Life After Loss

Option B: A Grief Book Review

Option B has sat on my nightstand for 6 months.  It’s been my “next to read” book for approximately that same amount of time.  I’m just not a huge reader anymore, but I’m really trying to be better about that.  Reading more will (at the very least) make me feel a bit better about my out-of-control TV habit.

I wanted to read Option B to expand my understanding of my grief experience.  While the author lost her husband, not a child, I heard that it was still really relatable from one of my loss mom friends.  What I learned while reading it is that anyone could benefit from reading this book, even if you’re not in the throes of complex grief yourself.  In fact, I’d actually especially recommend it if you aren’t.  My experience has been that a lot of people absolutely do not know how to interact with someone who is experiencing complex grief, and this book is a perfect little toolkit to help folks understand what’s happening and what they should do.

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Life After Loss

Thanksgiving: The Epilogue

It’s almost the day after Thanksgiving, and I’m going to officially put Thanksgiving into the category of “things that were not as bad as I thought they were going to be”.  No one asked me what I was thankful for, and no one got punched.  When I was younger, that was actually a “tradition” someone started.  I don’t remember who, but I do remember going around the table and everyone being expected to share.  Let’s just be thankful that little tradition didn’t make its way into 2017 Thanksgiving.

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Life After Loss

How to Tell a Loss Mom About a Pregnancy

I’ve written my fair share of “What NOT to do” pieces on this blog.  I’ve often wondered why it seems to be so hard to think before you speak, or to consider your audience.  Pregnancy announcements are an uncomfortable subject to broach when you’re sharing the news with a loss mom.  There are good odds that a loss mom will come away from the conversation thinking it was handled poorly.  Remember, I wrote this gem about sucky pregnancy announcements.

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