Writing through Grief
Grief Reflection: The Personal Blog
Grief Reflection is a term used in the Storybooks for Healing program for the process of writing, listening and sharing the stories of life, grief and finding meaning after loss. Follow the personal journal of Joan Hitchens, founder of SFH, as she navigates grief in context to her life while caring for her husband with terminal cancer, her work as SFH owner and her musing as a hospice volunteer.Read now...
Featured
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My Storybook Publisher: A Cup of Joy
Some of the most quiet moments are often the most difficult after a loss. Mornings, late nights, time alone. These are reflective moments that can bring thoughts of joy along with the heartbreak. Do you sometimes yearn to have one more cup of coffee or… -
On Writing: Being Purposeful
Writing is discovery. Writing is a path to our inside voice. In fact, all forms of creative expression can help us reflect on what we really think and feel. Writing, dreaming, painting, music, and movement are all forms of creative expression. Through a conscious effort… -
Borrowing Rituals: Bon Odori
Do you commemorate your loss through any kind of ritual? From burial and funerals to family traditions and community events, rituals help people in grief connect with with their loved one. How do you fell about borrowing rituals from other religions or cultures? Would you join the dancers of Japan in Bon Odori?
More Articles
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Daddy’s Girl
Holiday memories. Guest writer and author Alicia King shares an endearing story that spans three generations of valentine tradition transcending her loss. -
12 Healing Words for the New Year
If healing from grief after loss is in your 2011 New Year’s resolutions, start with your vocabulary. Words can have a powerful affect on our well-being. Words of love and encouragement heal. Words of bitterness and pain destroy. Here are 12 Healing Words to inspire steps for a healthy and memorable new year from Storybooks for Healing. -
Grief Doesn’t Take a Holiday
Grief doesn’t take a holiday. So it’s up to you to carve out some time and stress-reducing strategies for coping during the winter months. Memories of a loved one who has died can bring bittersweet emotions. Here’s some ideas to help you through now, and most any time of the year. -
What to Say… When You Don’t Know What To Say
What can you say to help a friend through grief? What should not say? Do you say or do nothing after a loss in fear of saying the wrong thing? Read these heartfelt tips from the viewpoint of the recipient. -
Storybook Perfect Scanning
Preserving memories start with a good scan of your photos and memorabilia to illustrate your stories. Learn the basics of resolution, color and file formats to jump start your creative use of photos and memorabilia in a Storybooks For Healing project. -
On the Same Page
Finding support to help you through grief may be as close as family and friends. But are they really on the same page as you? Being “on the same page” is a conversation with others who really “get” what you are going through in your grief. Here’s why meeting strangers in a support group can be more effective in helping... -
Book Review: A Lifetime of Secrets
Secrets lose their power over their holder once they get released – they are no longer secret. Through anonymous postcards, thousands reveal their grief, pain, memories as well as hope. In the PostSecrets series compiled by Frank Warren everyone now has access to the recesses of human experiences good and bad. -
You Are the Expert on Your Grief
One premise of the Storybooks For Healing (SFH) program is that grief is universal, yet loss is individual. Through Grief Reflection, there are three layers about your grief to understand: The universality of grief; the bond with someone who experiences the same type of loss; and your own personal, individual loss. -
Loss and Found: An Adoption Story
Adoptions can be full of secrets, shame, and guilt that go on for years and years. Opening the door to the loss, the healing and the struggles as the birth mother is not easy but is worth learning what life and hope lurks behind the darkness. -
Voice of Widows Resounds Hope
Grief and loss are universal, but bring people who share the same type of loss together and it can build a special friendship, understanding and support family and friends can’t always provide. The Widow’s Voice blog connects people who have lost a partner through the eyes of seven different writers as they provides insight into the ups and downs of... -
On Writing: The Audience
Writing through grief and loss can be cathartic and healing. But who are you writing for? This fundamental question is one of the most important determinants for writing your Storybook for Healing, and even sharing grief in general. The answer may surprise you as your journey through reflection on life, grief, and the gifts you find along the way present... -
Is it Hello or Goodbye?
Is sending a balloon tribute in memory to your loved one saying hello or goodbye? The 5th Brigade of Joint Base Ft. Lewis-McChord gathers to honor loved ones who have died.
