By Jackie Naginey HookSeptember 07, 2024 7:07 AM Years ago when I was in spiritual director training, Jo Ann Kunz, was one of my instructors. She taught me a practice she called, “Doing a Write.” This process is one I’ve done myself many times since, and also adapted to include […]

How to process grief through story

BY JACKIE NAGINEY HOOKJUNE 23, 2024 7:00 AM When we started this initiative back in 2015, I liked what we chose to name it — “Learning to Live: What’s Your Story?” What I didn’t know then was how I would grow to appreciate that choice, and also appreciate applying those […]

Meeting the needs of mourning

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