Steps to Acceptance - The Loss of a Loved One : Operation: Footprints

During the COVID pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people have lost loved ones. Loss and grief are all around us. Dealing with the pain can become a daily struggle for those left behind.

I understand that challenge.

I have lost over twenty significant loved ones in my life, from my mother when I was six, my father when I was eleven, to my aunt just two Christmases ago. I experienced how each death affects each survivor in quite individual ways. I watched helplessly as my uncle, who raised me after I was orphaned, struggled with cancer. I mourned as beloved family members lost their sense of self to Alzheimer's Disease. Sometimes, the hurdles are even higher. My beloved cousin went missing and then overdosed. We searched for him for six months. By the time we discovered his body in a wood, dental recognition was needed to confirm it was him.

I have coped with death since I was a young child. Every death is unique. To create context for my workbook, I discuss my own range of life experiences. I also explore the stages which most survivors experience. At the core, those stages are denial, guilt, anger, bargaining, and depression. Some researchers include phases for accepting the loss and reconstructing your life.

This book is not a step-by-step checkpoint of the stages. I present a holistic approach which provides practical, workbook-style explorations of where you are in your own journey. I find that cookie-cutter stages in research do not always match up neatly with a person's own experiences. The stages may come at any time, in any order, and sometimes not at all. Your own path is unique to you.

What I present here has helped me immensely with my own challenges with personal tragedy. I hope that what I have endured can help you face your own trials with strength, courage, and at some point, peace.