Grief support groups, condolence advice, funeral etiquette and more

LegacyConnect's Blog (38)

Fall films focus on illness, loss, grief

Several new movies being released this fall feature individuals and families facing illness and death.

One receiving a great deal of positive attention from critics and moviegoers alike is 50/50, the story of a twenty-something coping with cancer. Based on screenwriter Will Reiser's own experience with cancer, the movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role and Seth Rogen as his funny and supportive friend. For…

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Added by LegacyConnect on October 13, 2011 at 9:00am — 4 Comments

Remembering a sister's courage during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This morning I read something that made me cry. While I can be an emotional person, it's not often that I'm moved to tears.

Today, one of our Legacy.com team members posted on our Legacy.com company blog a reflection on Breast Cancer Awareness Month and what it means to her. Sue lost her sister to breast cancer a few years ago and in the post she pays tribute to her sister's…

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Added by LegacyConnect on October 10, 2011 at 10:00am — 3 Comments

Cancer Awareness & Prevention

As anyone with an eye for pink has deduced, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here in Chicago, the night skyline – from the Hancock Building to the Willis Tower (a.k.a. the Sears Tower) – is aglow with rose-colored lights. These blush beacons are reminders of the loved ones lost and the work yet to be done to understand, combat and prevent breast cancer.

Wrigley Building in Chicago, October 2008 (Image via Flickr Creative Commons/flash.pro) The displays of pink that appear each October are intended to draw attention to breast cancer, but they…

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Added by LegacyConnect on October 6, 2011 at 12:30pm — 1 Comment

Remembering September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2011, we remember that terrible day ten years ago when nearly 3,000 died. Our thoughts are with the survivors, the families, the first responders, and everyone profoundly affected by this unforgettable event.

On LegacyConnect and on Legacy.com's blogs The Obit Report and… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on September 11, 2011 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

September Is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month

It's September; summer is coming to an end, kids are back in school. And here at LegacyConnect, we are thinking about suicide: how to prevent it and how to support the bereaved.

September 4-10, 2011, is designated as National Suicide Prevention Week (…

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Added by LegacyConnect on September 8, 2011 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

An inspiration to all who have lost young family members

Last week, Canada lost a national heroine. Betty Fox began her time in the spotlight simply as the mother of one of Canada's best-remembered heroes, Terry Fox, who, after being diagnosed with cancer in his late teens, attempted to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. An amazing story made all the more…

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Added by LegacyConnect on June 21, 2011 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Remembering Dear Old Dads (and Granddads)

Who will you be missing this Father's Day? I’ll be thinking about and missing my granddaddies, Ozell and Brooken. Granddaddy Ozell died in 2006, Granddaddy Brooken just this past fall. I was lucky to know them and have them in my life well into adulthood.

I miss their smiles, their laughs, the twinkling in their…

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Added by LegacyConnect on June 17, 2011 at 12:30pm — 1 Comment

Remembering on Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, as we honor brave men and women who have served their country, we also remember the families left to grieve.

On Legacy.com and LegacyConnect, we are featuring tributes to armed forces veterans. And, as always, you'll also find resources to help you cope with the…

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Added by LegacyConnect on May 24, 2011 at 6:16pm — No Comments

Missing Mom

For some, Mother's Day is a bittersweet or painful reminder that their beloved mom or child is gone.

We know this will be a difficult weekend for many. We wish you all a peaceful, relaxing Mother's Day as you remember your loved ones. For those of you who are grieving the loss of your mother or child, here are a few articles and resources that may help:

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Added by LegacyConnect on May 6, 2011 at 4:30pm — 2 Comments

How can we hope when there is no hope?

The death of a loved one can be brutal. The grief that follows is draining – emotionally, mentally, physically – and can seem neverending. Eventually, somehow, people do get through it.

But how? How do you go on when your mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, child has died? How do you hope when hope seems impossible?

Earlier this week, a former high school classmate of mine died at the age of 35. …

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Added by LegacyConnect on April 14, 2011 at 11:30am — 7 Comments

Simple ways to show sympathy

This morning, my daughter's teacher stopped me in the hallway to say thank you. He had just seen the message that I'd posted in the online guest book for his mother, who died a couple of weeks ago. "I didn't even realize that it existed until my sister showed me," he said, and seemed moved that I had taken the time to find the guest book and sign it.

His thank you was a…

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Added by LegacyConnect on March 8, 2011 at 3:30pm — 2 Comments

I Can Sing a Rainbow – Thinking Beyond Pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Legacy.com team member Jessica shares Breast Cancer Awareness Month reflections.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and pink is all around – in newspapers, on storefronts, even on NFL players. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American women,…

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Added by LegacyConnect on October 11, 2010 at 1:48pm — No Comments

Childhood Cancer Awareness one lemonade stand at a time

September is Childhood (Pediatric) Cancer Awareness Month. To commemorate it, we're spotlighting an amazing young girl who, before she succumbed to the childhood cancer neuroblastoma at age 8, founded a major effort to fund childhood cancer research.

Alexandra… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on September 20, 2010 at 1:30pm — No Comments

September is Suicide Prevention Month

Between 10 and 20 million people attempt suicide each year, according to some estimates. Among teens and young adults, suicide continues to be a leading cause of death. In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, we wanted to highlight a few helpful resources.

If you are feeling hopeless, desperate or alone, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on September 10, 2010 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Book Review: 'The Year of Magical Thinking'

“You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” So begins Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, the National Book award winning memoir that chronicles the devastating aftermath of her husband’s sudden death of a heart-attack just months before their 40th anniversary. Compounding and confusing her grieving process is her daughter Quintana’s mysterious (and ultimately fatal)… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on March 19, 2009 at 11:17am — No Comments

Book Review: 'The Mercy Papers'

Robin Romm’s mother was diagnosed with cancer the summer after Robin’s freshman year in college. Nine years later, Robin quit her graduate program at Berkeley to stay home with her dying mother. In The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks, Romm recalls the end of her mother’s life, peppering the narrative with memories of earlier times – before her mother’s death was imminent.

“It seemed to me that most books sought to close the wound, hurry it shut. But death… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on March 5, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Book Review: 'The Grieving Child' by Helen Fitzgerald

When a doctor informed Helen Fitzgerald that her husband was dying from cancer, he discouraged her sharing the diagnosis with the patient. This also meant not telling her four children – the prevailing wisdom of the time was that children should not be exposed to sad or disturbing news. Her children nevertheless sensed something was wrong, causing tensions within the family, and when she… Continue

Added by LegacyConnect on January 29, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Book Review: 'The Suicide Index' by Joan Wickersham

“This is what my father did,” writes Joan Wickersham early in her memoir The Suicide Index: Putting My Father’s Death in Order. “He got up, showered, shaved and dressed for work. He went downstairs and made a pot of coffee, and while it was brewing he went outside and walked down the long driveway to pick up the newspaper. He left the paper folded on the kitchen table, poured a cup of coffee, carried it upstairs, and put it on my mother’s bedside…