To be bereaved by suicide is widely accepted as being one of the most difficult bereavements to cope with. There are so many unanswered questions and endless possibilities for blaming yourself. To be bereaved by the suicide of one of your children is exponentially worse. As a parent you want the best for your children.…
Some thoughts on coping with the sudden death of a loved one. As many people reading this will have sadly experienced, in some respects, every death is sudden. Even if the death is more or less gradual or anticipated – a long decline from illness is one example – it might seem sudden when the…
(A personal post – I’m pre-writing this and it will be published on 13th April, as I am not going to be blogging that day. This post is in remembrance of Catherine and Pax, but I also hope it will be an encouragement to those who are struggling with recent bereavements. Hopefully you will reach…
A post about judgemental attitudes towards our loved one, particularly when their life choices did not match expectations or wishes. Criticism could come from outside – from other people – or from within ourselves. Managing our grief in this situation can be complex. Awhile back I participated in a very useful conference organised by Bereaved…
How you cope after someone you love dies can depend on so many different circumstances. For instance: Your personality The place and role they had in your life Who you have around you now – who is left in your household Whether you are financially secure Your health Your belief system Your support network …and…
I have literally thousands of photos I’ve taken on my computer. Some are quite good but many are rubbish. One day I will have to sort through them properly, but that day is not today. Time seems to be passing slowly at the moment, which tends to happen when we have no events to break…
Recently I gave an interview to a magazine regarding the ‘Living with Loss’ project and how it came about. This is something I often reflect upon, especially since the project has grown beyond anything I could have imagined. Of course it all starts with my children. This is a bit more of my story and…
Recently I wrote about the aloneness of grief, but there is another side to the story which is the topic of this post: finding some relief from the loneliness of grief. There is a certain solidarity amongst those who are bereaved in somewhat similar circumstances – a level of understanding that might not exist in…
A Valley Journal 
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