BY MARY CURRANSEPTEMBER 27, 2020 09:00 AM Let’s face it, no one looks forward to planning a funeral or memorial service. Three years ago after the death of my husband, I was faced with just that task. Even when death is expected, as his was following a steep decline after […]

Mourning in a Virtual World

AUGUST 23, 2020 08:00 AM , UPDATED AUGUST 23, 2020 03:29 PM During these times of COVID-19 there are many losses students are facing. A graduate level class at Penn State shared some of theirs last month: Some personal losses I am experiencing are loss of personal contact, loss of […]

Their Own Losses, Their Own Words

BY EVELYN WALD JULY 26, 2020 08:00 AM Every year at the Out of the Darkness Walk I have the honor of leading the group in a poem: “We Remember Them” written by Rabbi Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer. “In the rising of the sun and its going down, […]

Learning to Live: How Remembering Helps Us Heal

BY BETH SHAHA June 28, 2020 I am like a canary. Years ago, canaries were used to help determine if a mine was safe from poisonous toxins in the air. Miners couldn’t sense these toxins, only canaries could. A canary is built sensitive enough to feel the toxins. If the […]

How Can We Listen to the Canaries in Our Lives?

BY JEREMY FILKO May 24, 2020 My loss came in the blink of an eye and is at the very center of what makes me who I am. One day I was newly promoted at my firm, the next I was struggling to talk. I felt like a marionette, watching […]

Broken Memories Create Loss of Ties

By Beth McLaughlin, Kate Kostohryz, Jackie Naginey Hook and Evelyn Wald, May 3, 2020 Dear State College Community, Hi, how are you?  No, really, how are you? On any given day, and often in any given hour, this question may be answered in very different ways. Our sense of wellness, […]

Join a Wellness of Grief Virtual Gathering to Cope with ...

By Jackie Naginey Hook, March 29, 2020 One day last week, my husband and I were out on our morning walk through the neighborhood. The air was crisp and the sky a vivid, cloudless blue. Each time we came upon a neighbor, we made sure to maintain the appropriate social […]

Learning to Live with Pandemic Losses by Moving

By Beth McLaughlin, February 23, 2020 Stories need to be told. Stories need to be heard. That’s exactly what happened Monday night, February 17th, when six local storytellers took to the stage in The Attic of The State Theatre. The stories were heartfelt and compelling. There was laughter. There were […]

The Story Behind ‘My Life: Re-Launched’

By Lauri Perman, January 26, 2020 When someone you love is slowly fading away, it creates a lot of anxiety. You feel you should “do” something and yet you can’t. Over a period of more than ten years, my husband Tom slowly faded away both cognitively and physically. For the […]

The Importance of Being Present to Someone Who’s Dying

By Jackie Naginey Hook, December 22, 2019 What would happen if Grief Came to Lunch? A group of local professionals recently found out when Grief came to the TIDES Grief Matters’ educational seminar for school faculty, counselors, therapists and clinicians. Grief was played by one of the presenters who wore a […]

What Happens When Grief Comes to Lunch?