GriefSPEAK: Time to make your happy box – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A woman sits at a desk and laughs.

by Mari Nardolillo Dias, contributing writer “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I [don’t] feel fine…) R.E.M. Following the loss of a loved one, many feel that it is the end of the world as they know it. And it is. A traditional gift for the grieving is a “memory…

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GriefSPEAK: Happy Birthday, America! – Mari Nardolillo Dias

An american flag floating in the water.

By Mari Nardolillo Dias “…What’s that I smell in the air? The American Dream” (Miss Saigon) Happy Birthday to America! (She, her, hers). America turns 246 years old this Monday. Many feel she has survived but is currently in the intensive care unit. She is unrecognizable for the younger folks – those in my age…

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GriefSPEAK:  “To Jillian, with love…” – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A man is holding a plane on his shoulders at sunset.

By: Mari Nardolillo Dias, contributing writer Jillian was reluctant to share the trauma surrounding her father’s sudden death. You see, she found him and has never spoken about that moment. I encouraged her to “speak her grief”. “I don’t see any redeeming value in reliving the trauma!” she shouted, “I need to erase it from…

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GriefSPEAK: So, speak easy – Mari Nardolillo Dias

Two speech bubbles hanging on an orange background.

by Mari Nardolillo Dias  “… So, speak easy   Speak easy from the start  … no need to be so harsh  If you want to get through to me – Speak easy… When you listen to reply  But not to understand  You talk over me like it’s  an upper hand  We’re gonna get nowhere  … seems…

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GriefSPEAK: The seasons of our passing – Mari Nardolillo Dias

The great smoky mountains in autumn.

By: Mari Nardolillo Dias, EdD, contributing writer Updated in 2023 as fall is upon us and the seasons pull at our emotions, sadness, and, inevitably renewal… It was a cold January that year. Julie’s husband Sam, her life-long love and soul mate was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and passed shortly after at the…

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GriefSPEAK: If Only – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A sunrise over the mountains with clouds in the background.

By: Mari Nardolillo Dias …”I need to know that things are gonna look up Cuz I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup When there is no place safe and no safe place to put my head When you feel the world shake from the words that are said And I’m calling…

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GriefSPEAK:  A nice long whiff of memory- Mari Nardolillo Dias

A woman talking on her cell phone in a perfume store.

By Mari Nardolillo Dias She was the seventh person in line at the local Walgreens, burdened with an armful of purchases. Her intention was to run in and grab a few items – dog treats, a tweezer, some Vitamin D gummies, and a box of protein bars, so no need for a basket or carriage.…

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