grief

Losing a family member is one of the most traumatic life events; Families must support one another to endure the five stages of grief and get through it together.

Shadows
When people die, they leave shadows of themselves… and everything about the place they inhabited is never quite the same. There's an eerie quietness there- the chair at his home office where he used to sit. The model car collection he cherished. The plans for a new project spread across his desk. It's almost as if he left them and was going to come right back to it like he always did. But this time, of course, he didn't.
By Leah Morrison5 years ago in Families
Housecalls
It shouldn't have surprised me when I walked into the house and found Dad asleep in the brown leather recliner I'd bought for him last winter.
By Chris Kelsey5 years ago in Families
A life given and a life taken away.
She woke up and felt sick. Her stomach was turning. She was sweating through her pjs, even though the window had been left open all night, and it was the middle of winter. She pulled out her phone, went to her calendar, and began to read the list of all the things she had to do.
By Kiamya Dowl II5 years ago in Families
Mother and Son
A graveyard is not somewhere one wishes to be but will always end up in no matter what. John didn’t really have a good relationship with his mother. He moved out at the age of 16, his father had left the family when he was 6 and his mother never really seemed to be impacted by the situation. They never really talked about it but at the same time, they really never talked about anything. The house was always silent and John never really cared. He was always occupied in his room sketching characters for comic book ideas.
By PoeticJames5 years ago in Families
A Fine Life
A Fine Life By: Mary McCarthy Maggie knew it was time. It had been time for a while. Then again, who can really put a timeline on grief? The big stuff had been dealt with. The only things left were a few boxes filled with old pictures, miscellaneous documents, and other random belongings of Mom. The sum of the 76 years of her life, reduced to a few boxes.
By Mary M McCarthy5 years ago in Families
Try
Was it clear from the message what they wanted him to do? * The letter arrived in a beautiful envelope, with his name and address written in embossed letters on red glossy paper. He had woken up that morning wondering if he was going to speak to his neighbor about their dog and their children again (they were always teasing the poor thing when he saw them in their yard). At his front door, he picked up the letter and thought that this might be another joke. But as he read the note inside, he realized that this was a real company and that he knew the name of the man who had contacted him. This was real.
By Kendall Defoe 5 years ago in Families
Hidden Sorrow
“Pete… This is your father. I don’t know… I have to tell you something. It’s important! Why don’t you ever pick up when I call… Pete… I lo.” (Click)
By Mark Habus5 years ago in Families
Death Comes Softly
Death Comes Softly It had been decided. The old woman's family had gathered with the doctors and staff; her final wishes were discussed, and the decision made to discontinue her life support.
By Melanie Black5 years ago in Families
The Eulogy
The Eulogy I stare down the hallway which seems to stretch into eternity. The drab walls filled with cheap canvas paintings found at any knockoff home goods store. A gallery of family photos, poor resolution and fake smiles abound. Today is the funeral, but my eyes are dry as I walk through my mother’s house. I stop at each room briefly; rooms that represent all the memories. They call out to me, beckon me with a familiar sense of impending doom. The reality of a cold childhood imprinted onto the fading wallpaper. I walk into the master bedroom and sit on a perfectly made bed, adorned with about ten too many pillows. I’m holding a crisp white envelope with my name written on it in red ink, my mother’s favorite color pen to write with. Who uses a red pen? Inside the envelope is a check for $20,000 and that is it. No letter. No parting words.
By A.Vox5 years ago in Families
Shattered
Out of the blue, the call came, Sara was out walking the dog. Grace had still a whole stack of papers to grade. Fuck, she thought how would I tell her what just happened, how would I deliver this gentle, why this now with everything that had happened?
By Claire Hunter5 years ago in Families
Just one more Covid death...
The daily Coronavirus death toll in the UK rose that day by one thousand, four hundred and one. My brother-in-law was that one.
By Jon McKnight5 years ago in Families
A Mother's Loss
The date is June 14, 1994. You’re lying on the dreaded sofa. You don’t know why you actually came to one of these god-for-saken places. All you know is that you need someone to talk to. Someone that isn’t your husband.
By J. M.5 years ago in Families