It was the honor of a lifetime to speak to this international group of grieving parents on July 13. This video is the presentation: https://youtu.be/ctoI3lfOUno
I’ve worked with grieving parents since the 2013 publication of my book Bridges to Heaven: True Stories of Loved Ones on the Other Side. They are near and dear to my heart. One of these parents, Gail Lynn, connected me to the amazing Elizabeth Boisson who lost her 19 year old son on Everest and then launched the inspiring non-profit group HelpingParentsHeal.org If you’ve lost a child I urge you to visit their website and connect.
And miracle of miracles! I discovered that Elizabeth Boisson lives about ten minutes from me in Arizona. This group feels like coming home. Spending July 13 with all of them was extraordinarily meaningful to me.
As many of you know, July 13 is my sacred day. It’s the day my husband Paul died in my arms from cancer in 1980. I was 29. That day was my entry into a portal of deep spiritual growth – out of which all the work I do today was born. Some years the energy of this day and Paul’s loving presence illuminates and uplifts me. Other years all my accumulated losses weigh as heavy, deep and wide as a bottomless ocean on my heart. Great loss has taught me to love fiercely – and for that powerful lesson I’m deeply grateful.