Is Losing A Grandmother Easier than Losing A Sister?

[Reviewed and updated August 2, 2022]

Sisters are different flowers from the same garden. ~ Unknown

A reader writes: My sister died two months ago. She was only 35 years old. It still seems impossible. She is the baby out of ten of us and she also leaves behind 3 young children and her husband. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. Every time I drive the Interstate I re-live the drive to the hospital when I got the call that she had been taken from home in an ambulance. I remember praying to God that she was OK. I remember feeling that she was already gone. When they told me she "had passed," I had to see for myself.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 23 - March 29, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Language Matters: Journalism's Role In End Of Life Care, http://j.mp/QrfQ6z « Life Matters Media

Caregiving After A Stroke: Suggested Resources, http://j.mp/18q79iU « Grief Healing Blog

At the tipping point: Caregiving Is A Corporate Issue, http://j.mp/1dBBi31 « Forbes

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 23 - March 29, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Kay Warren: A Year of Grieving Dangerously, http://j.mp/1jgoE9E «  Christianity Today

Useful guide! Important contacts after your partner’s death, http://j.mp/P9aID1 « Lost My Partner Blog

Helpful new grief website launched, http://j.mp/1dvs7kD « Personal Growth and Grief Support Center

Coping with Pet Loss, March 23 - March 29, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Hospice Care... for Pets? http://j.mp/1hCN9tg « Sarah Hodgson, Huff Post Green

Grief, Sorrow, Loss - Is There A Purpose In Them? http://j.mp/1jUK1vm « Ezine Articles

Stilled and Beating Hearts, http://j.mp/1dNr3mJ « Modern Loss

Facing Another Funeral, Without 'Falling Apart'

[Reviewed and updated August 2, 2023]

All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again. ~ English Nursery Rhyme

A reader writes: My brother passed away from colon cancer 18 months ago. I spent the last two weeks of his life with him. It was a horrible, painful death and I don't think he ever came to grips with it, thinking that he would somehow be OK even in his final days. He didn't want people to fawn over him or feel sorry for him, so I was the only person other than his wife that he asked to be there.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 16 - March 22, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Learn About FREE Social Services in Your Area, http://j.mp/1p2wrKC « Caregiving Cafe Blog

Spring Cleaning the Soul: Hospice Caregivers Can Greet Spring Anew, http://j.mp/1gj2N1q « Caring with Confidence

Lessons In the Art of Dying, http://j.mp/1qU1HMU « Washingtonian

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 16 - March 22, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Poignant piece on child loss: It's the Shame, http://j.mp/1jfpYvR « The Grief Toolbox

Even in Grief, You Have the Power of One, http://j.mp/OKofAN « Grief Digest Magazine

An Online Generation Redefines Mourning, http://j.mp/1nLv98G « The New York Times

Coping with Pet Loss, March 16 - March 22, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

A creative way to honor a beloved four-footed friend! pic.twitter.com/xfo4GAhwH2

The Impermanence of Dogs, http://j.mp/1jlH4DY « Spirit Scraps

Bereavement: Doing The Work of Grief

Source

[Reviewed and updated September 4, 2024]

If I think of the real work of grief as doing whatever I can to keep my heart open, to feel and to face every stitch of both pain and love, without somehow abandoning myself in the process, well – that’s “work” I can get behind. That’s work I understand. ~ Megan Devine

A reader writes: It has been a year and 3 months since my best friend died. I think I've moved thru alot of the intensity of my grief and now what I feel left with is something similar to the wreckage after a train wreck. I feel so afraid...so removed from the person I used to be. I am not myself...my old self. I kinda expected that, but I feel so unmoved by life right now. Nothing seems to thrill me...in fact everything seems to be a struggle to do.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 9 - March 15, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Top 5 Tips for Siblings Caring for Aging Parents, http://j.mp/1hmOtle « Being Well Within

My Guilt and Its Impact on Caregiving,  http://j.mp/1iKRkVT « The Caregiver Space

Let me hold a dog one more time, http://j.mp/ObRI6C « Examiner.com

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 9 - March 15, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

In Grief, Try Personal Rituals, http://j.mp/1grf9TZ « The Atlantic

The 5 Major Ways Grief Changes the Whole Person, http://j.mp/OqCgmR « GriefMinisterdotcom

Grief In The News this past month, http://j.mp/1cGssQY « Hello Grief

Coping with Pet Loss, March 9 - March 15, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Talking to Toddlers about the Death of a Pet, http://j.mp/1lDPRmd « BabyZone

Public mourning of deceased pets gains acceptance, http://j.mp/1feN7uQ « The Washington Times

Voices of Experience: Everyone Grieves Differently

Source

by Maria Kubitz

Only you know the depths of your grief, since every relationship, like a fingerprint, is one of a kind.  ~ Lou LaGrand

In the months after my daughter’s death in 2009, I found myself struggling with the notion that others around me didn’t appear to be grieving the “right way.”

Initially, I was frustrated that for the most part, my husband and other children didn’t openly cry or talk about her death the same way I did.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 2 - March 8, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Special days and having the talk: good stuff here! http://j.mp/1dwsTeT « Modern Loss

Why This Wisconsin City Is The Best Place To Die, http://j.mp/1faGjtp « NPR

Clinical Dinosaurs, http://j.mp/1n6NXvs « Healing Doc Schlagbytes

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 2 - March 8, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Grief in the Time of Facebook, http://j.mp/MUHZ3o « HuffPost Women

Grief Healing Blog included! Coping With Loss: 115 Helpful Websites on Grief and Bereavement, http://j.mp/1hQ44vt « MastersInCounseling.org

When I Was Your Favorite Birthday Gift, http://bit.ly/1fEB4YX « Elaine Mansfield

Finding Meaning in Your Loss

Find the updated version of this post here:

Confronting The Lessons of Grief

It is difficult to imagine surviving grief much less transcending it. How do we triumph over sorrow when it seems as if our pain will never end?

Understanding and Managing Grief, February 23 - March 1, 2014

Source

Thanks for the moments we danced. Thanks for the little while.  ~ Darcie D. Sims

On Thursday, February 27, 2014 we were shocked and saddened to learn that our precious Darcie Sims had died in her home in Puyallup, Washington. Described by those who love her as mother, wife, grandmother, educator, leader, rose-colored glasses wearer, smile-on-a-stick carrier, and friend, Darcie was one of a kind. She had a heart as big as a mountain, a sense of humor that rivaled Erma Bombeck's, and the ability to speak, write and teach about grief that captivated her audience, her readers and anyone fortunate enough to be in her presence. We're happy that she has exchanged her earthly address for a Heavenly one, but our hearts are broken in her absence, and we know this world will never be the same without her. We are so grateful to have known you, dear Darcie, if only for a little while.

Caregiving and Hospice, February 23 - March 1, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Jumping for Joy in the ER: When patients have clear advance directives, http://j.mp/1obzoVX « It's OK to Die

Seth Rogen Tweet-Shames Senators for Skipping His Speech, http://j.mp/MBuzce « Mashable

How a Palliative-Care Team Changes Everything, http://j.mp/OG6B1E « The Wall Street Journal