As we move toward the end of September, it’s hard to believe that we have been experiencing life in a pandemic for over six months. Grief and loss are pervasive on multiple levels in our nation and in the world…
Bereaved parent, Maria Housden, author of the book, Hannah’s Gift, Lessons From a Life Fully Lived, has been a keynote speaker for past TCF national conferences. She was also the opening keynote speaker for the 2020 TCF virtual conference and wrote the…
It was 2004, and our oldest daughter, Jessica, had decided she would travel to England and hitchhike across the countryside. As parents, we objected to the idea. She was barely 18. We understood her intentions to go back to the…
Autumn is here once again As it comes every year. And with the leaves My falling tears. This time of year is the hardest of all My heart is still breaking, Once again it is fall. Memories once so vivid…
A sudden accident killed your child. That terrible phone call changed your life with no warning – you didn’t get to say goodbye – this has to be the most terrible loss of all. Your child died by suicide –…
September summer has always been a time of nostalgia for me. The days are noticeably shorter with daytime temperatures beginning to cool down and the slightest chilliness of beautiful star-filled evenings requiring a sweatshirt or sweater. Early morning streets are…
As a bereaved mother and a first-time attendee at The Compassionate Friends 43rd National Conference, I felt an immediate connection to those who presented workshops and fellow attendees. In my daily life, I rarely am in contact with people who…
Today is the final day of the 2020 Virtual TCF Conference. There are two stories I wanted to share from yesterday about my experience at the virtual conference this year. I attended a sharing session for seasoned grievers, those of…
As bereaved parents, we are all learning to bear the unbearable whether our child died recently or many years ago. Each morning when we wake up, we have a familiar queasy feeling. We’re reminded that she’s gone or I can’t…
My nineteen-year-old son, Nick, died by suicide when he jumped from a bridge just outside his college campus. His body was lost for almost five weeks. The week prior to its retrieval, I received a call from a coroner who…