunteer team of grief and trauma experts from around the nation came together last weekend in Parkland, Florida. The Compassionate Friends was honored to be included in this event, “A Day of Hope and Healing” hosted by Bob Resciniti’s…
Almost three years after losing my almost 18-year-old son Brayden, I am still searching. I was skeptical about attending a TCF Conference but went anyway. I don’t like crowds or big hotels but I was in one. I didn’t want…
The immediate availability of bereavement counseling is welcomed, but what happens when those counselors leave? Today’s horrific news, forgotten soon by the outside world, becomes the reality for the impacted families for the rest of their lives. There is help…
