When someone dies grief can affect you emotionally physically spiritually and socially. What does it take to make it through the maze of emotions? After the numbness fades the pain intensifies and then what to do? One way of coping is to write about your experience. During my workshops I encourage participants to write a letter to their loved ones, those who died and those who are still alive. We have written poetry together. A poem is a great outlet. Even people who aren't

The past several weeks my youngest brother has been in the hospital facing life threatening diagnoses and very scary medical treatments. The scariest thing he has had to face though is the dangers of being in a hospital. The number of errors and missteps is astounding. My brother has been very stoic and calm. His poor wife on the other hand is an exhausted frightened woman. His kids are terrified. I am 3,000 miles away and it has been very difficult to sit around waiting for

"Sometimes I could feel myself getting down about a month before special dates. Try to stay busy and focus on good memories. Just know that it is normal to experience down times for the first few years around the holidays, birthdays and anniversaries." This is tip #96 of my 100 lessons to help you and your loved ones deal with loss in my latest book, Six Word Lessons on Coping with Grief. I no longer feel that sensation of 'sliding down the rabbit hole' when approaching the