grief
The actor's widow is reaching out to others who have experienced loss.
Patrick Swayze's widow Lisa Niemi is set to break her silence six weeks after the actor's tragic death, publicly sharing her grief at a women's empowerment conference later this month.
Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on September 14th at age 57, leaving behind his wife of 34 years.
Niemi, 53, will participate in a round table discussion on Grief, Healing and Resilience at The Women's Conference 2009 in Long Beach, California, which gathers women to be "educated, inspired and empowered to be Architects of Change in their own lives."
Read the rest of Niemi's story at starpulse.com.
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Pregnant Nicole devastated by former fiance's death.
Nicole Richie is devastated by the sudden death of her former fiancé, DJ AM, Star reports, and her family is worried that her grief might cause her to go into labor. Nicole's second child with boyfriend Joel Madden is due any day, and when she heard about Adam Goldstein's death, she "almost collapsed in grief," and her extreme reaction caused Joel to wonder if she still has feelings for Adam.
Nicole and Adam dated for two years and were planning to marry before they broke up in 2005. When she heard of his death, a … Read More
Hayley Wood says a breakup did not cause his overdose.
DJ AM's girlfriend, Hayley Wood, vigorously denies that a breakup of their relationship two weeks before his death from a suspected accidental overdose was the cause of his relapse into drugs. "Any indication that this horribly tragic accident happened because of a rumored breakup is not only untrue but disgusting," Hayley told Us Weekly. "We were very much together at the time of his passing, and I love him very much."
Hayley, 22, and Adam Goldstein, known professionally as DJ AM, had been dating since late last year. They began seeing each other shortly after he … Read More
A widow reflects on the death of her much older husband.
I admired my future husband from afar for a couple of years before we finally met at a horse show where we were both competitors. He had a great sense of humor, was a terrific horseman and looked like Frank Sinatra. I was hooked.
He was recently divorced and looking. Of course I had been looking at him for a long time already. I was 20 and he was 45. I saw nothing but his smile. Neither the age difference nor the fact that he was two inches shorter than I am made any difference. There was something about … Read More
Everyone experiences grief differently; here are some universal tips for helping your partner cope.
When my dad died last year, it was hard on me, of course, but also on my boyfriend. I was 24, he was 28, and the call came just a few weeks shy of our one-year anniversary. Suddenly he found himself sitting next to me in the front row of the church and meeting my extended family. We'd scheduled a vacation for the next month, so he was going to be stuck with a crying, grieving girlfriend for nine days. A Father's Death, A Boyfriend's Proposal
He handled it with sensitivity and maturity, and the experience has brought … Read More
A young widow leaves the porch light on for her dead husband, even after finding love a second time.
They say nights are the hardest to get through, so instead of sleeping in the bed we had shared, I decided to sleep on the couch. With fresh sheets in hand, I flipped over the end cushion and heard the crinkle of a candy bar wrapper. If he had been in the living room with me, I would have reprimanded him (as I had so many times!) and led him into the kitchen to show him where the garbage can was.
Now, as I picked up the wrapper, the last thing I wanted to do was throw it away. I held … Read More
The best ways to deal with love's emotional and physical hangovers.
Everybody knows the tricks for a better tomorrow after too much fun tonight: Gulp water, grab a couple aspirin, maybe pop a vitamin, and sleep it off.
But what's the prescription for the lingering gray cloud that can last for days—or even longer—after scenes that stir up feelings of fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, or jealousy?
The first step is recognizing what's happening to our bodies. Immediately after spats with bosses, friends, family, or lovers, we're probably aware that we feel wretched, and why. But we often overlook the aftershocks of intense negative emotions: the physical, biochemical changes.
Rashes, sleep disturbances, … Read More
Actress Blythe Danner discusses love lost and her own personal growth.
You haven't spoken publicly about your husband's death before. What made you feel you were ready now? I just felt it was of the utmost importance to do this. I saw that [the issue of head and neck cancer] had not gotten into the mainstream media, and I know that Bruce would want me to get this message out—that's the kind of guy he was. He was always curious and informing people about so many things. And now that I have grandchildren … I thought I would like to see the number of these cancers come down. Forty thousand … Read More