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Rebuilding Life After Death
by Mark Colgan, CFP When you’re in the midst of grief and overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to tackle after a loved one passes away, it can feel lonely and, sometimes, scary. As discouraging as it may feel at the time, there can be a good life after death. It can be scary…
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Thoughts for the New Year
Rudyard Kipling, in his book Bridge Building, says, “Never look backward, or you’ll fall down the stairs.” This statement, in the context of his book, inspires serious philosophical and existential questions related to the duality between science and the spiritual. Still, it also evokes a fear of looking back at where so much of life…
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Thanks to each of you for supporting me
I can’t believe that in two weeks, 2022 will end, and 2023 will begin. Another year will end, and a New Year will begin with my hope and aspirations for new and exciting possibilities. It was how I looked at each year for many years until that villain called grief entered the picture. It took…
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Each One, Help One
“Don’t hoard your lessons!” Those words hammered into the back of my mind one day, about three months after my second wife died. By then, I’d been asked to share my grief journey. Contrary, or maybe not, to what one may think, it came pretty easy to talk about and was beneficial to me. I…
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Healing Through Journaling
As you make your way into your new life as a widowed man, it can be helpful to keep track of some of the events on your journey. This is new territory. You may want to know later what you have been through. There are at least two benefits of journaling: first: When you get…
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Nine Ways To Simplify Your Life
WHEN DID LIFE GET SO BUSY? I’M HEARING THE MANTRA, “TOO MUCH TO DO, TOO LITTLE TIME” FAR MORE THESE DAYS. When I became a widower, all of life’s have-to-dos seemed to double. I became a widower just before the emergence of COVID. The stress that was put on me both personally and professionally was…
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How I Help Surviving Spouses Create a Positive Financial Future
By Mark Clogan, CFP In the aftermath of a spouse’s death, many surviving spouses experience periods of financial worry and uncertainty. In addition to dealing with the emotional challenge of losing a beloved partner, they are often left to contend with unwelcome financial and legal responsibilities. As a result, you may find yourself juggling new…
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Do You Have Male Friends?
Noted clinical psychologist Edward Zimmer, MA, from Savannah, Georgia, is a friend of mine. You may recognize his name as he was a contributor to my book, The Widower’s Journey, and has been a guest on my podcast, Widower’s Journey Podcast. Better said, he is a childhood friend I first met on a baseball diamond when I was only…
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Legacy
My wife, Jan, was a teacher for twenty years. At that time, I knew many of her students and was well aware of the tremendous impact she had on them. She taught “gifted” kids at the middle school level. Many of her peers marveled at how much she loved to teach this age group. Part…
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Grief and Regrets
by David Knapp Shortly after my first wife, Ruth died, I heard a song by a musical couple in Michigan, Steve and Annie Chapman. The song was “No Regrets.” it spoke of the pain and recovery of a man who had lost his wife. Some lyrics included: “He has an empty house, he has an…
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