Grief, Loss & Comfort Quote - The Stars Openings in Heaven

This is one of my favorite comforting quotes. I love the symbolism-- the stars as openings in heaven. I also like using this quote as a way of keeping the memory of loved one alive and feeling his or her presence...by simply going outside at night and gazing up at the starry, starry night.

Perhaps they are not stars,
but rather openings in heaven
where the love of our lost ones
pours through
and shines down upon us
to let us know they are happy.

Eskimo Proverb

Remember for more Grief, Loss & Comfort Quotes see our rotating quotes at the bottom of the page, or click on the Quotations or Quotes label.

Dyer KA. Grief, Loss & Comfort Quotes *Check out the bottom of the blog* http://grief-loss-info.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-blog-feature-grief-loss-comfort.html

Photo Source: 4younity. Starfield. Royalty Free Use.

Words to Comfort - In Memory of You

Poems Reach and Touch People with Words
It was during college and the later during medical school that I discovered the power of words to help people through the grieving and healing process following a loss.

Words that I have written as poems during difficult moments when I was dealing with the losses of friends and patients have touched people in ways that I never would have imagined possible.

Since it's inception, the Journey of Hearts website has included the healing effects of poetry to aid in helping visitors to this site through the grieving process.

Many of my poems featured on the site have been reprinted as memorials in newspapers, yearbooks for those who have died, or spoken at funerals or memorial services. Most recently my poem, In Memory of You was included as an example of a contemporary bereavement poem in the new eBook, Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep.

You can read the poem in it's entirety below:

In Memory of You


I find an old photograph
and see your smile.
As I feel your presence anew,
I am filled with warmth
and my heart remembers love.

I read an old card
sent many years ago
during a time of turmoil and confusion.
The soothing words written then
still caress my spirit
and bring me peace.

I remember who you used to be
the laughter we shared
and wonder what you have become.
Where are you now,
Where did you go,
When the body is left behind
and the spirit is released to fly?

Perhaps you are the morning bird
singing joyfully at sunrise,
or the butterfly that dances
so carelessly on the breeze
or the rainbow of colors
that brightens a stormy sky
or the fingers of afternoon mist
delicately reaching over the mountains
or the final few rays of the setting sun
lighting up the skies
edging the clouds with a magical glow.

I miss your being
but I feel your presence,
In whatever form you choose to take,
however you now choose to be.

Your spirit has become for me
a guardian angel on high
guiding, advising, and watching over me.

I remember you.
You are with me
and I am not afraid.

© 1996 Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS. All rights reserved.

About the Poem
"In Memory of You" was written on a sunny winter day, penned in response to news of the death of a dear family friend from bone cancer. Her death combined with several other recent significant losses--a childhood friend to the complications of multiple sclerosis at the age of 34, a 22 year old to the long-term effects of anorexia nervosa and a vibrant patient to lung cancer at the age of 38--were the inspiration for the poem.

The deaths of these 4 young women were my primary motivators, but there were many others over the years--patients that I had lost during my days as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) or while in medical school and residency training.

"In Memory of You" has been used in many different ways since it was written and shared with hundreds of people since being posted to the Journey of Hearts site in 1998. The poems was featured as one of the healing poems on a collection of poetry assembled on the Journey of Heart site following the September 11th 2001 tragedy. In 2003 the poem was one of several of my poems included in the ABC's of Grief: A Handbook for Survivors. "In Memory of You" was even included as a Poem on the Day on the Poet Seer Site in 2004. In 2006, "In Memory of You" was shared as a resource with the About.com community during my tenure as the Death, Dying and Bereavement guide.

Over the years "In Memory of You" has also been used in with sympathy cards, as a Christmas card inserts, read at funerals and memorials and found it's way onto many Internet memorial sites, often listed as anonymous.

Photo Source: Reading Card. Modified Microsoft Image.

New eBook of Comfort - Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep is a new resource, an eBook with over 250 poems, quotes, words and readings of comfort for those who have experienced a loss.

This carefully researched and edited collection of poems, quotes and readings combines older, more traditional sympathy and bereavement poems with some of the more recent, contemporary ones. I am honored that one of my own poems "In Memory of You" is included representing a contemporary bereavement poem.

Lucie Storrs of the Light Beyond spent hours looking through books of poems and quotes and searching the Internet to pull together this extensive collection of more than 250 bereavement poems, quotes and readings.

