From COPE Clinical Director Amy Olshever, PhD, LCSW Have you had the experience of making it through your day only to find that you are triggered by something totally unexpected, like a song on the radio? Or something that is usually inconsequential, like forgetting...
The COPE Foundation was inspired by a dream. In 1992, Lilly’s 20-year-old daughter, Michelle, lost her life tragically in a car accident. In the midst of her grief, her daughter came to her in a dream and said, ” I’m okay, Mommy. You’re the ones who...
Prolonged Grief Disorder The newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V TR) includes a new diagnosis known as Prolonged Grief Disorder. Along with many in the grief community, this new addition has been an important topic of...
“When I die Give what’s left of me away To children And old men that wait to die. And if you need to cry, Cry for your brother Walking the street beside you And when you need me, Put your arms Around anyone And give to them What you need to give to me. I want to leave...
My mini-me, Elizabeth Raisa Fenton, or Lizzie, as she was affectionately called throughout her childhood, was diagnosed with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer in June of 2015, 6 months after her wedding. She fought valiantly for almost 6 years undergoing several major...
The night of July 2, 2016, my brother and I were texting about the Mets (like every year, we had high hopes for them). Our conversation came to an end and he texted me “Good night! Love you!” Those were the last words my brother ever said to me. He died just a few...
The Legacies Our Loved Ones Leave Behind Over the past two months, I attended the funerals and shivas for the mothers of two friends. I did not know either mother very well other than having met them through my friends’ weddings or having heard about them through...
Grief Stole My Love of Reading. Here’s How I Got It Back. I want to tell a story about a love lost and found again. In 2017, I moved across the country, lost my father to heart disease, had a miscarriage and then a complicated pregnancy that ended in another...
My Daughter Robin My beautiful daughter and best friend left us January 11 four years ago! I miss her very much, especially on special occasions. So March 15 is her birthday! On that day in 1968 I was blessed to become her Mom! (Mommy) We...
My precious Eddie. 8/19/78 – 12/11/18 Eddie was an angel, never being angry at anyone for anything. Hit by a car, at 12 years old, labeled special education in New York City. I became his strongest advocate, always pushing assertively...
