Category filter: Advance Care Planning > Grief & Dealing with Loss

No fancy casket for this middle-aged gal. Seriously, put me in the lowest end box, cremate me and then party up a great life lived, with a few tears and plenty of laughter! BUT unless I’m willing to have someone do this illegally (and I can’t say I have many friends that’d be willing to… Read more…

Recently, I listened to an interesting interview on death and the fear of dying on CBC’s The Current and the emergence of the Death Café, which are popping up in as many as 35 different countries. Given the work that I do, it shouldn’t be no surprise that I think about death frequently. I also… Read more…

I consider it a daily gift to work with people in later life; to hear about their unique footprint on earth, to celebrate their personal victories, to share in their losses and to find a way forward that brings continued meaning, purpose and independence. In particular, the experience of loss as we age can cause… Read more…

I think it’s safe to say, “Death isn’t easy to deal with at any age.” So how do you explain it to your three-year-old? How do you comfort your eight-year-old when their grandparent dies? How comfortable are you with the whole concept of death? What are you beliefs regarding after-life, if any? How do you… Read more…

  “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humour, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.” ~Rudolph Giuliani I’ve just finished baking cookies. As I pull out the ooey-gooey tray of sinful delights, I can’t help but think of my grandmother and a… Read more…

  Drawing on local expertise, the following column is written by Ruth Barry, a qualified psychotherapist. Ruth works with palliative and bereaved individuals and families referred to the Comox Valley Hospice Society in addition to her local private practice. Grief is our normal reaction to loss of any kind. Whatever you are feeling is normal… Read more…

I like reading the obituaries. It’s the first section I flip to in our local paper. It’s OK — you can breathe a sigh a relief knowing you aren’t the only one! Reading obituaries reminds me of my own mortality and allows acknowledgement of the death of people I know.  More importantly, it gives me… Read more…

Thank you to Steve Hill, Pastoral Care Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital, for bringing his expertise and knowledge on coping with grief. My fingerprint is unique. So is yours. I cope with grief in my way, in my time. So do you. And, that’s OK. I have found helpful wisdom in an old Latin phrase,… Read more…

I think it’s safe to say, “Death isn’t easy to deal with at any age”. So how do you explain it to your three-year-old? How do you comfort your eight-year-old when their grandparent dies? How comfortable are you with the whole concept of death? What are you beliefs regarding after-life, if any? How do you… Read more…