Category Archives: Healing

Happy 32nd birthday

Posted on December 22, 2019 by annwae

Dear Toby, What do I say to you now on the day that would have been your 32nd birthday, the ninth one where I can’t send you a card or a Facebook message. You wouldn’t be on Facebook anyway if … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Christmas, gratitude, Grief, Healing, Loss, suicide | 3 Comments

Will it get better?

Posted on January 17, 2019 by annwae

I often get emails from desperate parents who have lost their child to suicide recently, and the first thing they ask is ‘Will it get better?’ In the early weeks and months this is all you really want to hear. … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, Healing, Loss, parents, suicide | 4 Comments

Dear Toby

Posted on December 22, 2017 by annwae

Dear Toby, It is your 30th birthday today, it is always a bit confusing on birthdays – should I celebrate or cry all day? I still think of you as my little boy, I lost you when you were 23, … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, gratitude, Grief, guilt, Healing, Loss, parents, suicide | 12 Comments

That time of year again

Posted on December 19, 2017 by annwae

Well it’s that time of year again and I usually just regurgitate my blog about how to survive Christmas after the loss of a loved one, but it doesn’t feel appropriate anymore. A better blog would be how to survive … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Christmas, Grief, Healing, Loss, parents, suicide | 8 Comments

Happy Birthday Toby

Posted on December 22, 2015 by annwae

Dear Toby, Today is your 28th birthday, but to me you are forever frozen at 23. You lived for approximately 86,000 days and I cherished every one. Just recently I realised that it was all the ordinary days I miss … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, Healing, Loss, suicide, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Don’t stop, never give up

Posted on June 25, 2015 by annwae

Regular readers of my blog will know that the theme is ‘healing and recovery’, I started writing about how I was coping with my intense grief following the tragic death of my son, less than a year after he died. … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, Healing, Loss, suicide | 3 Comments

Torn between remembering and forgetting

Posted on November 2, 2014 by annwae

This is the conversation that goes on in my head quite regularly. “I feel OK, today quite content really. I feel quite happy, life is good.” “But how can you possibly be happy? Your son is dead. You can’t possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, guilt, Healing, Loss | 13 Comments

A bright shining star

Posted on September 7, 2014 by annwae

So I have had a bit of ‘writer’s block’ this summer, and haven’t written much at all. I was prompted to write something when Robin Williams died and this week I have been touched by the story of a grieving … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, guilt, Healing, Loss, parents, suicide | 2 Comments

Rebuilding after the storm

Posted on June 1, 2014 by annwae

Cornwall like a lot of the country was battered by devastating storms this winter. Whole swathes of coastline that had remained largely intact for hundreds of years were battered by relentless waves with a force that could not have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Healing, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Is acceptance the key to recovery?

Posted on February 16, 2014 by annwae

I read a great quote the other day from Michael J Fox, an American actor who seemingly had everything but was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease at the age of 30. “Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavement, Grief, Healing, Loss, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 3 Comments