Friend Grief at the Bloggers Ball – Take 5

Welcome She Writers to the Friend Grief stop on the latest Bloggers Ball!

Some of you have been here before; some of you are visiting for the first time. I encourage you to browse the archives here, as well as this post.

Writing is hard.

Writing about difficult subjects is harder.

I wasn’t sure I was up for it.

But those who follow this blog, the She Writers and the posse I’ve gathered have encouraged me and sustained me when I felt I was in over my head.

Once a month I write about 9/11, and also about the AIDS epidemic. I share stories about people who are struggling as they grieve their friends, and about those who have made major life changes because of that experience. I introduce you to organizations and films and people addressing the phenomenon of “friend grief”.

I’m not a professional bereavement counselor. I’m just sharing what I know.

This blog has been a testing ground, of sorts, for my book. I was pretty sure I had a good idea. I just didn’t know if it would really resonate; because if it didn’t, maybe the book wouldn’t either.

But now I know I’m on the right track (see my posts on what I’ve learned writing about “friend grief”), and She Writers have helped.

So, thanks to you all!

Welcome She Writers!

            
Welcome She Writers to the Bloggers Ball Re-Re-Redux!

My blog is for people to share their experiences grieving the death of a friend. Many people feel not only the loss of that person, but a surprising lack of respect for their grief. That's why the title of my book is "It's Not Like They're Family": Mourning Our Friends and Celebrating Their Lives.

Feel free to browse and comment, and follow if you'd like. I look forward to visiting your blogs this weekend, too!

She Writers Blogger Ball Redux

  Welcome - or welcome again- She Writers!

I guess I wasn't the only one who had a great time on the first She Writers Blogger Ball!  What a great opportunity/excuse to explore other women writers' blogs.  I learned a lot about other members of She Writes, and was thrilled to have so many visitors to my very new blog.

As the title implies, this is a blog on the topic of grieving the death of a friend.  It's an experience we all face, and sometimes we're surprised  when we encounter a lack of respect for that grief. 

Here you will find examples of those experiences.  Some are sad, some are funny, some are life-changing.  But all point to the importance of friends in our lives.

There are two topics that will be examined closely this year.  There will be a monthly post on AIDS, particularly its effect on the gay community.  There will also be a monthly post on 9/11.  This year is the 10th anniversary, and during August and September there will be more frequent posts about those whose lives changed forever that day.

Feel free to go back in the archives, or check for new posts - every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Comments are always welcome!

So, welcome, and I hope you will learn and be inspired by my blog!

Welcome, She Writers!

Welcome to my dance in the B&W Bloggers Ball!

This is my very new blog, born Feb. 1.

As I worked on my first book, 'It's Not Like They're Family': Mourning Our Friends and Celebrating Their Lives', I realized that I needed to raise awareness of the unique experience of grieving the death of a friend.  The 10,000,000 people in the U.S. who will have this experience each year have few resources - in print or online - to help navigate and validate their grief. 

I'm pretty new to be giving blogging tips, but the best thing I ever did was have Networked Blogs link this to my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  It's generated a lot of traffic here, and saves time.

So, enjoy your dance here, and I look forward to dancing with many of you!