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Kerry Siggins female leadership development coach

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Grief and Loss Resources

Looking for materials and information to help make sense of your experience, feel less alone, or support others when they are grieving? Explore the pages below to learn about grief, listen to stories from others, and make supportive connections.

Have you discovered helpful information on your journey? Please consider sending it to us so we can share it with others.

Heart To Heart: From One Griever to Another: The Weight of Grief

Heart To Heart: From One Griever to Another: The Weight of Grief

Death is a scary word to many whom have never experienced it before and until it occurs in your family or even community we tend to disconnect from the idea. I found myself in shambles when death impacted my family, unable to pick up the pieces of my mind as I was in shock and unable to picture what my future would look like without my father in it. It is funny how a singular person’s presence missing can alter your brain chemistry so rapidly. It almost feels as if your body and mind separate and you disconnect from reality.

Recipes for Remembering: Oatmeal Cookies

Recipes for Remembering: Oatmeal Cookies

“Every Christmas, my grandma would fill her kitchen with plates of cookies and pies of every kind. No matter how many she made, she always set aside a lemon meringue pie just for my dad, because it was his favorite. Baking was her love language, and her kitchen was where joy lived. Now, we make these cookies every year in her honor. Even though my daughter never had the chance to meet her, she has inherited that same love for baking. She’s even added her own touch to the recipe by sprinkling in coconut, making it her own while keeping Grandma’s spirit alive in every bite.”

Recipes for Remembering: Finnish Christmas Stars

Recipes for Remembering: Finnish Christmas Stars

“My Papa and mom’s dad, Oliver, was always proud of his Finnish heritage. Our family Christmas tradition was to have a potluck dinner with family on Christmas Eve at my grandparents’ house, and then we would all come back to their house the next afternoon to eat leftovers and open presents together. He always made these tarts for this gathering and I remember him making them meticulously and proudly putting them out to eat.”

Recipes for Remembering: Poppy Seed Rolls

Recipes for Remembering: Poppy Seed Rolls

“My beloved maternal grandmother, whom I call Grammy, inherited this recipe from her in-laws. Every Christmas, the sweet smells of pastry and poppy seeds would fill the air. After her death, other family members began to create these delicious rolls in her memory. It wouldn’t be Christmas without them.”

Heart To Heart: The Mitzvah of Laughter and Social Time: How a Comedy Show Helped Me Grieve

Heart To Heart: The Mitzvah of Laughter and Social Time: How a Comedy Show Helped Me Grieve

This experience made me realize that comedy can evoke a surprising mix of emotions. There were moments when he focused on his family, using his wife and children to illustrate his long-suffering trials and frustrations to get a laugh. While his observations on family life were funny, having just lost my husband—the love of my life for almost 50 years—I could not help but think that I would have given anything to have him back by my side, even for a fleeting moment. We could have been laughing together, enjoying the show, regardless of our personal foibles and his serious medical challenges over the years. This experience showed me that comedy, especially when it touches on the everyday details of life, can bring bittersweet reminders of a love that is now gone.

HeartLight Center Featured in Summit Daily News

HeartLight Center Featured in Summit Daily News

Join our upcoming workshop, Caring for Someone Who Is Grieving, where we will examine the dynamics of compassionate communications, even when facing a life-altering loss. We will examine generational differences, past perceptions of loss, and situations where “just talking ” can sometimes be challenging.

Heart To Heart: From One Griever to Another – Dementia Loss and Remembrance

Heart To Heart: From One Griever to Another – Dementia Loss and Remembrance

Because I know this loss very intimately, professionally and personally, I deeply appreciate how much it means to have a time to connect, remember and share with others who have been on a similar journey. The upcoming Summer Remembrance for Alzheimer’s and Dementia is a space to remember and honor your person. Whatever your journey and your person’s journey looked like, you are invited to attend the space to memorialize them.