Uses for Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep
This carefully crafted and edited collection of comforting words can help you find the right words to express your sorrow, whether a loss you have experienced yourself, or finding the right words to help a friend who has experienced a loss.

The Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep Book is also a very helpful resource for writing a eulogy, funeral or memorial speech. The eBook pdf format makes it easy to navigate the over 250 resources to find and copy the right words to used in writing a funeral or memorial speech.

Some of the many uses for this eBook include:

• Funeral speeches
• Funeral planning
• Memorial Services
• Writing Eulogies
• Sending Words of Comfort as Condolences
• Writing a Sympathy Letter or Note
• Grieving a Loss - finding the right words to express how you are feeling
• Writing an Obituary or Death Announcement
• Reading Classic, Famous and Contemporary Bereavement Poems

Ordering Information
You can order your own copy of Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep, the special collection of more than 250 poems, quotations and readings to comfort, by clicking on the book title link, or any of the live links in this post or here.

The eBook is available for Immediate Download from the Light Beyond website.

More about the Poem, the Song and the Book
You can learn more about the poem Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep, the musical version of this classic bereavement poem as well as more about the eBook at the Squidoo Lens Dedicated to Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep at http://www.squidoo.com/do-not-stand-at-my-grave-and-weep

This lens features several moving musical and video interpretations of Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep. Be advised that before watching these videos, you may need to get Kleenex especially if you have experienced a recent loss.

New Quotes of Grief, Loss & Comfort - A Reminder to live in the Present

From time to time I will be adding additional Grief, Loss & Comfort quotes to the site, to enlarge our collection. Here is one that I came across recently, a reminder how rapidly death can arrive, and to focus on the present moment.

Death can come at any minute, in any way.
We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or,
whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight!
But still, we have the golden present.
Now we are alive and kicking.
What should we do now? Love all, serve all.

Swami Satchidananda

For More Grief, Loss & Comfort Quotes see our rotating quotes at the bottom of the page.

Dyer KA. Grief, Loss & Comfort Quotes *Check out the bottom of the blog* http://grief-loss-info.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-blog-feature-grief-loss-comfort.html

New Designations - Healthcare/Medical Blogger & Type-A Mom Writer

My diverse background is surfacing in the two new designations that we are getting for the Grief, Loss & Transitions Blog. I am honored to be attaining both of these designations.

Healthcare Blogger
The first designation as a Medical Blogger or officially a "Healthcare Blogger" comes from my background as a physician.

This designation is meant for healthcare workers who blog (the initial intent of the code of ethics).

The full code of ethics for the Healthcare Bloggers can be found on the Medical Blog Code website.


Type-A Mom Writer
The other designation comes from my background as a mother, a sometimes Type-A personality and as a NICU Parent.

I am an "Official Type-A Mom Writer" contributing to their special section for NICU Parents, blogging on finding "Restoring Moments."

I will be contributing articles and information on various aspects of health and well-being of children.

The latest article that I contributed to the Type-A Mom site featured in yesterday's post, on "More on Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies" with the Type-A Mom article available at "Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies."

More on Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies

Apparently I had a lot of thoughts on the upcoming Harry Potter Book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and the possible impact a death of any of these fictional character friends may have on young readers. As parents we'd like to shelter our children from the pain of dealing with a death.

More on Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Friend
After writing yesterday's post on Children are likely to Grieve Over Any Deaths in the Latest Harry Potter Book for this blog more from the position of a grief and loss expert, I contributed some additional thoughts on Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies for the Type-A Mom site, more from the position of being a concerned parent, who is also a grief and loss expert.

This newest blog includes more reasons for concern, why the death of Harry Potter is a big deal along with the Tips for Helping Children Deal with the Death of a Beloved Fictional Friend.

Helping Children Cope with Death and Dying
Perhaps the important thing for parent to remember in the likelihood that several of these characters dies is to try and support your child and help him or her cope with the loss of a friend.

Much as we might like to shelter our children from the realities of death and dying as a parent, the reality is death is a part of life. Last spring, my daughters had to cope with the death of their grandfather.

Read the New Article and Bookmark it
Visit the Type-A Mom site to read Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies.

While visiting the Type-A Mom site, be sure to Digg the article, Babblz the article and add it to your favorite bookmark site.

