I refused to let (Sarah's) death be in vain. I wanted to make something beautiful, and helpful, and loving out of something that was so tremendously tragic and awful in our lives.
There’s a poignant quote by the famous Swiss-American psychiatrist and author of On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross that I think truly exemplifies our guest, Buffy Peters, and her passionate work as Director of Hamilton’s Academy of Grief and Loss:
"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."
That final part of the quote is what brings us to this conversation and is really the deeper meaning behind Facing Tomorrow - beautiful people do not just happen. What was even more fascinating was the conversation we had after the microphones turned off. Buffy talked about how EKR often felt uncomfortable with how her philosophies were lived out in psychiatry. Her collaborator and co-author, David Kessler, would also rethink the concept of five stages of grief after experiencing his own grief in losing his son. It wasn't until he became one of the beautiful people that he truly understood the non-linear nature of grief.
When people are struck by some life event that places them in a position, albeit not a requested one, they often to take a leap of faith and live their passion often in honor or direct result of that event. It was in that pain and grief that I first met Buffy. Her work around death and grief are instrumental in the support of families who experience loss due to suicide (where I often see her through my support work of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), and families who experience loss due to miscarriage or stillbirth (connection through The Fletcher Foundation).
But what led her on her path to where she is today? Listen in!
What is Hamilton's Academy of Grief and Loss? An amazing service as part of Hamilton's Funeral and After Life Services! The services include:
- Little Hands: Support group for children ages 3.5-6 who have experienced loss
- Healing Hearts: Support group for first through sixth graders who have experienced loss
- Family Services Symposiums are events open to anyone in the community who is grieving
- Family Support Dogs including the world-famous Bear (who you can see in the picture with Hamilton's Bunny on our homepage
- And their amazing Grief Resource Lending Library which anyone can take advantage of
Buffy mentioned the AMF App from HealGrief.org which is filled with tools and resources needed to foster healthy growth after a death loss. We encourage you to check this app out if you are in need!
We also discussed Death Cafe Iowa which has a mission to help “increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their (finite) lives." Death Cafe Iowa has a regular meeting cadance for virtual meetings along with an active Facebook page.
Please consider listening in, joining in the conversation, and most importantly always remember, you are loved, you are needed, you are appreciated, and you should never feel like you have to walk alone!
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