Aftermath: Paperwork and Ribbons (Grieving Futures)
The only real ongoing mourning practice we have now is an unofficial one: paperwork — death certificates, hospital bills, legal papers, financial documents ad nauseum.
Skeptic’s Inspirational MIA?
The Skeptic's Inspirational, which is my ongoing series of daily positive, inspirational quotes and thoughts for skeptics of all stripes, has been moved to its own page: Skeptic's Inspirational. I stopped it for a while because I thought the daily posts were...
Purpose Matters
One reaction mourners get when admitting to atheism or any form of non-deism is the incredulous, well-meaning but slightly accusatory, "How can you live with the idea that it was all just pointless?" Better critics than I have unpacked the ridiculousness of that...
Bringing in an empty year
I am hitting the 20 year mark for my mother's death. In the spring of 1993, she was diagnosed with fatal colon-rectal cancer. She had already been in pain and bleeding for nearly a year. She did not go seek medical help earlier because she believed we couldn't afford...
Doctors and Grief
The doctors I dealt with were all good practitioners and good people, but their jobs give them so much exposure to pain, suffering and death that their own coping mechanisms were broken.
Sometimes we crack apart
My parents died and part of me just assumed that “home” died with them. That when I walked out of the house on Alta Vista Street, I was walking away from home forever.
Remembering Sacred
Nearly a week ago, on December 14th, 2012, a lone gunman broke into a primary school and went on a murderous rampage. He killed 20 children and six adults before committing suicide. The citizens of Newtown, Connecticut are still in shock. Many families lost loved ones...
You want a physicist to speak at your funeral
In summary, Aaron Freeman waxes very poetically about the benefits of having a physicist speak at your funeral to explain the concepts of energy and eternity to people who are grieving. It’s just beautiful.
It’s baaaack!
Finally, FINALLY! I have the second edition of Grieving Futures available for you! (link will open a PDF file!) This edition does not represent a marked changed from the first as far as content goes; I did not take much away or add anything new. However, I did have a...
Tell me about it
Grief is so scary to people that platitudes are easier.
Gratitude in the Void
Today in the United States of America, it is Thanksgiving, but in truth there are many things I'm not grateful for. Such as, the deaths of my parents. No, I will never be grateful for that. Thanksgiving is the holiday I remember most from my childhood.It was the...
Tragedy changes us; Patience tempers us; Fortitude keeps us going.
Lessons in grief, crisis, and recovery from 30 years of life as an adult orphan from a GenX woman who has resentfully struggled every step of the way.
