loss of a child Archives

The parents of murdered teen Blaze Bernstein are doing their best to turn tragedy into something that resembles a triumph. On the night of January 2, the 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania… student — home in California, visiting his parents on winter break — made dinner for his entire family. He then went out to meet friends and never returned. Bernstein was later found buried in a shallow grave in a park near his family's home, having been stabbed 20 times. A former high school classmate, 20-year-old Samuel Woodward, was… >> Read More

exercise

Running the NYC Marathon — With My Heart on My Sleeve

Seth Galena

It is two days before my first marathon ever, and the only thing I am thinking about is my race-day shirt. I hadn’t run more than 4 miles up until March of this year, when I got a credit card… fraud alert that New York Road Runners had charged me $250 for winning a lottery entry into the marathon. I had just turned 40, and this wasn’t the type of birthday lottery I imagined winning, but it made sense. My marathoner dad, Dr. Harold Galena, had only started running when he was 40. A road-running… >> Read More

death

Honoring the Baby I Lost by Buying School Supplies for Another Child

Samantha Koellhoffer

This time of year, my Facebook and Instagram pages are flooded with images of kids getting ready to head back to school. Smiling back from all my screens are new backpacks and sneakers and outfits… and haircuts. The parents are mostly happy to get their lives back on track, and the kids are excited for their new adventures. I remember the start of the new school year myself, poring over my class roster in anticipation of what course would potentially change my life. I remember staring at the bus schedule… >> Read More

After a Tragedy at Camp, Can Summer Ever Be the Same?

JoAnn Abraham

Messy dorm room from a summer camp for children

You send your children off to summer camp hoping they’ll make friends, learn new skills, and have a wonderful, carefree experience. And most of the time, they return tanned, happy, and loaded with… stories about good friends you’ve never met. But what’s a parent to do when something terrible happens to another child at the camp? Whether there’s been a serious or fatal illness or an accident—which happens. What should a caring, responsible parent do? All of this became far more real for my own family and community… >> Read More

Daughters

Getting a Mani/Pedi with My Daughter Was Unexpectedly Healing

Samantha Koellhoffer

Top view of manicure and pedicure equipment on blue background. Still life. Copy space

One of the last things I remember from my Labor & Delivery Class was saying how much I could not wait to take my almost-born daughter to get manis and pedis. I could almost picture us being… pampered together and making memories that would last a lifetime. When my daughter was born still, that dream died with her. There was a list of things we would never get to do, and the common thread to all the items was making any memory whatsoever. In time, with grief counseling and a very helpful… >> Read More

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