Death of An Adult Child: Resources for Bereaved Parents

I don't think of him every day; I think of him every hour of every day. ~ Gregory Peck, in an interview many years after the death of his son

In the ordinary course of events, we parents don't expect to out-live our own grown children. But when an adult child does precede us in death, it shatters our assumptive world and brings us to our knees. It goes against what we perceive to be the natural order of things, and it feels very, very unfair.

At such a sorrowful time, where can bereaved parents turn for understanding, comfort and support?

Worldwide Candle Lighting Service, 2012

 Candles will glow on Sunday, December 9 when tens of thousands of bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives, and friends around the globe will join together to light remembrance candles to honor the memories of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

Held annually the second Sunday in December, this will be the 16th Worldwide Candle Lighting sponsored by The Compassionate Friends (TCF), the nation’s largest self-help bereavement organization for families that have suffered the tragic loss of a child. TCF has more than 650 chapters in the United States, with sister organizations in at least 30 countries around the globe.

When An Adult Child Dies: Resources for Bereaved Parents

Find an updated version of this post here: 

Death of An Adult Child: Resources for Bereaved Parents

In the ordinary course of events, we parents don't expect to out-live our own grown children. But when an adult child does precede us in death, it shatters our assumptive world and brings us to our knees. 

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 4 - December 10, 2011

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

• In this touching video, a widow eulogizes her "beautifully imperfect" husband, http://j.mp/vCvmdb
  
  
• Grief: Counting the Days, Weeks, Months « Bertram's Blog, j.mp/skCTs7
  
  
• When There Is No Jingle In The Bells - Grief Healing Discussion Groups, http://j.mp/v5OWVE
  
  
• Blogs (and Books) for Bereaved Parents http://j.mp/v577pf
  
  
• Understanding Secondary Losses In Grief - Grief Healing Discussion Groups, http://j.mp/sfnbWR

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 5 - December 11

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

• The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting Service this Sunday, Dec. 12, 7 pm local time, http://bit.ly/fTT4in

• Dealing with the Loss of an Online Friendship, http://ow.ly/3n9QB by @shady_wilbury via @LaMuscarella

• Ten Tips for Handling Grief During the Holidays, via @opentohope webinar http://ow.ly/3nd1A RT @LaMuscarella 

• "Huge list of blogs by widowed people," http://bit.ly/eernDg by @Freshwidow 

• Elizabeth Edwards (3): Dying at home, http://bit.ly/dZgauR by @Freshwidow

• Reflections on a Resilient Life: Remembering Elizabeth Edwards, http://nblo.gs/bHciO by @KSBuckley

• Winter, Grief and the Dark Night of the Soul, http://bit.ly/hIEc1V by @BethSPatterson 

• TheCompassionate Friends announces a partnership with theRabbit Hole movie, http://bit.ly/hUbn08 via @Joannefunch

• Elizabeth Edwards Embodied the Hero Archetype, http://bit.ly/efQVjW by @HopefulMJ 

• Widower Wednesday: Making New Holiday Traditions, http://bit.ly/fKI5fz by @abelkeogh

• NHPCO message of condolence on death of Elizabeth Edwards is online, http://bit.ly/ib0YiG via @NHPCO_news

• Coping with ‘Shutdown Spells’ in Grief, http://bit.ly/evi8HF 

• Wonderful! we LOVE each other: a healing journal for grieving children, http://bit.ly/fZRLih by Julie McLellan-Mariano

• Visit (and like!) Wings Grief Education Ministry on Facebook, http://on.fb.me/ieTyWn

Worldwide Candle Lighting Service, 2010

Held annually the second Sunday in December, this year on December 12, 2010 at 7 p.m., The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died ~ at any age, from any cause. Candles are lit at 7 p.m. in participants' own local time zones, creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light that moves from one time zone to another throughout the world.  Hundreds of thousands of persons will join to commemorate and honor deceased children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.  Formal candle lighting events are held in public venues, and informal candle lightings are conducted in private homes, as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but who never will be forgotten.

You're also invited to visit TCF's national Web site on Sunday, December 12 to leave a message in their Remembrance Book. Although messages can only be added during this day, the Remembrance Book will be left open throughout the year to enable visitors to read these touching messages from around the world.  You can join in the Online Support Community during its extended Worldwide Candle Lighting Hours. 

Find a Worldwide Candle Lighting Service in your own community here: 2010 Annual Worldwide Candle Lighting Services, or visit the Compassionate Friends/USA Facebook Page.  For information of any type related to the Worldwide Candle Lighting, write nationaloffice@compassionatefriends.org or call 877-969-0010.

Songwriter and ASCAP award winner Paul Alexander wrote the music and lyrics for Light a Candle, a song of remembrance that has been used to enhance thousands of such memorial services.  Listen to the song and find the lyrics here:

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 4 - July 10, 2010

From Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• @NAGCnews: Grief in the news: Wall Street Journal makes misleading statement, http://eepurl.com/GNg9
   
• @soaringspirits: Connecting with peers is a vital way to live through loss - Camp Widow, August 6-8, San Diego, CA, http://bit.ly/am4KTD

• @BethSPatterson: Helping the Person with Dementia After the Death of a Loved One, http://bit.ly/bZHV4j 

• Catherine Tidd: ‘Lonely’ Not Powerful Enough Word to Describe Widowhood, http://bit.ly/aXaHYV

• @Joannefunch @MyWiredStyle: Volunteering is up! Great way to use strengths, test drive a new career, http://bit.ly/bnWSS6