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Alright, here goes. I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not. I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can’t imagine the pain […]
Continue Reading[Editor: In anticipation of today’s AfterTalk BlogTalk Radio program featuring Dr. David Fajgenbaum and his colleague Dr. Heather Servaty-Seib, we are reprinting their two-part article on supporting grieving college students. You can listen to the initial broadcast at 3pm today, November 18. at AfterTalkLIVE on BlogTalk Radio or later in the archive. To listen, click this link: AfterTalk LIVE […]
Continue ReadingEditor: In anticipation of tomorrow’s AfterTalk BlogTalk Radio program featuring Dr. David Fajgenbaum and his colleague Dr. Heather Servaty-Seib, we are reprinting their two-part article on supporting grieving college students. You can listen to the initial broadcast at 3pm tomorrow, November 18 at AfterTalkLIVE on BlogTalk Radio, or later in the AfterTalkLive archive. To listen, click this link: […]
Continue Reading“And a woman spoke, saying, “Tell us of Pain.” And he said: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at […]
Continue ReadingSuccession One morning state police escort us to your grave the next my flight is canceled. Maintenance issues breaking out all over. You would speak of a “grand theory,” something tying all this together, but you had none yourself, none that reached me then or now as I drive your car slowly into the tranquil […]
Continue ReadingSmall Mourning Pieces No time to prepare Shoved over cliff by sorrows Float down now, gently Grief comes as strong waves Tide that never seems to ebb Let it wash your soul Nasty Opponent Grief punches all breath away Never a fair fight No time for Heroes Pain strips away a brave face Wear no […]
Continue ReadingThe Widow’s Lament In Springtime Sorrow is my own yard where the new grass flames as it has flamed often before but not with the cold fire that closes round me this year. Thirty-five years I lived with my husband. The plum tree is white today with masses of flowers. Masses of flowers load the […]
Continue Reading[Editor: a 27 year-old first year medical student was given the assignment of writing a personal reflection on an encounter he or a family member had with the healthcare system and what he might have learned from it. I thought it would be helpful to those who have lost someone to terminal cancer and wonder […]
Continue ReadingAbove all, be at ease, be as natural and spacious as possible. Slip quietly out of the noose of your habitual anxious self, release all grasping, and relax into your true nature. Think of your ordinary emotional, thought-ridden self as a block of ice or a slab of butter left out in the sun. If […]
Continue ReadingOn Joy and Sorrow Kahlil Gibran Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your […]
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