A Forensic Exploration Into Understanding Suicide August 22, 2014 • 2 Comments I have been pondering suicide from a more forensic point of view, trying to understand what it is that makes the subject so very difficult for us to explore and discuss in a way that will ultimately be healing and expansive on both the collective, and individual, levels. This exploration has grown out of the soil of my own discomfort…
Unearth Your Inner Compass and Find Your Passion August 20, 2014 • 3 Comments I first posted this over a year ago and when I re-read it I thought a reprise would be appropriate because my daughter has a job at a cool salon and this past week moved into a house. I couldn’t be more proud of her. When our lives intersected with the events in 2010, all the plans we had been…
On Robin Williams’ Death and the Suicide Epidemic August 18, 2014 • 7 Comments Robin Williams’ death, and the subsequent media storm, rendered me wordless last week. I tried to write, but couldn’t find words to express the sadness I felt. From the moment I heard about his suicide, I was lulled into a kind of trance, watching the media swirl around, offering up vacuous commentary and opinions. Why did a news feed need…
Thoughts on Google Alerts and Breaking the Cycle of Suffering August 8, 2014 • 3 Comments I discovered sometime ago that members of my husband’s family have a Google Alert on my name. I assume it is how they discovered and subsequently sabotaged the webinar I wrote about last week. I have to admit it is rather unsettling and eerie to think that they are watching my every Internet move. I use the Google Alert feature…
On Blaming Others: The Insidious Nature of Blame July 25, 2014 • 5 Comments There are a lot of pieces to my story that I have not shared yet. Some things are in the book, others I am still working through and processing. It continues to amaze me how long it takes to make sense of the emotions and pain that go along with suicide. One aspect I have not spoken much about here…
My Story, Your Story: On Coping with Loss and Beginning Again July 18, 2014 • 17 Comments I have been revisiting some of my blog posts this summer and when I came across this one I knew I had to re-post it. I wrote it at the beginning of this blogging journey. It clearly details my “why” and comes straight from my broken heart and wounded soul. I needed to be reminded of these precious things and…
Dealing with Loss: Healing Through Mentoring and Conversation July 11, 2014 • 0 Comments It is difficult to believe that it has been a year since my singing debut and fiftieth birthday. So much has happened since then, and of course it means another year sandwiched between the life changing summer and the present. In many ways, it seems like yesterday, in others, another lifetime. As the fourth year passes, I find that I…
Talking to Children About Death: Healing and Conversation June 23, 2014 • 2 Comments Last week I had the opportunity to share my story with a wonderful group of people who graciously allowed me to unfurl before them. I really enjoy this kind of interaction with small groups. Answering questions forces me to dig deeper into what I have learned and how it might apply to the others dealing with loss. It is very…
Conversation: A Sacred Vessel of Healing Exploration May 26, 2014 • 0 Comments I continue to cross paths with people who have been touched by suicide and the common denominator in all these encounters seems to be the unfortunate feeling of isolation, because no one in the family talks about it. The event is relegated to the “unmentionable topics” closet that all families, and cultures, seem to have, and left to fester in…
Reinventing Your Life After Loss: The Heartbeat of Devotion May 21, 2014 • 2 Comments One of the remarkable things I remember the most about those first few moments and days was my heart, as though it was pounding its way out of my chest. No amount of Xanax could slow it down. As revelations came to light about my life and shards of the facade fell away, it was my heartbeat that I could…