Dealing with Grief and Fears

After my husband Tom died in 2007, I remember how quickly the world seemed to move on. There were flowers, cards, casseroles, hugs, and kind words from people who truly cared. I was grateful for every gesture. In those early days, love often arrived in practical forms – a meal, a note, a hand on my shoulder, someone sitting quietly beside me when there were no words…

You don’t always know what will carry you through grief until you’re in it. For me, it wasn’t advice or distractions or even time – at least not at first. It was writing. In the quiet moments, when the house felt too still and the weight of loss pressed in, I found myself reaching for a pen…

If you live to be over 60, loss is inevitable. I anticipated the loss of my parents, knowing the day was looming when they would pass on as part of the natural order of life. What I didn’t prepare for was losing my sister, Linda…

By the time we reach our 60s and beyond, we’ve lived many lifetimes within one life. We’ve loved, built careers, raised families, created identities and, inevitably, we’ve also experienced loss. Some losses are visible: the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, a career shift…

I have been interested in death for a long time. I am not a morbid person or even a pessimistic one, but I like preparing myself for what is to come. My interest started 30 years ago when I became close friends with a very reflective young man dying from AIDS. We ended up…

Every March, during Women’s History Month, we celebrate women who made history: pioneers, activists, leaders, and trailblazers whose names appear in books and documentaries. Their contributions deserve recognition. But as someone who works in the funeral…

There’s a particular kind of silence that can come with aging. It’s not the quiet of an empty house (although that can happen too). It’s the silence that comes when someone who used to call you regularly no longer does. Those not-so-subtle reminders can sneak up on you when a birthday passes…

If you’ve watched even five minutes of TV lately, you’ve probably heard the name Nancy Guthrie. She’s the 84‑year‑old Arizona woman – and mother of Today show co‑anchor Savannah Guthrie – who vanished from her home on February 1, 2026. As of this writing, she’s still missing, and the nation is collectively holding its breath…

Many women feel a quiet kind of grief after turning 60. It’s not always about losing someone, a job, or a big event. Often, it comes from missing the life once pictured. In a world of curated social media feeds, it’s easy to feel like the only one mourning a “perfect” future that didn’t arrive…

Living as a single woman after having been in a long-term relationship is a major adjustment. How is that for the understatement of the year? Whichever loss you went through, divorce or death, it isn’t an adjustment… it’s a major life change! And “grieving the loss” happens in both situations…