• Child Loss,  Explaining Child Loss,  Sibling Loss,  Stillbirth,  Teen Loss,  Why year two of child loss is often worse

    Why Is the Grief from Child Loss Often Worse in Year Two?

    When my baby boy was born still twenty-five years ago, the grief that I felt was impossible to explain to others.  There were days when I could not move from my bed.  Eventually, the grief seemed to soften a bit, and life felt “okay” for a time. Then year two came along, and I was knocked flat with crippling grief, only this time it was much worse and I couldn’t figure out why I had this much grief hitting me so hard again. Just recently my adult son Mike died very unexpectedly, and my heart was ripped apart.  Shattered.  Empty.  Lost.  Feeling so alone.  And, knowing what is ahead in this…

  • Teen Loss

    Silent Grief: Living with Guilt

    As mentioned in my introductory post, my first real experience with death came when my sister Carmella died at age thirteen.  I was fifteen at the time, and she just so happened to not only be my sister but my best friend in all of the world. As a bit of background, Carmella (or “Mellie” as we called her) developed asthma when she was six.  I remember so well the wheezing, the tight cough, the look of fear on her face as her air passageway would tighten up and wouldn’t allow her to breathe.  It was horrible to see.  Many times, I ran off crying — screaming — for somebody to help…