Grief Out Loud

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Now displaying: November, 2018

Remember the last time you tried to talk about grief and suddenly everyone left the room? Grief Out Loud is opening up this often avoided conversation because grief is hard enough without having to go through it alone. We bring you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families in Portland, Oregon.

Ep. 97: An Unexpected Devastation 0

Nov 28, 2018

For Camila, death came barreling into her world with zero warning. When she was 21 her world shifted on its axis on an average morning in September. She woke up in the house she shared with her mother in the Bay Area expecting just another day. Then, she went to check on her mother, only to find that she had died in her sleep. There were no warning signs. No indicators that anything was amiss. Her mom was there and then she wasn’t. In the 9 years since that morning, Camila has grieved intensely and intently. She’s searched for connections with her mother, finding an outlet for expression in writing.

Check out Camila's recently published book of poetry: The Progression of Grief.

Full text of the poem Camila reads at the end of the episode:

The Absence of Her

As the crisp November breeze

Drowns out the rest of October,

The aching sadness

Meanders in.

At first, I attribute it

To anxiety,

To my fear of scarcity

Rooted from fantasy nightmares

Instead of reality.

I want to blame it on

The cold

Or how nostalgic the

Changing seasons

Makes me feel.

But as the days pass,

And it becomes mid November,

And the familiarity of this pain

Settles into all the crevices of my heart,

I know what this really is.

My grief returns,

Amused mildly at my assessment

That it ever left.

As the orange and yellow leaves

Are more present crumbled on the ground

Than dancing on the branches,

I feel myself pulling inwards.

In the absence of

The lady in purple,

The woman who always made me feel

Like everything would be okay,

I have created a life that I love.

A life better than I ever

Could have imagined.

And yet,

The absence of her,

At times --

Many times,

Still feels gaping,

Still feels unjust,

Still feels like I will never recover.

In the absence of

The lady in purple,

I allow myself to see all

The signs of hope and connection,

Always craving another connection to her.

As we barrel forwards,

Approaching another holiday season,

Another winter,

Another year,

The hole within me still feels gaping,

Still feels empty,

Still craving her love and comfort

to fill it.
~Camila Martin

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Ep. 96: Dear Me, A Mini-Episode 0

Nov 20, 2018

November is National Children's Grief Awareness Month and as part of the effort to raise awareness about children's grief, the National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) invited people to write a letter to their younger grieving selves. In this mini-episode, we share two of those letters. One by Brennan Wood, the Executive Director of The Dougy Center, to her 12-year-old self. The second letter is a compilation of suggestions and advice for the staff at The Dougy Center. To learn more about the NAGC and their work to support grieving children, visit their site.

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