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Journeys Through Grief Newsletters
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JULY 2012
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| Greetings! | |
The interest in the Bereaved Parent newsletter is spreading like the summer heat here in Texas. We currently have 869 Journeys Through Grief Newsletter subscribers; 298 for this particular newsletter. Thank you for making this possible! I couldn't do it without you. Keep up the good work by forwarding this to families in need of help.
We have some wonderful articles once again. It's good to see that dads are joining the bandwagon and are willing to share their stories. By the way, if you have a particular interest in writing an article, please let me know.
There will be an August newsletter, but I am taking the month of September off to regroup, rest, and visit family in Mississippi and Ohio.
Much love and many HUGS,
Peggy
EMAIL
If you LIKE this issue please
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Redefined by the Death of a Child
by David Roberts
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 Jeannine's Story
In May of 2002, life seemed good......... and predictable. On May 2, 2002, my granddaughter Brianna was born. My daughter Jeannine, Brianna's mother, was at 18 and content with the way her life was going. I had two wonderful sons who were thriving well in school. I had been happily married for 20 years and was firmly entrenched in my job. I was officially awarded my master's degree in social work on May 19, 2002. On May 26, 2002, everything went horribly wrong. Jeannine was diagnosed with cancer. Continue reading....
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Safe Place ~ Bereaved Parent Retreat
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November 9 - 11, 2012
Mo-Ranch Presbyterian Assembly
Hunt, TX
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Share Your Story
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Would you like to share your story? You never know how many parents like yourself you will be helping. If you are interested please contact me. Thank you.
Peggy Sweeney
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Visit Our Archives
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Find all of our past newsletters
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Coursework in Grief
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a Lesson in Healing
a free online study program
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Jack, My Kindred Spirit
by Lucy Herd
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 Jack Edward Thomas Herd was my miracle baby. He was born on the 16th September 2008 at 8:20am. I had had 5 miscarriages before his birth, so the joy and excitement of his birth was magical. Jack blew kisses to the world. He made everyone smile the first time they met him. He was a happy and funny little boy. The 23 months I had him were filled with love, joy, adventure, and happiness. On August 27th 2010, a beautiful summer's day, my life would be changed forever. Jack wandered off from me whilst I was in the kitchen and I found him face down in our garden pond. Continue reading....
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Not a Walk in the Park
by Ben Sharples
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 My older brother, Paul, committed suicide on September 23, 1999. After the initial shock--which was considerable--subsided, the grief set in. For a full year, I don't think there was a day that went by that I didn't fall asleep or wake up crying; usually both. And though it's pretty foggy looking back on it, I remember spending most of my waking hours feeling pretty much torn apart. Continue reading.... |
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Discovering Love
by Barbara Ann Simone
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 Somewhere in my mid-twenties I made the conscious decision to live my life in service to Spirit. I embarked on the spiritual path and have never looked back. My husband and I have started a nonprofit which focuses on Compassion - dedicated to helping children and their caregivers move through the grieving process as they connect to their own powerful spirit. I believe the seeds of this new ministry started with a shocking experience I had, that has changed and inspired me forever. What was the experience that changed me forever? My dog died. At first it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Continue reading....
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Surviving a Loss, Rediscovering Joy
by Lois Goldrich
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Shoshana Grossman died at age 17, leaving her parents immeasurably saddened and shaken - if not in their faith, then in the belief that they would ever be joyful again. Shoshana's father Rabbi Rafael Grossman, author of My Shoshana: A Father's Journey Through Loss, says that now, some 40 years later, he and his wife Shirley have learned to rejoice in life's goodness. He wrote the book "to deliver this message of hope, that as excruciating as the pain and grief may be, we honor our deceased love ones by showing the strength to re-emerge into all of life, with its joys and challenges." Continue reading....
