Posts Tagged: sorrow

Roger Rosenblatt’s Reflections

February 13th, 2013
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Some wonderful friends on the West Coast gave me Roger Rosenblatt’s book, Kayak Morning, as a Christmas present.  I was familiar with Rosenblatt as a writer for Time magazine and also as a columnist for The Washington Post, but was unfamiliar with the tragic death of his daughter, Amy Solomon,  a 38-year-old wife and mother of three children, from a heart condition.

In Kayak Morning, which was written two years after Amy’s death, Rosenblatt explores the human experience of loss.  His descriptions of his grief and his reflections about his daughter Amy’s death are calm and straightforward … Read More

Writing Through Your Emotions

January 25th, 2013
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To me, processing or working through difficult emotions such as grief, anger, frustration and confusion, is in a sense, breaking down the walls of why I feel a certain way.  Once I think I have figured out a pretty good reason why I think this is happening, I try to either get rid of as much of the feeling as I can or I try to readjust or “rebuild” my way of looking at the situation. During the “figuring out” stage (which can be hours or months), my mind is usually a jumble of thoughts and emotions.  I may be… Read More

Do Not Look Away

December 23rd, 2012
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Courtesy of CNN.com     Hold a hand. give a hug.  Open your heart. We cannot not be afraid to offer comfort and empathy.  I know it’s difficult to step outside of yourself and reach out to others in pain. To find a way to comfort and empathize with someone in pain requires a certain amount of introspection; an ability to put the brakes on your own needs and try to put yourself in the other person’s place.  Compassion requires you to stop thinking about yourself and imagine what another person is feeling while dealing with a life crisis or… Read More

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

December 19th, 2012
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Cast of NBC’s “The Voice” singing a tribute to victims in Newtown, CT A good friend who tragically lost a loved one in the Newtown, CT mass shooting yesterday posted on her Facebook page this beautiful and haunting video of the coaches and artists from NBC’s hit show, The Voice, singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in a tribute to the 20 children and six adults who died in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I think it is the simplicity of the song’s message that makes it so powerful.  Let the healing powers of the music fill your soul and… Read More

#beerbottles

January 14th, 2012
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I’m at the cemetery recently picking up the weatherbeaten Christmas wreath I placed on my husband’s marker weeks ago and I spy four empty Heinekein bottles lying in a puddle of water on a nearby marker. My, my…What do we have here? I’d like to think it was someone’s birthday and four friends or relatives came to celebrate, sing and raise one for their family member or friend. Or maybe one person came and had a good time drinking four beers while talking and singing to their loved one. Either way the empty beer bottles don’t bother me at all.  … Read More

Ted Olson On Loss & Love

September 12th, 2011
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There is no single path on the road to healing and resilience. Different people take different steps, drawing on their own strengths and what works best for them. Here is one person’s chosen path….Perhaps you can draw strength from Ted Olson’s grief experience. Ted Olson on loss and love  in the decade since 9/11 By Roxanne Roberts and Amy Argetsinger The Washington Post 9/12/11 Ted Olson in his office at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher last year. (Jahi Chikwendiu/ The Washington Post) Ted Olson spent his 71st birthday Sunday at his family’s lakeside property in Northern Wisconsin. He was invited to… Read More