Grief support groups, condolence advice, funeral etiquette and more

Michelle Linn-Gust's Blog – January 2012 Archive (5)

The Completeness of Life

Saturday morning I was flipping stations on Sirius radio when I discovered a conversation discussing a book about grief. Amy Welborn’s husband had died from a heart attack and she subsequently wrote, Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope.

I didn’t hear anything earth shattering in the conversation until she said that she believes this life, the one we are experiencing here on earth, is “incomplete” because we experience so much loss in this life.…

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Added by Michelle Linn-Gust on January 30, 2012 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

The Soundtracks of Our Loved Ones

I once heard Dick Clark say that we each have a soundtrack to our lives. Recently, I’ve been listening to the “'80s on the 8” station on Sirius-XM radio and letting those songs take me back in time to a different point in my life (with '80s music, that mostly means high school).

Just as songs can transport us to a different time and place, they can remind us of our loved ones and the bond we still share with them. Hearing a special song can spark memories and…

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Added by Michelle Linn-Gust on January 20, 2012 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

Meditation My Way

When I lived with my maternal grandmother for part of my freshman year of college, each morning we walked a few blocks together before I went one way to catch the El to school and she went the other to church. She attended daily Mass as much as possible. I thought it was strange that people needed that much Mass time. Instead, I went with her only on Sundays.

But I have come to appreciate daily Mass. To me, it’s no different than having a support group for suicide loss…

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Added by Michelle Linn-Gust on January 9, 2012 at 8:30am — 3 Comments

Learning to let go: Where do I go in 2012?

I read recently that Christmas is a time of rebirth. As one year ends and another begins, I see this as a time of reflection of where we’ve been this past year and where we’re going in 2012.

In 2011, I worked on my ability to let go. I had some rough paths to travel this past year, and a friend noted to me the other day how much he has seen me grow in this time as I navigated them. That’s not to say that I’m perfect because I’m definitely not. Today I was reminded that Lent…

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Added by Michelle Linn-Gust on January 3, 2012 at 4:18pm — 2 Comments

$13.33 - Remembering Dad on the Anniversary of His Death

The anniversary of my dad’s death is New Year’s Day. For some reason, it wasn’t on my radar. But as New Year’s Day inched closer, I began to feel it.

On Friday, December 30, for no specific reason, I drove to the cemetery where both my dad and my sister are buried. As I began to drive away, I noticed that the song playing on the “'80s on 8” station was called “Fly High Michelle.” I thought I knew every song from the 1980s, but this one from a band called Enuff Z’Nuff was new…

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Added by Michelle Linn-Gust on January 2, 2012 at 10:00am — 6 Comments