Dear Bereaved Parent,
My daughter, Nikki, survived cancer when she was just a baby. Unfortunately, the cure caused a secondary cancer at age seven and she passed at the age of nine. She wrote a book, A Kid With Cancer, because she wanted to help other children going through cancer treatments.
Three years later my son, Michael, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of ten and he passed at the age of twelve.The photo on this page depicts his sister and father welcoming him home. My husband also passed from cancer just before my daughter. The painting was a gift from a Spokane, WA artist, Denise Bowles, whose daughter was a friend of Michael.
I know what it feels like to live with deep sorrow and how isolating it can be.
Everyone deals with loss in their own way. Whether it has been a few days, weeks, months, or years, grief is an individual journey. But, we all benefit from worthy companions we find along the way.
I have written these notes from one bereaved parent to another. My intent is that we all feel a little less alone.
Below is an archive of posts from Dear Bereaved Parent Facebook page.
Dear Bereaved Parent, I see you ….
Dear Bereaved Parent – Sometimes it feels like we are underwater
Dear Bereaved Parent – Does it ever get better?
Dear Bereaved Parent – Did they really say that?
Dear Bereaved Parent – Feeling like sorrow is a lifelong sentence
Dear Bereaved Parent – Did you really just laugh?
Dear Bereaved Parent – Grief is a solitary journey
Dear Bereaved Parent – Ever feel like others just don’t understand?
Dear Bereaved Parent – Sometimes the sadness can pull us down
Dear Bereaved Parent – Bereaved Mother’s Day …
Dear Bereaved Parent – Life can be so harsh at times
Dear Bereaved Parent – Mother’s Day – Ugh
Dear Bereaved Parent – Everyone wants us to be okay
Dear Bereaved Parent – Ideas grow
Dear Bereaved Parent – The world looks different
Dear Bereaved Parent – The price of love is grief
Dear Bereaved Parent – By any other name
Dear Bereaved Parent – It’s hard work
Dear Bereaved Parent – Birthdays
Dear Bereaved Parent – How long is too long
Dear Bereaved Parent – A part of our identity dies
Dear Bereaved Parent – Some days are just hard
Dear Bereaved Parent – Holding on to the pain
Dear Bereaved Parent – Grief is an internal process
Dear Bereaved Parent – Do our kids lives have purpose?
Dear Bereaved Parent – Strength of Spirit
Dear Bereaved Parent – Memories
Dear Bereaved Parent – Pressure
Dear Bereaved Parent – Identity
Dear Bereaved Parent – Choice
Dear Bereaved Parent – Unpredictable
Dear Bereaved Parent – Social situations
Dear Bereaved Parent – Signs
Dear Bereaved Parent – Silence