Today, on National Grief Awareness Day, I find myself thinking about a word I know far too well: grief. Grief has traveled beside me during several chapters of my life. It has arrived suddenly, and it has arrived slowly. It has come through death, estrangement, illness, and the gradual loss of the life I once […]

I am a mother, grandmother, and wife who suffers from chronic grief. My life has not been in balance for some time. My beloved Ultimate Concierge is battling vascular dementia, and my adult children have chosen estrangement, carrying my grandchildren with them on this most unpleasant and hurtful journey. Yet, life still delivers unexpected gifts. […]

Loss of a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child — oh my God, a child! — a close friend, a pet or a colleague creates despair, emotional turmoil, worries, and a thousand different feelings. *Affiliate disclosure.  Sending a condolence card is hard but necessary Those who hear or read the news of the loss […]

A New Lifestyle with Widowhood For recent widows and those of you who have a difficult time moving into the now, I want to share with you the tools I used to emotionally pick up the pieces of my life. I also want to begin by informing you of a change in our culture. The […]

Estrangement does not just affect the estranged child and the parent they chose to leave behind. Are you aware that tens of millions of families are living through a nightmare of suffering and intolerable pain brought on by adult-child estrangement? Probably not because parents living in the midst of estrangement hide their situation due to […]