Page 14 - 2016 Spring-Summer Issue

© Anuska Sampedro/fotolia.com Fighting for Our Cause

by Barry Kluger and Kelly Farley

Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, published in
1602, is cited as the origin of the saying: “Third time’s a
charm.”

What about fourth and so on? Well, like the Powerball,
we keep hoping that the next one will be the winner.

We are hoping that in the world of politics, of which
we’re outsiders, the fifth is a charm. Jan. 18, 2016 marked
the beginning of the 5th year to get Congress to amend
the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to add loss of a
child.

Back in 2011, we began what was then known as The
Farley-Kluger Initiative to recognize grief created by the
loss of a child and its impact on the American families
that know all too well the pain caused by the aftermath
of having to bury a child. Over 110,000 petitions to
Congress later, the hundreds of thousands of parents
who lost children are hoping THIS is the charm.

They say “you can close the door on grief, but it will peak
in through the window.” As many of you know, grief is
always lurking around the corner. And when it shows up,
it’s usually fast and furious. The loss of a child is hard,
it is the most devastating life event that can happen to a
person.

We know this because, like all of you, we too have lost
children. In the years since, while we can never make
sense of this tragedy, we seek solutions to help others

1 4 |We Need Not Walk Alone