Animal wakes and funerals
Posted by Vale When Dorothy the chimp died at the sanctuary in the Cameroons, other members of her troop looked on as she was buried, comforting each other with touches and caresses. Animals don’t just grieve; new studies suggest that they might mark a passing too. Mark Bekoff of Colorado University has written that: I […]
Grief in animals
Posted by Vale The photo shows a swallow grieving for its mate who had been killed in collision with a car. In a series of shots (see them here) we see him first try to feed his mate and then, when he realises that she is dead, seems to cry out. But how can an […]
Mother and child
By Richard Rawlinson Whether or not we think death is the end, news of the death of the mother of an unfound victim of the Moors Murders has brought home how natural it is to seek solace in the proximity of the departed. Winnie Johnson, who died of cancer aged 77, had hoped for 50 years […]
I hated my brother. When he died, all I felt was happiness…
Liz Hodgkinson writing in The Daily Mail 31 July 2012 The news came as a shock, yes, but it didn’t provoke tears, or even any sense of grief. I’d just heard from my niece that my brother Richard had died of a heart attack, aged 62, following an apparently minor operation. And all I felt […]
Stat of the day
A study in Finland (1996) found that men are 30% more likely to die in the first six months after the death of their partner, and 20% more likely to die thereafter. Women, on the other hand, are 20% more likely to die in the first six months after the death of their partner, falling […]
What Is Left
What is Left is a participatory portraiture project being made by Leeds-based artist Ellie Harrison, photographer Roshana Rubin Mayhew and 50 members of the public. Working with individuals, community groups and bereavement charities, Ellie and Roshana wil generate 50 portraits with corresponding texts in collaboration with participants. Photographed in their own homes with objects they […]
Doctors need to grieve, too
There’s an interesting piece in the New York Times here about the emotional difficulties doctors experience when working with people who are going to die. People often characterise doctors as cold and uncaring when, in fact, they may simply not be coping: We found that oncologists struggled to manage their feelings of grief with the detachment they […]
It happens…
Extracted from the Otago Daily Times. New Zealand: A man who disrupted a Balclutha funeral, yelling vulgarities and causing distress and upset, has been remanded in custody. Stephen John Hurring (59), of Balclutha, pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence at the Balclutha Memorial Hall. Prosecutor Acting Sergeant Mike Gasson said about 700 […]
Death of a best friend
posted by Quokkagirl I received a moving email the other day from a friend telling me that Archie, her beloved and faithful old Westie had finally lost his battle with cancer. The last time I saw Archie was a couple of months ago – looking older but still the feisty little man he had always […]
Modern grief 2 — To shirk suffering is also to shirk those who suffer
Posted by Charles Over at the Heart of Mopsus blog, here, the Rector of Swanvale Halt took part in an Easter Friday Walk of Witness and reflected as follows: Christians insist on publicly remembering a single, immensely violent event on a sunny Bank Holiday when everyone else is enjoying themselves; certainly most of my friends, […]