Source:
Dyer KA. Helping Children Cope if Harry Potter Dies. Type-A Mom Site. July 19, 2007.

Photo Source: Joel Terrell. A Mother and Son Moment. Royalty Free Use.

Children are likely to Grieve Over Any Deaths in the Latest Harry Potter Book

There have been hints that two of the major characters in Harry Potter, including possibly Harry himself, will be killed in the last of the Harry Potter books, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" due out on Saturday July 21, 2007.

Author J.K. Rowling is expected to kill off two characters in this last book as a way to indicate to readers that the Harry Potter series is finally over. There is a concern that young fans of Harry Potter and his friends may have difficulties coping with the death or deaths if their favorite characters are killed off.

Is it Death for Harry Potter?

Deaths of Public Figure can become Teachable Moments
When Steve Irwin was suddenly killed in September last year I was the Death, Dying and Bereavement Guide at About.com. I wrote about talking to a child about the death of the Crocodile Hunter, as being a teachable moment* for parents to share with their children.

With J.K. Rowling's plans to kill off one or more of the Harry Potter characters another teachable moment* may emerge--an opportunity for parents talk with their children about death. It is likely that many children will be saddened by the loss and truly grieve any of the death(s) in the Harry Potter book.

These teachable moments* can be an excellent opportunity for parent to explain the dying and death to a child. In the latest case, parents will probably need to address the death(s) of one of their "friends," the Harry Potter characters.

*A teachable moment is a moment of educational opportunity: a time at which a person, especially a child, is likely to be particularly disposed to learn something or particularly responsive to being taught or made aware of something.

Coping with the Death(s) of a Harry Potter Character(s)
For avid Harry Potter fans it may be very difficult for them to cope with the death of one or more of their characters. Even though parents may take the realistic view that “it’s just a book” the Harry Potter characters are very real to children, and they may be saddened and distressed. Parents, counselors, teachers, psychiatrists and children’s camp leaders are anticipating a lot of teary fans after reading the final book.

Children can experience different emotions in response to a death, even the death of a fictional character. Some will become sad, many will cry, other will become distressed. Other children may not appear to be distressed, rather will take the deaths in stride (or more likely may not want to talk about it). These are all normal reactions to a death.

Depending on the way the death(s) occur, many children may be confused disappointed or distraught. Parents should be sure that they know about how the deaths occurred, in order to answer questions. Read the book or check the fan sites for details.

How to Help Children Cope with a Death
According to child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. David Fassler:

The death of a well-known public figure can be hard to comprehend or accept. Understandably, some young children may feel sad or confused.

As parents, teachers and caring adults, we can best help by listening and responding in an honest, consistent and supportive manner.

When trying to help a child cope with death it is helpful to:

• Know what is going on with the death (In the case of Harry Potter, read the book or synopsis).
  
• Answer his or her questions about death in simple terms.
• Not minimize the loss.
• Listen to your child.
• Be supportive if the child is emotional. (A normal response.)
• Be supportive if the child is not emotional. (Also a normal response.)
  
• Be available when the child is ready to talk.
• Let your child have time to grieve, be upset and talk about what they are experiencing.
• Give your child different ways to express the loss--verbal, written, creative, musical and physical.

Additional Resources to Help Children Cope with Death

• Helping Children Cope with Death - By Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT from Journey of Hearts.
• Talking to Children About the Death of a Public Figure - By Dr. David Fassler, from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
• Helping Children Cope With Loss - A shorter article from the National Mental Health Association
• Talking To Children About Death - An extensive article from Hospice Net, based on a Key Not Speech by J.W.Worden PhD
• The Child's Loss: Death, Grief and Mourning - From Dr. Bruce Perry of the ChildTrauma Academy.
• Helping Children Cope with Death - Online version from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Also available as a downloadable PDF File brochure.
  

Sources:
Meltz BF. What is a parent to do if Harry or Ron dies? July 18, 2007. The Boston Globe.
Dyer KA. Talking to a Child about the Death of Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin ~ A Teachable Moment. September 10, 2006. Dying.about.com
Definition. Teachable Moment. Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © 2007.

