Posts Tagged ‘Dr. Mari Dias’
GriefSpeak – A Letter to My Father
By Mari Dias Waiting for Dad This is my 17th Father’s Day without you, and it still feels like it was yesterday. I miss you, Dad. As a young girl, I remember my frustration of having to wait until you came home from work before we were allowed to eat dinner. I thought it was…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: “…like a drop of dew…”
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias “All things hang like a drop of dew upon a blade of grass.” (W.B. Yeats) The First Mortician’s Daughter It was 1906 when Pauline’s father, Angelo, and his older brother, Benedetto, two Italian immigrants from Prata Sannita, Italy emigrated to the United States and ventured into a funeral business in the…
Read MoreGriefspeak – Mother’s Day for Motherless Children
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias, EdD, contributing writer Mother’s Day is upon us, a day filled with celebration or grief. It was 1927 when Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song “Motherless Children”, which was made popular by many, including Bob Dylan, Steven Miller, and Eric Clapton. The lyrics recognize that all children are impacted by the…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: A personal reflection on surviving “stay at home” orders
By: Mari Dias CHOICES I have heard this pandemic compared to several Stephen King novels, “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent”, and for the older folks “The Twilight Zone”. At the outset, everyone scrambled for necessities and followed every edict heard, both nationally and locally. It seems like we have only recently come out of our stupor…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Everyone has a back story.
By Mari Dias (All names, places and identifying factors have been changed.) The caller opened our phone conversation with a question: “Are abortions considered elective surgery during this pandemic?” she asked. I didn’t know the answer but even if I did, I would not have simply provided a response. I knew there was a back…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Signs, signs, everywhere a sign – Mari Nardolillo Dias
By Mari Nardolillo Dias, EdD, contributing writer (This is a repeat of a story from Mother’s Day time in 2019… my mom’s favorite story – Happy Belated Mother’s Day, Dottie Nardolillo!) It was Mother’s Day. Nancy, her husband Anthony, and their two teenage sons prepared to attend a Mother’s Day brunch at a local restaurant.…
Read MoreSupport for you at this unprecedented time…
People are struggling with their mental health in isolation – which is a breeding ground for psychological issues when the mind is not distracted. It’s a very scary time. I’ve seen an increase in panic attacks, generalized anxiety and depression, along with an exponential increase in depression.” I am also hearing from those overwhelmed with…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Matthew’s Miracle
By: Mari Dias Both Matthew and his teenage son came down with a cold. The PCP gave them an antibiotic and Matthew’s son improved within days; however, Matthew did not. Following 3 weeks of continued flu-like symptoms, Matthew contacted his PCP again. Upon a repeat visit, the PCP prescribed a steroid. Several days later Matthew…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: ALS
By: Mari Dias (All names, places and identifying factors have been changed.) As a child, Gregory watched the young girl next door as she hung out the wash on the clothesline in her backyard. As he grew older, he thought he might be a priest and he created a makeshift church in his basement. The…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: DNA Tests – A loss or gain of cultural identity?
By Mari Dias How many of you have taken the Ancestry or 23andme DNA test? Initially most folks considered this technology with a suspicious eye: today it seems to be de rigueur. However, many people are not expecting or equipped to hear the results. Stories abound of legacies erased in the time it takes to…
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