Debbie and I
I have really struggled to write a blog about my sister’s death, my grieving, and the memoir I am currently writing. I know part of the challenge is where to start. Do I begin by listing the facts, like an obituary notice? Or do I begin by writing about the “phone call”?Receiving the dreaded phone call seems like a blog posting in of itself. I can say I received a phone call in February, 2013 that my younger sister had been found dead. She had died in her sleep. It was later ruled an accidental overdose, for a medication she was taking had a slightly higher than normal amount. She was only 43 and left behind a husband and two sons.
I found out about her death the next morning when my parents made “the phone call.” Like any family member who has lost their loved ones, I was an emotional basket case. I was catapulted into a new reality. Like the Matrix, I felt that there was part of me living in one dimension and the other part living in a different dimension. My grief is no worse than someone else’s pain, yet my grief was and is complicated. We came from a dysfunctional childhood with alcoholism, domestic violence, and incest. But, and a big BUT, the hope and healing through Jesus Christ that I experienced 20+ years ago continues to guide me through a maze of emotions and memories.
My hope and prayer is that others who have had complicated childhoods and/or catapulted prematurely down a grief journey will be encouraged by my grief experience.
“The Lord is a refuge and a fortress” Psalm 91:1
join the discussion: #griefsoup