Photo Source: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Leaky Cauldron. http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

Give the Gift of Life through Organ Donation - A Way to Creatively Cope with Grief

(Blogcatalog asked all members to blog today, Wednesday July 18, in the first world wide blogger social campaign to raise awareness about organ donation and the issues surrounding organ donation. Here is the entry for the Grief, Loss & Transitions Blog from Journey of Hearts. In addition to providing information on becoming an organ donor, I have also included information on how the families of the organ donors cope.)

Organ and tissue donors leave a miraculous legacy. They are living proof that death can bring life, that sorrow can turn to hope, and that a terrible loss can become the greatest gift of all. Every day they lead us on a journey of hope, renewal, and transformation.

National Organ Donors Memorial

Creatively Coping with Grief - Remembering Shannon
I have been inspired for years by the courage demonstrated by Jan and Jules Broom following the unexpected death of their daughter Shannon.

Bookmark Therapy: Jan and Jules created bookmarks from a combination of Shannon's Journal entries, poetry and artwork. They have given out 1,000's of bookmarks over the years.

I keep one of Shannon's Butterfly and Dragonfly bookmarks (shown in the photo) on my desk.

Angel Garden Tree: On Shannon's first birthday in Heaven, Jan and Jules created an Angel Tree in their garden. They laminated photographs of people who had blessed their lives and attached them to a fig tree with wind chimes.

Their Angel tree has grown to include others in the remembrance and celebration of Heaven Days and Angels.

Their story of coping with Shannon's death has been featured in the Healing the Spirit book as "Shannon Lives On." This book looks at nine stories of transformation in families whose loved one became an organ donor.

---

More Gift of Life Stories to Inspire
The Gift of a Lifetime - Explores the stories of people awaiting organ transplants and puts faces on the topic of donation. The courageous people share their stories about the gift of a lifetime. At: http://www.organtransplants.org/

The Online Memorial Quilt - This online memorial gives visitors the chance to create and share an online commemorative quilt square for their loved ones.
http://www.healingthespirit.org/memorials/onlinequilt/index.php

More Donor/Recipient Stories to Inspire - This collection of stories is from the Organ Donor Site. At: http://www.organdonor.gov/stories/

National Organ Donors Memorial Website - This Website hosts a collection of online tributes to organ and tissue donors created by visitors to the site to honor a loved one. At: http://www.donormemorial.org/

---

How You Can Become an Organ Donor?
While the Death, Dying and Bereavement guide at About.com, I wrote a series of helpful articles with information on becoming an organ donor. The steps are pretty easy:

• Declare your wish on your driver's license.
• Join the donor registry if your state has one.
• Include organ donation in your advance directives, will and living will.
• Most important - Tell your family. They can be your advocate should you become a donor candidate and will be the ones doctors come to for consent.
• Tell your physician, attorney, faith or religious leader, and friends.
• Complete a donor card and carry it in your wallet.

The main thing to remember it that you need to let your family know of your wishes to donate. Be sure to read the pages on:

• Get Your Organ and Tissue Donor Card
• Make Your Wishes Known About Organ and Tissue Donation

Others Blogging to Raise Awareness about Organ Donation

• I am. Are you?
• Haiku on Organ Donation
• One Family's Perspective on Waiting for an Organ
  

More about the BlogCatalog Organ Donor Awareness Challenge

• BlogCatalog Organ Donor Awareness Challenge!
• Make History on Wednesday

Sources:
Dyer KA. Organ Donation. October 2006: http://dying.about.com/od/livingafteradeath/ss/organdonate.htm
Health Resource Service Administration (HSRA). Make Your Wishes Known. http://www.organdonor.gov/

Coping with Loss - What Can I Say When a NICU Baby Dies?

In the past several years my area of expertise based on life experiences has been expanded to include the role of NICU Parent.

I have also shifted my focus to being a professional health educator. One of the main areas of education for me is in the often overlooked areas of grief and bereavement.

My educational expertise has also expanded to include the perspective of a NICU parent. With this new area of expertise, there may be some overlap with the NICU Parent Support site, and sometimes when the Losses discussed are NICU Losses.

Coping with NICU Loss
Today a posting by NICU Doctor on "Loss" in the NICU caught my eye. This is an abbreviated version of the comments that I left.

While my specialty is Internal Medicine, I have also done postgraduate training in grief, loss and bereavement with a special interest in hospice and end-of-life care. In addition, I am a former NICU parent.

