Befriending Grief

Good Morning Cory, Lute, Laurie, and Amy! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's snow day - wow! I found it so beautiful until we found our snow blower not starting. 😣 Ah well, got a lot of exercise shoveling! As promised, I wanted to be sure to send along the handout from the last week in February so that you can do the ritual on your own. In circle together at Healing Roots, we gathered around a small cauldron (but any fireproof container will do!) and wrote/draw/doodled on slips of paper before...

An Invitation to Remember connecting with the strength of our lineage WEBSITE GRIEF CIRCLES 1:1 GUIDANCE YOUTUBE BLOG Good Morning Reader, In my family, stories of remembrance were shared often - especially on my dad’s side. Both of my parents spoke frequently about their love for their parents, but my dad had a deeper connection to our family lineage. We even have a documented family tree tracing back to the late 1500s, compiled by a great aunt who traveled to Norway and Scotland to connect...

Andrea Gerrard Integrative Grief Guide |Writer |Teacher Dear Reader, We are approaching a sacred time of year when the veil between the physical world and the spirit realm is believed to be at its thinnest. This period, often associated with Samhain, Halloween, and Día de los Muertos, is a time of deep reflection and connection - a time when many cultures honor those who have walked before us, welcoming the presence of ancestors and loved ones who have passed. This season reminds us of the...

A Hands-On Goodbye Good Morning Reader, The morning sunrise arrives a little later, and the evening sunset a little earlier - almost as if the passing of time is speeding up. The days of stepping outside without a heavy jacket are slipping away, and I find myself savoring these final moments of warmth as the days shorten and the nights stretch longer. This time of year brings me into a season of reflection, a second season of “remembering,” where closure and transition have been on my heart....

The Familiar Fog of Grief Dear Reader, Our family recently spent a few days in northern Minnesota, where Mother Nature is showing off her abundance - fall colors blazing, cold nights settling in, sunny and warm days, and each morning beginning with a steady stream of fog. One morning, the fog was particularly dense, almost magical. I watched, captivated, as a stranger paddled her kayak through it. The fog was so thick that I imagined she could barely see one stroke ahead of the next. Grief...

Seasonal Remembering Good Morning Reader, This time of year is my absolute favorite. There are hints of fall everywhere - though it seems Costco might have skipped a season, with Christmas decorations already on display! Geesh! It’s a reminder of how we often rush past the present, eager to move on to what’s next, without truly honoring where we are. Here in the Midwest, I look forward to the cool-down after a long, hot summer. It’s a time to begin moving inward, to take a break from the...

Sharing from the Scar - Not from the Wound Good Morning Reader, Have you ever shared something deeply personal before you were truly ready? It’s a feeling that many of us know all too well - a sensation Brené Brown calls a “vulnerability hangover.” That moment when you’ve opened your heart, hoping to find connection and comfort, only to feel exposed and uncertain afterward. Last week, I had the opportunity to present at a grief conference. I shared a very high-level summary of my journey...

The Cyclical Nature of Life & Loss actively engaging with the grief journey Dear Reader, I've been immersed in grief education as I prepare to share more of myself and my offerings both online and in my new local community. I've been thinking about something that’s near and dear to my heart: the platitudes that grievers often hear. There are so many things people say to someone who has lost someone or something important to them - you know the ones: "I’m sorry for your loss," "They are in a...

Solstice Greetings light and shadow grief-tending "there is no light without darkness, and no darkness without light" Image credit: unknown Dear Reader I have been deep in the energies of summer for a while now - as is typical, feeling the urge to soak up every single moment of warmth and desperate to find a way to bottle it up to be used in several months from now. Summer solstice here was particularly sultry - warming to the bone. As I have been scrolling the mostly “good vibes only stuff...