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A Mother Never Forgets
by Julie Ann Smith
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I remember the dates, times and places. It was a beautiful August 2nd morning, 2010 at our local hospital. I was interrupted in my thoughts by my daughter saying, "Mom, hello??...did you hear what the technician said?" "I am sorry, no", I replied. The technician said once again, "and what number of pregnancy is this for you?" The tears streamed down my face knowing that I would soon be a first time grandmother. Weeks later, I was awakened by a phone call from my daughter saying that she had started bleeding. We went to the hospital. She indeed had miscarried the baby. "What kind of mother am I?" I thought to myself as I realised how ill-equipped and unprepared I was for comforting my daughter during this most traumatic event in her life. Continue reading....
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Play That Funky Music
by Tom Wyatt
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Memories are extremely important to me and music has always been a very strong memory trigger for me. Ruth and I just got information on our 20-year high school reunion and the letter said that we would party and dance to the tunes we did way back in 1976. There was a questionnaire included with the reunion information asking all of the pertinent information about our lives. When I got to the part about how many children, names and ages, I knew exactly what I was to put down: Blake, 12; Kelsey, 4; John (deceased), 1986-1994, age4. Continue reading....
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Best Mom
by Keri Singleton |
 Editor Note: This poem was written by a friend of Nneka Hall in memory of her daughter, Annaya, who was stillborn on August 27, 2010 at 37 weeks on Nneka's 37th birthday.
Best Mom
By Keri Singleton
Tiny footprints, in the sand
Fingernails on a tiny hand
Small heartbeats with lots of love
Wings spread wide, like a dove
Sit back, close your eyes, hear her -
speak
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Newly Added Books, Blogs, and Websites
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Books
A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss
by Jerry Sittser
~~Loss came suddenly for Jerry Sittser. In an instant, a tragic car accident claimed three generations of his family: his mother, his wife, and his young daughter. While most of us will not experience such a catastrophic loss in our lifetime, all of us will taste it. And we can, if we choose, know as well the grace that transforms it. A Grace Disguised plumbs the depths of sorrow, whether due to illness, divorce, or the loss of someone we love. The circumstances are not important; what we do with those circumstances is.
My Shoshana: A Father's Journey Through Loss
by Rabbi Rafael Grossman
~~Rafael Grossman was the successful rabbi of a prominent synagogue, the president of his state's rabbinical council, and the dean of a Hebrew Day School when his teenage daughter Shoshana became ill. Shoshana, vibrant and energetic, a delight to her parents and everyone around her, died at the age of seventeen. After her death, Rabbi Grossman was sure that he would never regain his faith in God or his joy in living. He penned this heartfelt letter to Shoshana as an expression of his love, and his never-ending sorrow, but also of his sense of renewal.
More books available in our Library
Websites
Baby, Baby Where Did You Go?
Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back
Blogs
Radio Interview
Jennifer Scalise on Voice America - Every parent's worst nightmare is the death of their child. What had started as the dream vacation in Costa Rica ended in the tragic death of Jennifer's 12 year old daughter, Brooke Lauren Scalise.
Have something your would like to share? EMAIL ME
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Bereavement Study by Jeremy Broussard
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Surviving Suicide:
Understanding the Lived Experience of Bereaved Parents
Jeremy Broussard is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Lafayette and Abbeville, LA and also a student at Capella University working on his dissertation titled, "Surviving suicide: Understanding the lived experiences of bereaved parents." The purpose of his study is to understand how the parent-child relationship changes after the suicide death of a child and how this relationship informs the bereavement process. The findings from his research will be used to inform mental health professionals working with bereaved parents and assist in the development of effective treatment interventions. Mr. Broussard is requesting participation from those bereaved parents who have lost adolescent child aged 10 to 21 years old to suicide at least 1 year ago. In other words, parents must be at least 1 year into their grief in order to participate in my dissertation study.
If you are interested and meet the criteria click on the link below.
Bereavement Study
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 Mission Statement
The Sweeney Alliance, a non-profit, Texas-based organization, provides training programs and educational material relating to grief, post-traumatic stress, and suicide prevention for the general public as well as the emergency response communities and their families in North America. We promote a mentally healthy work environment through cooperation with local, state, and national fire service and law enforcement agencies and organizations.
Peggy Sweeney, Founder/Editor
1601 Quinlan Creek Drive
Kerrville, TX 78028
830.377.7389
EMAIL
Tax deductible donations are always appreciated
  
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