Thankfully, we did not have to face the decisions with end-of-life care with our daughter. Since this experience I have explored grief and bereavement in the NICU from the dual perspective of a NICU parent and a grief and bereavement educator.

I recently posted a blog on What can I *say* when a NICU baby dies? for friends and family with a reminder that "words can provide a source of solace, hope, comfort and reassurance--emotions much needed during the grieving process."

Here is the link from the NICU Parent Support Site Blog with suggestions for what people can *say* when a NICU baby dies. Some of these comments are generic enough to work for other people in other situations when a loved one has died.

Sources:
Dyer KA. June 2007. What can I *say* when a NICU baby dies? Neonatal Parent Support Site.
Neonatal Doc. July 2007. Loss. Neonatal Doc. http://neonataldoc.blogspot.com/2007/07/loss.html

Journey of Hearts is also GriefandLoss.info

Journey of Hearts was created in 1997 by Domain Designer Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer as an online place for anyone grieving a loss. It was the first and only physician based website devoted to educating people about the normal grief response.

After nearly 10 years of service to the Grieving Internet community providing information on Grief and Loss, Journey of Hearts is taking on a more descriptive term and descriptive URL.

Journey of Hearts has been an online place for Grief and Loss info, now it is officially an online place for GriefandLoss.info

This means if you type in GriefandLoss.info into your browser you will discover the Journey of Hearts website.

A New Blog Feature - Grief, Loss & Comfort Quotes *Check out the bottom of the blog*

With the redesign, we have finally been able to create a Quote Generator that rotates many of the favorite quotations and words of comfort featured on the Journey of Hearts site.

You can find the Quote Generator at the bottom of the blog page. The quote generator is designed to reveal a new quote every day...an incentive to come back and visit the Grief, Loss & Transitions' blog.

Example

Even in the darkest times, memories of past winters melting into spring can comfort, sustain us and bring hope. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS

A Special Thanks
We would like to give a special acknowledgment of thanks to "Tips for New Bloggers" for making the code available.


Source:
Java Script for Quote of the Day: Tips for New Bloggers. February 10, 2007.
http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/search/label/Quotes%20Widget

Create Your Own CarePages brought to you by Journey of Hearts

We are pleased to announce that Journey of Hearts has paired up with CarePages to give our viewers their own place online to create a page to connect, share and care.

What is a CarePage?
CarePages unique service allows you to create a personal, private web page to help family and friends communicate when a loved one is facing illness whether at the beginning of life as a newborn, at the end of life, or somewhere in between.

Creating a CarePage can be a way of generating support, providing information and updates easily. I think the greatest benefit may be that of holding the loved one in everyone's thoughts so they can do better and get healthy, or feel the love and support of family at the end of life.

How Can I Use CarePages?
You can use our Journey of Hearts CarePages to keep family connected when a loved one is facing a challenging illness, or at the end of life.

Visit Journey of Heart CarePages: http://www.carepages.com/journeyofhearts
Visit our Squidoo Lens on CarePages: http://www.squidoo.com/carepages for more information.

What has the Comfortdoc/Griefdoc been doing?

Visitors and supporters of the The Journey of Hearts site will have noticed that the site has been pretty quiet for the last several years, since the birth of my youngest daughter.

While the site may have been quiet, I have been pretty busy. In the past several years I have experience the following major life events:

• Birth of a second child who is also my NICU Survivor (Making me a former NICU Parent)
  
• Moved to a New Town when my daughter was 5 months old.
  
• Begun shifting my professional focus to teaching - Nutrition and Wellness and Grief, Loss and Bereavement Courses both at the College and Graduate levels.
  
• Developed The Violet Heart Collection as an online business venture. (Also undergoing revision.)

I have also attained the following additional credentials, certifications and positions:

• Certification Fellow in Thanatology from the Association of Death Education and Counselors. As far as I know I am the first physician to receive this designation.
• Online Associate Adjunct Professor with Madonna University.
  
• Certified in Online Teaching from Cerro Coso College and Madonna University.
  
• Editor on the topic of Medicine for the Journal of Educators Online.
• Founding Member of the Medical Wellness Association.
• International Adviser of the Medical Wellness Association.
  
• Editor for Medical Wellness Association Journal.
  
• Executive Advisory Board for the American College of Wellness.
  
