BY BETH MCLAUGHLINFEBRUARY 18, 2024 7:00 AM State of the Story (SoTS) kicks off with its first event of the spring season at 7 p.m. Monday at 3 Dots Downtown. Eight storytellers will share their stories of love and loss as part of the special partnership between State of the […]

How does love live on? Storytellers will tackle the question



BY JACKIE NAGINEY HOOKDECEMBER 24, 2023 7:00 AM It was Christmas Eve 1993 and my husband, John, and I were spending the holidays at my parent’s house in Austin, Texas. I was doing my daily meditation when these words came into my mind: “Love. Help. Hope. You will have babies.” […]

How to change anxious waiting into expectant waiting



BY JD DUNBAR NOVEMBER 26, 2023 There are no prescribed guideposts for losing a family member of this caliber. How do we mourn the loss and celebrate the life of our pets? Since there is little social acknowledgment relative to a pet’s death, the grieving is usually a lonely sojourn, […]

‘Walking Whiskey Home’ with those touched by dog’s life


BY BETH MCLAUGHLIN OCTOBER 22, 2023 When I was 35, I took a solo trip to Vermont. I spent a few days at a mountain top inn and rode horses every day. Up near Stowe, I hiked to Sterling Pond. Beside those still waters, I sat quietly. All alone, I […]

The power of ‘more’


BY CHRIS CALKINSSEPTEMBER 24, 2023 6:00 AM For many years, my work as a health care administrator and teacher have intersected in meaningful ways. I have had the unique honor of being present at the end of life with several individuals, and stood with families in the moments before and […]

Practicing empathy prepares us for the inevitabilities of life



BY VALERIE STAPLETONAUGUST 27, 2023 6:00 AM People can leave you when you’re not ready. Sometimes they leave with no remnants of connection left behind. When one of my closest friends took his own life, I turned to art to stay sane. On Aug. 25, 2019, I got the call […]

Art helped find a connection after catastrophe


BY JACKIE NAGINEY HOOKJULY 30, 2023 6:00 AM I answered the phone and could tell this friend was unsettled. A relationship and job possibility had both ended for him. Grief had come for a visit, but I didn’t recognize it at first. As a spiritual director, celebrant and end-of-life doula […]

‘Helping’ someone who is grieving may look different


BY MIKE BERRENAJUNE 25, 2023 7:00 AM Many men describe their grief experiences as feeling devoid of emotion and lacking tears. My father, Lou, was not like other men. He shared his loss and his grief openly, showing tears and savoring memories of when he lost my mother and my […]

Dad provided model of grief and grieving that helped through ...



BY LAURI PERMANMAY 28, 2023 6:00 AM When my teenage sister died in a car accident, friends and neighbors blessed our family with oodles of food. The large dining room table, used only on holidays, was covered with food, enough to serve all the out-of-town family members who crowded in […]

Dementia brings ‘unofficial loss’ and often leads to grieving alone