Tag Archives: death

Expanding Our Knowledge: Why I’m starting a PhD and how you can join me

…palliative and hospice care for children are slowly developing outside of the US and UK and in resource-limited settings. As they develop, it’s critical we understand from the communities experiencing and surviving the death of a child what death means to them, how dying enters their lives, how the story of death and dying is told, who they need to be in the dying process, what surviving well includes, and what the good death looks like.

for Kamo

Someone said to me this week “sometimes abandoning your child is the greatest act of love,” about a child named Kamo, who was neglected and then abandoned six years ago and just returned to the mother who left him, right as he nears the end of his life. It’s a notion I’ve wondered on sinceContinueContinue reading “for Kamo”

I feel her in the maybe

What if we let others walk with us, even if from a distance? What if we let our complexity shine out, rather than close off and cage us? What if we stood in our reality, and let it be?

I think that’s what she would have done.

So what if I said: my mother, the human who shaped and grew me, died two and a half months ago and this is what was in me in the before, during, and after?

What of mournings

I wrote this poem on September 8, 2015, six days after Aylan Kurdi died during his family’s flight across the Aegean Sea, and photos of his body opened the world’s eyes, sparking ‘this suffering must stop’ statements:

What of mournings

i

Do you think he was afraid?

Or maybe…

thanking jake

You never had to wonder what Jake was thinking; he willingly and passionately shared his musings, beliefs, and reflections with any whose path crossed with his. You never had to wonder if Jake was listening; he was genuinely interested in what others had to say and approached conversations with the greatest sincerity. He approached lifeContinueContinue reading “thanking jake”

the challenge is to stay

To this day, these are some of the most formative and grounding words I have ever read: “You know, the challenge is to stay. The challenge is to be present with that pain. As my mother was dying, I sat with her. You know, as my brother was dying, we sat with him. And there areContinueContinue reading “the challenge is to stay”

maggie

A year ago today the world lost Maggie Harry. Maggie and I trained at the same dance studio, our paths crossing in classes, rehearsals, shows, and the often-hilarious, always-true conversation had over tying up pointe shoes and nursing sore feet.  Maggie was younger than I and we often hung around different groups of people, butContinueContinue reading “maggie”