• Served as the About.com guide for Death, Dying & Bereavement

Within the last few months I have undertaken the following projects:

• Launched NICU Parent Support Site
• Created Squidoo Series of Lenses
• Joined Type-A Mom as a Contributing Writer and Blogger
  
• Launched Free NICU eBook
• Begun the Redesign for the Journey of Hearts site.
• Begun the Grief, Loss & Transitions - Journey of Hearts Blog.
  

Griefdoc is becoming Comfortdoc

Since the early days of Journey of Hearts, I have used the pseudonym "Griefdoc" as part of my online alias. The focus with this handle was on grief and grieving. See The Grief Doc at http://journeyofhearts.org/about/griefdoc.html

Over the last several years, I have begun using the pseudonym "Comfortdoc" the name you notice I am using as my profile for this blog. The focus with this newer handle is on comfort and comforting, I think a more appropriate name for the purpose of Journey of Hearts.

So with the redesign and refocus of Journey of Hearts, I am shifting my 'handle' from Griefdoc (with the focus on grief) to Comfortdoc (with the focus being on providing comfort).

Why the name "Journey of Hearts"?

What is a "Journey of Hearts"?
In 1997 following a series of events, I decided to create the first physician-sponsored healing place for people who are grieving on the Internet. It was going to be a place to provide information and nourish the soul.

The byline, "A Healing Place in Cyberspace" came first, chosen for the alliteration. The title for the website was influenced by a book of poetry that I had self-published with a friend in 1996, "Messages from the Heart: A Journey in Healing."

The name "Journey of Hearts" is to remind us how ubiquitous the experience of loss really is...the heart journeys following loss. Visitors to the site have often had their own interpretation of "Journey of Hearts."

Sharing the Losses of Many Hearts
After a loss, our own heart begins to heal after sharing of the losses of many other hearts.

Journey of Hearts was created to remind visitors that we are not alone in our losses or our feelings of grief, that many times someone else will have experienced similar losses (or worse) and survived.

As the grieving person recognizes that others have lived through loss and survived he or she will begin to realize that he/she can survive their own loss.

Journey of Hearts - A Source for Grief, Loss & Transitions

Journey of Hearts was launched in the Fall of 1997 as "a Healing Place in CyberSpace."

Journey of Hearts: A Healing Place in CyberSpace ... }"{

With the redesign in 2002 the became "An Online Healing Place for Anyone Grieving a Loss."

Journey of Hearts: A Healing Place

As we approach our 10th year on the Internet, Journey of Hearts will be taking on a new byline:

Journey of Hearts -
Resources, Information and Support
For Anyone Grieving a Loss and Living through a Transition

and

Grief Resources, Information and Support
from Journey of Hearts

This new byline will be one that helps people unfamiliar with the site to better understand what the focus of the site has been all along, a web resource for anyone grieving a loss. The new design will allow Journey of Hearts to be more easily discovered by search engines as one of the online resources for Grief, Loss & Transitions.

Welcome to Grief, Loss & Transitions - the New Blog for Journey of Hearts

Welcome to the New Blog I am starting for visitors and supporters of the Journey of Hearts Website, the original online devoted to Grief and Loss developed by a physician.

Celebrating 10 Years of Service
This fall, Journey of Hearts celebrates our 10th anniversary of service to the grieving Internet Community. We will be updating and redesigning the site in celebration of our 10 years online.

With more than > 600 pages to convert, update and re-edit it will take some time, but we are optimistic that the new site will be available by the anniversary of our launch in October.

In the meantime, new information, articles and resources will be posted to this blog.

Grief, Loss & Transitions - The Journey of Hearts Blog
Much has changed in the 10 years Journey of Hearts has been online. Blogging or keeping a web log wasn't an option. Now blogging is an easy way of quickly updating visitors and providing useful information.

In addition to providing updates to the redesign of Journey of Hearts I also plan to provide information and resources for anyone grieving a loss and living through life transitions.

A Labor of Love - A Gift to the Grieving Internet Community
Since the beginning planning stages of the site in September 1997 to it's launch in October of that year, the Journey of Hearts site has been physically and financially maintained by Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer and her husband Cole D. Thompson.

The entire operating costs including the thousands of hours over the last 10 years to write, design, host and maintain the web resource have been donated.

From the beginning to 10 years later, Journey of Hearts has been a labor of love, created in my free time. Because of the continued messages and positive feedback on the site, we believe it is a resource that needs to continue.