Who am I now? I rolled those four words through my mind frequently just after I lost my precious son and only child. I had been the father to an amazing young mentor who had changed the very core of who I was several times in his short sixteen years on earth. Then on a dreadful, tragic day, Jonathan’s fragile heart unexpectedly failed, and he took his final breath in my loving arms. Who am I now?
In the twelfth episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, I interview Dave Roberts, LMSW, author, and founder of Bootsy & Angel Books, LLC, and most importantly, the father of Jeannine, who died of a rare form of cancer when she was 18. Dave supports other grieving parents through his work with The Compassionate Friends, in his private practice, and through writing, speaking, and teaching in the psychology department at Utica College.
Guilt and grief form a ubiquitous pair. We can find countless ways to blame ourselves. For that last argument we had. For not insisting they visit the doctor sooner. For sending them on that last errand. For not discovering the right healing supplement. For not being able to cure their addiction or ease the pain
