Gratitude During Difficult Times
02/02/2016
Sometimes after loss our hurt is so strong that we think there’s nothing to be grateful for. My existing gratitude practice helped me to look for the little daily blessings during his illness and after his death.
The following is an excerpt from my newly released book, Building A Life You Love After Losing the Love of Your Life. Read the rest of this entry »
Loss and Lessons Learned
29/01/2016
January 12, 2016 a hundred or so of my friends, associates and their guests came to celebrate with me as I launched my memoir, Building A Life You Love After Losing the Love of Your Life at the Georgia Public Broadcasting. I felt like a celebrity and was touched that so many showed up to help launch the book. You can click HERE to read about the event and see photos.
Sadly, my therapist, Robin Kirby, Ph.D. wasn’t able to attend Read the rest of this entry »
Building A Life You Love…
19/01/2016
I’m very excited to announce the launch of my memoir, Building A Life You Love After Losing the Love of Your Life.
I read several widow memoirs after my husband died over six years ago. I found it encouraging to read how others had survived what, at the time, seemed unsurvivable. One of the things I noticed is that most of the books started with the diagnosis or accident and went through all the treatment, hospital visits, ups and downs of illness then the death and funeral. The book would be halfway or two-thirds over before they talked about how they dealt with life after the loss.
My book starts the day after the burial with a chapter called, “In Bed with Jose Cuervo.” Read the rest of this entry »
Christmas Tree-Dition
18/12/2015
Our “first Christmas together” ornament from 20+ years and way too many pounds ago!
Each year, early in December, we’d decorate the tree while listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra and drinking wine. Once the tree was done we would sit in front of the fire, finish off the wine, admire our tree, and reminisce with stories brought to mind by various ornaments. Read the rest of this entry »
When it’s Time to Take Off the Rings
15/09/2015
“It’s been twenty-two months for me,” she said.
We had just disembarked from our cruise ship and were waiting for the train excursion to board when I began talking to the woman beside me. She was petite, attractive and beautifully dressed. Her hair was ‘fixed’ as we say in the South and her makeup skillfully applied. Although we were Read the rest of this entry »
When do you miss him or her most?
31/08/2015
Yesterday was a rainy Sunday. I thought of Phil and how we used to spend rainy Sundays. Read the rest of this entry »
Two widows walk into a bar…
14/08/2015
Well, actually it was three widows in a cafeteria but you get the point.
View from the table
Recently while attending a conference onboard an Alaskan cruise I was looking for a seat in the casual dining room of the Lido deck. I saw a couple middle-aged ladies at a table for four and asked if I could join them. They welcomed me to their table and we began chatting. Read the rest of this entry »
Why I gave a widow a sewing machine
23/06/2015
Today, June 23rd is designated by the United Nations as International Widows Day. As a widow and writer I did a little research to see why we need an international day Read the rest of this entry »
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg wrote openly in a Facebook post yesterday about her grief in
the loss of her husband, Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey. It’s been 30 days since his passing. Today marks the six-year anniversary of my own husband’s death. Read the rest of this entry »
Sacred Ground
18/04/2015
Today a friend emailed asking for prayer for her neighbor who has been given only weeks to live since the MRI showed her cancer has spread. She has a Glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor, stage 4, the same thing that killed my husband. That took me back to my husband’s final weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Recreating Joy 