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Death Anniversaries Part II
How I got myself through the first anniversary of my sister’s death
On a whim, I signed up for a grief retreat hosted by Modern Loss. I didn’t think much about it at the time, I just knew that I loved Modern Loss (because of their book, website, Facebook group, and Mother’s/Father’s Day gift swaps). I figured it would worthwhile, but I didn’t really think about what it would be like to attend. The retreat happened to fall just before my sister’s death anniversary.
On August 5th I traveled to the Kripalu in the Berkshires to attend the multi-day grief retreat/workshop led by Rebecca Soffer, Emily Rapp Black, and Christine D’Ercole. I was incredibly anxious on the day I drove to the workshop from our AirBnB. The ten minute car ride was the first time I really thought about what I was doing. I have had a hard time trusting my gut lately. Sometimes I make decisions and they turn out wonderfully, other times I make decisions and then I end up sobbing in front of people I’d rather not cry around. I never know what’s going to happen, and feeling out of control is very difficult for me now.
Before programming began I sat down for dinner with two friendly-looking women. One was there for a weekend, another was planning to stay a month. I quietly listened in on their conversation that had a lot to do with…
