-
Second Half
Carl Jung popularized the notion of “two halves” of our lives. His theory was that we spend the first half of our life navigating the outside world and developing a healthy ego, and…
-
Birthdays
Today, I turn 45 years old. I feel so grateful for this day, and for all of the days that have preceded it. I know what a gift it is to get a…
-
20 Years
“She had imagined that, as time went by, the grief would shrink and become neatly encapsulated in her life, in a small and manageable way. But what happened was different. The grief stayed…
-
Staying Afloat
In the years following my sister’s death, I fell, as so many people who have experienced loss do, into a dark abyss that seemed expansive, almost bottomless. Its darkness colored everything around me,…
-
Sitting with It
“Sit with the pain until it passes, and you will be calmer for the next one.” – Naval Ravikant I started seeing a new therapist in the spring of 2009. I initially went…
-
Stuck
A Letter to the Past Me: I see you, sitting there wondering what keeps you stuck. What prevents you from fully feeling your grief, from sitting with it and looking at it in…
-
Chains
“The chains that bind us the most closely are the ones we have broken.” – Antonio Porchia I have come to imagine my grief like an iron weight I carry around with me,…
-
Milestones
“The holiest of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart: the secret anniversaries of the heart.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow I think we all expect milestones to be difficult in…
-
Losing Hope
“SHE’S GONE.” In that moment, my knees gave out from under me and buckled, my back hitting the glass wall of the post office entrance, where I had been shipping home boxes of…
-
Cathy
“When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” – Kahlil Gibran I am going to…