Articles by Gary Roe

One Way to Sabotage a Grieving Heart

Many things can sabotage a grieving heart. Today, I would like to mention just one of them. Expectations. We all have expectations. They tend to be unspoken. They fly under our radar. They're sneaky. Often, we’re unaware they even exist. We have expectations of...

One Healthy, Proven Way to Work Through Grief

When loss strikes, our world is turned upside down. We're shocked, stunned, and perhaps even paralyzed. Working through what happened is difficult, painful, and exhausting. We all want to grieve well - to grieve in ways that are healthy and that honor our loved one....

One Big Key to a Healthy Grief Process

There are several important components to a healthy grief process. One big key is acceptance. Grieving hearts need to be seen and heard. We long for and need the acceptance of others on this difficult and painful road. Sadly, we often don't feel accepted or supported...

Four Reasons Why Being Kind to Yourself is Important

This week we had another Zoom Virtual Hangout. In our session, we talked about "How to Be Kind to Yourself While Grieving." "Be kind to yourself." I say that a lot, but what exactly does that mean? In our Zoom session, we began by pointing out four reasons why being...

5 Keys to Helping Others in Grief

I hope you are doing well today. As many of you know, we had another free Zoom Virtual Hangout this week. Our topic was 5 Keys to Helping Others in Grief. This session was so well received that I thought I would send everyone a quick summary of what we covered. While...

When Grief is Raw…

The loss of someone special shakes us. Our hearts are broken, perhaps even shattered. We can feel undone and lost. Grief can be raw at times. When grief is raw, it's hard to function - and impossible to function like we used to. We're not living. We're surviving....

Anyone else feel confused sometimes?

I have a question for you. Do you feel confused sometimes? Confusion is often a part of grief. When we think about it, that makes perfect sense. Our lives have been upended. Our hearts are broken. Our minds are spinning. Everything has changed. We wake up each morning...

A Gentle Warning for Grieving Hearts

Today I'm writing to give us all a gentle warning. We're vulnerable. We're hurting. Perhaps we're even crushed, shattered. We're not thinking straight. How could we? Grief is squeezing us. All this leaves us open to being taken advantage of. Sadly, grieving hearts are...

Grief is like an ongoing storm.

Grief is a storm of sorts. An ongoing, relentless, and sometimes severe storm.Loss creates upheaval and change. Our old normal is shattered. Our sense of safety and security can evaporate.We're sad, anxious, fearful, and angry. We sometimes feel guilty, frustrated,...

COVID Era Loss: A Total Grief Disaster

This is a tough post to write. It will be hard to read. But it's true. We've lived it. We're still living it. COVID. Coronavirus disease. Two-and-a-half years ago, we had never heard of it. Today, it seems to work it's way into almost every conversation. The COVID Era...