Author's articles

Dating After Loss of a Spouse

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

When a relationship ends due to one partner dying, what is the correct time period to begin dating again? Grief is such a funny, unpredictable animal. Many people in years’ past think a year is ...

A Widow’s Many "Firsts"

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

The left side of the bed where my husband used to sleep remains neatly made, hardly a ripple disturbing the quilted surface. I sleep on the right side each night, where I had slept the ...

Afraid to Talk About Dying

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

When my husband was diagnosed with esophagus cancer, we never talked about him dying, except in the very beginning. I think we were afraid to voice the worst scenario we could think of, him not ...

After my husband’s death, I enclosed myself in an emotional shell. A hard cased, untouchable cocoon of nothingness. I wanted to be numb, I wanted to be left alone. Many days my self-imposed prison made ...

Sometimes You Need to Cry

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

I recall a period in time, at about 18 months after my husband passed away, that I felt pretty good about myself. I had handled what life had thrown me and come out battered, but ...

Tomorrow is a Gift

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

My husband chose to be cremated, and to that end I had arranged a time for friends and family to gather for a memorial service in remembrance. I gathered pictures of our twenty plus years ...

Can You Talk about Grief too Much?

By Elaine Williams · 16 years ago

When does talking about the loss of someone get to be too much? Is it still grief or is it descending into depression? Talking and writing about grief for me has been a catharsis, a ...