If I reflect on my life, I see a pattern. I have often, and in many different ways, created groups, programs and resources for people following in my footsteps. My operating system has been to try to make things — whatever those things are — better for others because those resources weren’t there for me. … Read More
Welcome to the Suddenly Single Survival Guide blog and resource website. My sister Ruth and I began incubating this idea a few years ago. In 2017, we began to work on this project in earnest and you’re now seeing the genesis of what we hope will be a website that will be beneficial for women … Read More
It’s difficult to return to normal life after losing a loved one. Even getting out of bed, eating and sleeping can be a challenge. If you’re unable to sleep well after the death of a loved one, try the following tips.
If we are 100% honest, I believe all of us who have become Suddenly Single will admit there were times — particularly in those first days and weeks when we were afraid. Maybe even terrified. The future seemed uncertain. More decisions had to be made than one single brain could handle. If you think back … Read More
I’m currently reading the book Grief is a Journey by Dr. Kenneth Doka. In my counselling work, I often quote him as the grief specialist who coined the term, disenfranchised grief. (Disenfranchised grief refers to grief that is not recognized by others.) Therefore, I was pleased to discover he had written a more general book … Read More
Black. Black. Black. Stand at the entry point of any women’s wear store between the months of September and March and look side to side, front to back. Then, imagine that every black item of clothing in that store disappeared in a blink. What’s left? Not much. For most of my life I avoided wearing … Read More
It’s RRSP “season”, a term you’ll hear often in the first 60 days of any calendar year in Canada*. I’m sure you’ve seen many commercials on TV and online trying to convince you to set up or contribute to a registered retirement savings plan. As common as RRSPs are, I’m often asked basic questions about … Read More
Many of us begin the new year by resolving to do better than we did in the past year. This blog post isn’t for you who are recently bereaved but for those who are down that road a little way, for those who are learning to be single. When we are just putting ourselves together … Read More
2017 is now behind us and 2018 is a clean slate, waiting for us to fill in the blanks. You’ve probably already thought about New Year’s resolutions during the first week of January. If you felt any stress over money last year, you may be thinking about making some financial resolutions to prevent that from … Read More
Regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas, celebrate a different holiday, or try your best to avoid celebrating at all during the weeks of late December/early January, the feeling in the air is that this has to be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Even if it’s not. Even if the past year has been … Read More
If your spouse was the member of the household who handled all issues pertaining to car ownership, everything from purchasing decisions to scheduling and handling maintenance, taking over this job as a widow can seem daunting. I’ll give you some help with that today and in future posts. In fact, cars are an oft-neglected piece … Read More
Dear Jerry, Well, hello again. Guess what I found? A letter I had written and somehow missed sending. My goodness, I am dropping the ball here. I promised you, with all good intentions, that I’d share some ideas with you for helping your mom and I start, and then get distracted by my own life. … Read More
As I’m writing this post, it’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. and tomorrow is “Black Friday”, the biggest single retail sales day in North America. Between now and the end of the year, it will be virtually impossible to avoid advertising designed to persuade us to buy “stuff” for both holiday gift giving and for … Read More
If you have been online, or out and about, you will invariably have been bombarded with Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas. And in just over a month, you will hear, once again, Happy New Years. We are heading into the season of celebration, consumption (shopping!),and family gatherings. And, for those who … Read More
