Managing Holiday Grief

Managing Holiday Grief

Program Description:
One of the most exuberant holiday songs, "It's the most wonderful time of the year...." needs a big asterisk: "Except this year!" Because grief following a loss rolls like a fog over December. The big temptation is to pull the covers up over one's head and hibernate until after the new year. That strategy rarely works. The better approach is to "make room for grief' and to manage the demands of the holidays creatively. What's possible? and What's not possible is your choice. In our time together we will explore ways to manage the holidays and the grief and individuals who want you to "get over it and move on! And "Get in the holiday spirit!" It may not be a death that you are grieving. It could be a job loss, health, an economic loss, a downsizing, a divorce, or a retirement that is not going the way you assumed.

Presenter Bio:
Harold Ivan Smith, D.Min., is a Fellow in Thanatology credentialed by the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Before moving to the desert, he spent 18 years on the teaching faculty of Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, MO, where he led innovative storytelling groups for grievers. He is the author of A Decembered Grief and eleven other books on grief and loss. For six years he has been a celebrant for Forest Lawn Mortuary in Cathedral City.

This is a Learning in Retirment (LIR) program.  To learn more about LIR, click the image below.