Disenfranchised Grief: In The Wake of Girlfriend's Abortion

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.  ~ Kahlil Gibran

A reader writes: My girlfriend and I got pregnant about two months ago. She went and took the abortion pill yesterday.I begged her not to, to marry me and have this child. But she said no. She doesn't want to be in a relationship with me anymore. I am grieiving not only the loss of our possible child together, but the loss of our possible life together. I'm not even sure where to begin, but I still can't believe that she actually went through with it. 

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 24 - May 30, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Thanks for the kind review! "This reputable blog provides professional insight into the latest news on grief with a focus on the needs of professional and family caregivers. Grief Healing Blog’s professional insight is given by author and grief counselor Marty Tousley RN, MS, FT. She regularly features her responses to readers’ questions about grief in her blog posts." Blog Profiles: Grief Support Blogs « Beyond Bylines

In Grief: College Student Struggling with Too Many Losses

What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us. ~ Helen Keller

A reader writes: I don't know what to say, what to do, or where to go anymore. I have lost four very good friends within a 10 month time span -- two to death, one to multiple strokes and the other is in a psych institution for the entirety of his life. They were all my good friends, friends I trusted, friends I confided in, friends I did things with; they were all I had, and, now, they are gone. I am lost, sad, alone, and as each and every day goes by I get lonelier and lonelier without them.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 17 - May 23, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

We can’t visit the dying in hospitals, and we can’t gather for funerals—but technology can lessen the pain. Grief in the Time of COVID-19 «  Scientific American

Voices of Experience: Noticing The Signs

by Chelsea Hanson

It’s only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.  ~ Antione de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

If you are like me, you want to know if the person you miss is at peace, happy, and is okay. You may have asked, “Is my loved one really in heaven? or “Is her spirit still with me?” You may struggle with these questions and look for proof and validation, as I originally did.

Caregiving, Grief & Pet Loss, May 10 - May 16, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Many people falsely think that we get over grief, we recover from grief, we recover from a loss. The reality is [that] we learn to live with it. And we're learning to live with this. Now, what is important for us to understand is: there is no night that hasn't given way to a new day; there is no storm that didn't pass. This will pass, this will end someday.  David Kessler on learning to live with grief in a "grief-illiterate" culture « KCRW

Pet Loss: When Social Support Is Lacking

We don't heal in isolation, but in community. ~ S. Kelley Harrell

A reader writes:  As one who loves my companion animal and thinks of him as a family member, I am especially interested in the issue of moral/social support. If my husband were to be diagnosed with leukemia, I would be flooded with cards, flowers, and casseroles from family and friends. But if my cat is diagnosed with feline leukemia, it would hardly register a blip on the consciousness of even my closest friends and family members.

Caregiving & Grief, May 3 - May 9, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Optimal strategies for helping people develop new rituals to remember those who die during the COVID-19 era: Death, Grief and Funerals in the COVID Age « COVID White Paper

In the midst of a global pandemic, this day might actually feel a bit more aligned with what I want it to be. A Widowed Mother's Day à la COVID-19 « Modern Loss

In Grief: Young Widow Seeks Support

"I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with you ~ and then I realized that you spent the rest of your life with me." ~ Pinterest

A reader writes: Thanks for your advice that you have given to so many of us. I lost my husband 2 months ago. I am 26. He was 24. We were married for only 8 months before this tragedy struck. He and a friend died in a hiking accident. I went through what NO ONE should ever have to go through, unfortunately, all too many individuals suffer similar experiences. My heart aches for my friend and for my beloved husband most of all.

Understanding & Managing Grief, April 26 - May 2, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

With so many deaths around us from COVID-19 and the deaths that would occur even without the pandemic, how are these sorrows mourned? Is grief itself changed because of what is going on now? What a Pandemic Does to Grief « PsychCentral

MNHPC is partnering with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to offer a Grief Support Specialist Certificate course, offered virtually this June. UW-Madison Grief Certificate « MNHPC