Emerging Voices - Living on: A Journey Through Loss to Renewal

Emerging Voices is a book of the poetry and artwork that I created in 2010 to describe the feelings of grief and loss I experienced after the death of my husband of 42 years. The bereavement community, friends and family encouraged me to share what I had written because my poems reached out and touched others in a profound way, regardless of the type of loss the reader had experienced.  Loss is most often associated with the death of a loved one; but feelings of loss also come from:
* divorce or a relationship breakup
* loss of a friendship
* loss of health or one's physicality
* loss of a cherished dream. Sometimes it feels as if the pain and sorrow from loss will never let up.  These emotions are very raw and really hurt, but accepting them as part of the grieving process and allowing yourself to feel what you feel is necessary for healing. Grief and mourning is a poignant process - each one of us experiences that journey in our own way.
The healing process is just that, a process, and there is no magic "time" for an individual's grieving to end.  While leaving a permanent wound on your heart and soul, in time grief softens its hold.  This tender wound can be reopened without warning by an unexpected nuance or life event, and sorrow takes hold once again. The difference is that these unexpected moments don't last as long as they did in the beginning and healing continues.
* "Instead of a series of stages, we might think of the grieving process as a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Like many roller coasters, the ride tends to be rougher in the beginning, the lows may be deeper and longer. The difficult periods should become less intense and shorter as time goes by, but it takes time to work through a loss. Even years after a loss, especially at special events such as a family wedding or the birth of a child, we may still experience a strong sense of grief." Source: Hospice Foundation of America
 
My book, Emerging Voices-Living On is intended to be a heart-felt gift to the reader as he or she travels down the painful and winding road of loss. There are blank journal pages within which provide a place for each individual to record his or her own thoughts and unique feelings. Writing helped me heal during that traumatic time and my wish is that my words within the book offer a place of solace for others. Whatever your grief experience, it is important to be patient with yourself and to allow the process to unfold naturally.
Like a puzzle, grief comes in all shapes and forms - as does the journey of getting to a place of peace and comfort within us.  Yes, my husband's death has forever altered my life, but I now know that I am grateful to have been given the gift of a renewed and transformed spirit. Today, when I meet someone who has experienced a loss, I do not say I'm sorry, I say from my knowing heart  "I understand."Newsflash!'Emerging Voices-Living On' has been nominated to be on the2014 "Spirited Woman Top 12 Spring Book Pick List"