Grieving the Death of a Parent

ThinkstockPhotos-488668755-(1).jpg


BY: Diane Snyder Cowan

CATEGORY: Grief and Loss
PUBLICATION: About Grief

From the Editor

Spring is right around the corner complete with fresh air, warm breezes and budding plants.

Spring is also the time of year when Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated. For those grieving the death of a parent or guardian, these holidays can stir mixed emotion.

On Mother's Day and Father's Day we take time to honor our parents for their many sacrifices and selfless acts. Our parents may have been our heroes, our confidants, our friends or disciplinarians. We may or may not have had a healthy relationship with them.

Nevertheless, the absence of their physical presence is tangible. Gone are the daily phone calls, the welcoming smiles and simple acts of kindness. Knowing that parents will one day die does not diminish the pain and soul-searching that is experienced when they do. The death may have occurred during the busiest time of your life and career. Perhaps you are beginning to confront your own aging process. You may find that you are not only grieving the death
of your parent, but also for the passing of your childhood and youth.

Grief is not an event but an ongoing process. Be kind to yourself this spring. Find a way to carry the love for your parent in your heart as
you move forward in life.

Below, we have included some books which we have found useful. There are also support  groups and individual counseling that you may
find helpful. You may want to join us for the Mother's Day Tea at the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Bereavement Center on April 30.


Resources:

We Can Help

Speak with the referral team by contacting us seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Any first visit and admission can be made the first day.

Northern Ohio's Hospice of Choice

More than 1,000 Hospice of the Western Reserve employees and 3,000 volunteers live and work side-by-side in the same neighborhoods with our patients and families. We are privileged to have cared for more than 100,000 Northern Ohioans since our inception.