Chrissy Kruppenbach's Blog

It is frequently said that the grief of a grieving mother is the most intense grief known. When a child dies, parents feel that a part of them has died, that a vital and core part of them has been ripped away. The grief caused by their child's death is not only painful but profoundly disorienting, children are not supposed to die. These parents are forced to confront an extremely painful and stressful paradox; they are faced with a situation in which they must deal both with the grief caused by their child's death and with their natural need to continue to live their own lives as fully as possible. Thus, grieving parents must deal with the conflicting burden of wanting to be free of this devastating pain and yet needing it as a reminder of the child who died. Grieving parents continue to be parents of the child who died. They will always feel the empty place in their hearts caused by the child's death; they were, and always will be, the loving father and mother of that child. Yet, these parents have to accept that they will never be able to live their lives with or share their love openly with the child. So they must find ways to hold on, in the direction of the memories. Many grieving parents come to learn that, memories are the precious gifts of the heart, these memories and whispers, to help create a sense of inner stillness, closeness...