Voices of Experience: The Gift of Goodbye

 

Rebecca Whitehead Munn is passionate about rethinking possible and brings intellectual humility to all of her endeavors, including several teaching roles at the master’s level. Her passion in writing is to demystify taboo topics, such as cancer and death, and to inspire others to be courageous and learn about their loved ones’ wishes, while creating lasting connections. In this excerpt from her book, The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love, she shares part of her personal story of walking the End of Life path with her mother. 

While I felt very lucky to have the gift of time to say goodbye over a long period, it was quite a struggle to manage my grief and pain day by day. One of the tools I used for support and calm in the storm was getting regular massages to help my body release its sadness. When I visited Mom in Austin, I continued this practice and extended it to her. We would have someone come to Mom’s house, and we would both enjoy the peace we felt following every treatment.

Voices of Experience: A Butterfly

Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.  ~ Eskimo Proverb

Anne Bardsley believes in angels. She is the author of Angel Bumps, Hello From Heaven, a collection of tender stories from those who've received signs from their departed loved ones, reassuring them that they are still near in spirit. In this excerpt, Anne describes the signs she's received from her own mom that inspired her to gather similar stories from others, all demonstrating her firm belief that while people die, love is eternal.

A week after my mom passed, I was driving to work in tears. The reality of her death sank in that morning. I felt like an orphan. All of the tears that I’d held inside to be strong at the funeral, let loose. I just needed to know she was in Heaven and at peace, without pain. I asked her for a sign to assure me. I felt a hand rest ever so lightly on my right cheek, and I smiled and said: “What the heck was that, Mom?”