[Author’s Note: At my son’s memorial service, his friend Nadine (not her real name) told the story of how Julian once took a homeless man
Author: Celenia Delsol
I write, I coach, I counsel and I speak about "A New Normal: Living & Loving Your Life After Loss." This was not by design. This was after experiencing the loss of my son to suicide in 2010, a cancer diagnosis in 2016, my mother's cancer diagnosis in 2017, my sister's ALS diagnosis in the same year. Loss and more loss and more loss. You'd think I would have curled up into a ball or hidden in a cave. And yes, that was appealing for a while with each new calamity. But I am a survivor. Many of us are. I write because it helped me make sense of the absurdity of life, and I share my writing because people let me know that it speaks to them. I write with others because the interaction feeds my mind and heart. I coach and counsel others because I have something of value to offer those who are on their own journey of grief and healing. I speak to inspire others to carry on when life has not been kind. There is no going back to normal when tragedy strikes. There is only moving forward. Into A NEW NORMAL.
How To Answer The Question
“Do you have children?” It’s kind of personal, even intimate, isn’t it? These days there are so many who choose to not have children at all, or people who struggle to have children, or people who have suffered the loss of a child. Can’t we lean into conversation with a new acquaintance with a little more imagination and elegance?
A Riot Of Color
This post is dedicated to my mother, Carmen, whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you! —————————- Since my son’s suicide in June
Not “Heartbroken”
[Author’s Note: When a loved one dies by suicide – in my case, my only child – there really isn’t a word that touches the
There Goes Another One
Like so many, I was saddened to tears to learn of Robin Williams’ “apparent” suicide. This comic and dramatic genius is now forever lost to
Diary Of A Mother In Postpartum Hell
[Author’s Note: I experienced horrible postpartum depression during Julian’s first months of life and my first months as a mother. No one can say for
There You Are
That boy holding the door for his mom, the kid waiting in line at Starbuck’s, the teen weaving his bike through traffic, the man leaning
The Long Goodbye
I miss you. Not the way I missed you when your father and I went on our first date after you were born. Nana and
Our Not Too Auspicious Beginnings
Friday, January 19, 1990 around 5:00 p.m. My waters broke and the countdown to baby began. It had been a fairly uneventful pregnancy. There had
No Words
There are words for those whose spouses die: “widows” and “widowers.” There is a word for children, even adult children, whose parents die: “orphans.” Although
"A NEW NORMAL" by Celenia Delsol (c) 2021 