How to manage holiday grief and loss
“The holiest of all holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart; the secret anniversaries of the heart.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The winter holidays are in full swing. But if you’re grieving a loss, the festivities only amplify your pain and shine a light on the empty chair or chairs around your table.
My column today in The Sunday Oakland Press offers tips on how to get through the holiday when you don’t feel like celebrating. I invited several therapists and grief counselors to share advice for everyone who’s mourning a loss this season. The column — “Empty Chairs at Christmas” — runs in the Homefront section (print and online editions) of The Oakland Press and its sister papers in the MediaNews Group. To read it online, click here. — Cindy La Ferle
Cindy La Ferle
Throughout my career, I've worked as a book production editor, travel magazine editor, features writer, and weekly newspaper columnist. My award-winning lifestyles features and essays have appeared in many national magazines and anthologies, including Newsweek, Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer's Digest, Victoria, Better Homes & Gardens, Bella Grace, and more. My weekly Sunday "Life Lines" column ran for 14 years in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, MI) and won a First Place (Local Columns) award from the Michigan Press Association. My essay collection, Writing Home, includes 93 previously published columns and essays focusing on parenthood and family life.
