Dear Reader,
Years ago I wrote and published an article about how people grieve. One of the women that I interviewed had three very close family members die, one after another, over a few months time. Consequently, just when she would finish arranging one funeral, she had to begin planning another. It was a whirlwind of death that left her stopping and starting a process that seemed to have no clear beginning or end.
Grieving for all three people at one time was too overwhelming. The woman's work and health were suffering and it quickly became clear, that she had to find a way to grieve for one person at a time. This was her solution:
She found three shoe boxes and labeled one for each of the three People who had passed on. The boxes were physically empty, but in her mind, they held the memories and the consuming grief that she felt for each person. The boxes allowed her to concentrate on grieving one person at a time, without fear that the memories of the others would slip away.
One box she kept with her and the other two she put high up on a shelf. It comforted her knowing the memories were safe and within reach, and whenever she felt ready to move on, she could take another box off the shelf.
Her solution was a lifesaving one and has been my personal savior when everything "bad" seems to hit me at once. Whenever I find myself overwhelmed with too much sadness and I feel lost, I label the boxes, putting them all up on the shelf, except one--and I begin.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
LAVENDAR BLUE MURDER (Mystery) by Laura Childs
As tea shop owner Theodosia and her tea sommelier Drayton enjoy a British-style day of shooting at Creekmore Plantation, gunshots explode like Black Cat firecrackers. But the distinctive pop of a handgun sounds too close for comfort. Theodosia wanders into a neighboring lavender field and discovers their host Reginald Doyle bleeding to death. Hours later, a fire rips through the Doyle's plantation house. A shooting and a fire feel way too coincidental, so Theodosia launches an investigation. This is one of my most action-packed mysteries yet!
Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on LAVENDAR BLUE MURDER to read more and to email author Laura Childs, you'll get a reply.
Comments