Kara

01/24/2025

These 4 pillars of adaptation come from the Model of Adaptive Grieving formulated by C.D. Bagbey Darian. It details the ways that grief can affect a griever, and that there are a multitude of ways we must adapt to life after the death of our people.

Of course, this is also another theory, which means that there will always be some things that support it as well as some things that counter it. Do you find that some of these pillars apply to your own grief?

01/20/2025

Have you read this article by What's Your Grief yet? It is a quick read that provides an interesting perspective on loss. If you have time, feel free to check it out!

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The incredible progress of modern medicine means we’ve lost the foundational understanding that life is loss. Is that a good thing?

01/17/2025

I know you’ve lost someone and it hurts. You may have lost them suddenly, unexpectedly. Or perhaps you began losing pieces of them until one day, there was nothing left. You may have known them all your life or you may have barely known them at all. Either way, it is irrelevant- you cannot control the depth of a wound another soul inflicts upon you.

Which is why I am not here to tell you tomorrow is another day. That the sun will go on shining. Or there are plenty of fish in the sea. What I will tell you is this; it’s okay to be hurting as much as you are. What you are feeling is not only completely valid but necessary- because it makes you so much more human. And though I can’t promise it will get better any time soon, I can tell you that it will- eventually. For now, all you can do is take your time. Take all the time you need.

- Lang Leav

01/15/2025

Have you heard any of these grief myths?

It is important to remember that you do not have to be strong all the time, especially when processing the difficult and complex emotions that come along with grief.

01/13/2025

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."

- Bram Stroker, Dracula

01/12/2025

January eNews: HOPE in the New Year and Offering Compassionate Care to Bereaved Individuals & Organizations. You Can Give to Help Others Thrive in '25! - https://mailchi.mp/kara-grief.org/jan25

01/08/2025

"The half life of love is forever."

- Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her

01/06/2025

https://kara-grief.org/news/2025-new-volunteer-training/

Interested in becoming a peer support volunteer at Kara? We will be holding information sessions on everything to do with the volunteer process from application to training.

Attending one of these sessions is REQUIRED to submit an application to volunteer in Kara's 2025 cohort. Registration can be done on our website in the link!

01/02/2025

Kara's office has reopened for 2025! We are grateful to begin a new year with the community, and to be a space of support for the grieving.

We know that grief does not pause with the holidays, so we are working to follow up with all of your messages that we received during the office closure.

12/31/2024

"I am because you were."

- Unknown

12/30/2024

Happy New Year 🎉 With Deep Gratitude - https://mailchi.mp/kara-grief.org/thankyou2023-6671438
We are grateful for those who have supported our mission over this past year through both volunteer services and financial contributions. Thank you for partnering with us as we provide support to the bereaved and strive to build a more grief-informed community. Together, we can ensure that no one faces grief alone.

12/27/2024

"Our joys will be greater, our love will be deeper, our life will be fuller because we shared your moment."

- Unknown

12/23/2024

2024 Appeal for HOPE & Candlelight Remembrance- https://mailchi.mp/kara-grief.org/dec24eyacandlelight For nearly five decades, Kara has been a beacon of hope for those navigating the challenges and complexities of grief. Thanks to the unwavering dedication of our staff, volunteers, and generous supporters like you, we are able to provide invaluable peer based grief support services to thousands each year, free of charge.

12/23/2024

Kara is thinking of you this holiday season, and we will see you next year!

12/21/2024

Today marks Kara's 48th anniversary! It has been an absolute pleasure to serve the Bay Area community, providing support to bereaved children, adults, and families.

We greatly appreciate the support of each and every one of you as well! Together, we are stronger and can strive to create a more grief-informed community where no one has to grieve alone.

12/20/2024

The final Dougy Center principle is that grief is nonfinite. Loss is interwoven into our identity; the act of grieving is not a finite experience. Grief is ongoing.

Because grief doesn’t have an endpoint, it is not something that is “fixable”. This can be one of the hardest things to grapple with when supporting someone who is grieving. When you see someone suffering, it is natural to want to take that suffering away. But sitting with someone in grief is not to fix those emotions, it is to provide a listening ear to however the griever wishes to share them.

The other important aspect of why grief is nonfinite is due to how concrete the term finite is. If there was truly an objective way to decide your grief was over, who would decide the line? Add in the fact that grief is unique from person to person, who could make a metric that would successfully capture all people’s grieving to decide when it is fixed?

We will remember the person who died for the rest of our own lives, and those memories may sometimes retrigger emotions related to the grief. It’s definitely possible that some of those feelings may trigger less often or less intensely over time, but they are never truly gone.

12/18/2024

Remember to take time for yourself too!

12/16/2024

“You can not die of grief, though it feels as if you can. A heart does not actually break, though sometimes your chest aches as if it is breaking. Grief dims with time. It is the way of things. There comes a day when you smile again, and you feel like a traitor. How dare I feel happy. How dare I be glad in a world where my father is no more. And then you cry fresh tears, because you do not miss him as much as you once did, and giving up your grief is another kind of death.”

― Laurell K. Hamilton