My Loss

test

Missing Dad on Super Bowl Sunday

By

I could care less about football, but my late father loved it. And on the weekend of the big game, I feel his absence acutely.

The Voicemail Afterlife

By

My grandma called daily and, I sometimes sent her to voicemail — rationalizing that I was just too busy to pick up. In the wake of her death, I cherish those recordings.

Looking Up at El Capitan

By

Dying while doing what we love is how we’d all like to go out. But as I watched my friends risk everything for the thrill of the climb, I felt compelled to remind them of the difference between challenge and folly.

When Everything Scared Me

By

After my parents died in a plane crash, there was grief, pain and loneliness. But above all, there was fear — until there wasn’t.

Losing Grandma Twice

By

Dementia stole my grandmother long ago, leaving me to mourn her all over again when she died years later.

Second-Hand Grief

By

Would the love of my life — reeling from the loss of her mother — ever be happy again?

Wild, Like Me

By

In a sold-out movie theater, watching the film based on Cheryl Strayed's bestseller, I saw my own experience with mother loss play out on the big screen.

Older Than She Was

By

I’ve officially lived longer than my mother did. Only now, on the other side, have I come to understand the life she lived.

My First Real World AIDS Day

By

My father died of AIDS 22 years ago. For more than two decades, I avoided World AIDS Day. This year, I'm owning my history. Here's why.

Small Screen Refuge

By

To distract ourselves from Dad's fatal diagnosis, my brother and I planted ourselves in front of the TV — inhaling a steady diet of "The Jetsons" and "The Dating Game."

Thanksgiving After Jack

By

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, my 12-year-old son went out to play in the rain and never came home. That year, everything about the holiday just felt wrong.

On Thanksgiving, Hitting the ‘Reset’ Button

By

We never had any holiday traditions, like the ones you see on TV. But in my mom's absence — and in her honor — I'm creating some.

Learning To Quiet My Mind

By

After my young son's death, yoga and meditation changed the shape of my grief.

Closing My Eyes, Seeing My Father

By

I refused to look at my dad in the morgue — a decision I came to second-guess. Then my father showed up in my dreams.

Around the World, Ashes in Tow

By

After watching cancer kill my father, I booked a one-way 'tribute trip' overseas. I don't know when I'll be ready to return.

Close to Death

By

I had just given birth to my third child and was training for a half-marathon when I had a heart attack. And as I lay in my hospital bed, I could hear the woman in the next room dying.

Hurricane Sandy’s Human Toll

By

Don't tell me hard it was to get to work during "superstorm" Sandy, or how long you lived without power. The hurricane killed my father right before my eyes.

It’s Halloween: Trigger Treat

By

Halloween imagery takes on new meaning in the wake of my father’s suicide.

There’s More Than One Way To Die With Dignity

By

Suffering from terminal cancer, Brittany Maynard made plans to end her life. My friend Chris Doheny, after a transplant rejection, made a different choice. Both should be respected.

Closure, There’s No Such Thing

By

I didn't see my ailing godmother during the final years of her life — thanks to my difficult relationship with her husband. In the aftermath of her death, I was overwhelmed by guilt.

1 … 19 20 21 22 23 … 27