Dealing with Grief and Fears

There is no aspect of funeral service as misunderstood as cremation. The biggest misconception is that cremation precludes any and all funeral services. Nothing could be further from the truth…

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As a stay-at-home mom, I used to dread meeting new people at social events. After initial pleasantries, so often the exchange would come to an awkward, grinding halt when they asked me…
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As a hospice volunteer, one of the many things I’ve come to understand is that everyone faces serious illness and the prospect of death differently. There’s simply no “right way” or “wrong way” to approach it…
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“I don’t want to pay that amount of money for something I don’t want!”

I screamed these words to the funeral director who sat opposite me on the sofa two days after my husband had died. Read More

Berenice looked horrified. In the group I was running, she was coming to terms with the idea that she really needed to speak to her parents about the fact they were coming towards the end of their lives…
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It seems a lot like a movie now, but I didn’t choose to see or play a role in this one. I was dragged in as a lead actress in this long-running family drama and was forced to make the best of it…
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Five years ago, we had a group of friends, most of whom were high achievers, over for dinner. Amongst our guests was a client, who had returned to Canada after working as a director at a hospice in California…
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Alone. Head in hands. Sobbing. Unable to understand what to do next. Unable to take in what had just happened, or to perceive how her life would now pan out. Distraught, and yet needing to keep the family together…

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Perhaps because my late husband was a pastor, some people thought they were helpful after Tom’s death to tell me, “God needed another angel in heaven.” (Wrong! I needed that angel beside me, not gone away)….
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One of the songs I have always loved is When I Go by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammar, written two years before Dave’s untimely death at age 49…
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