Category Archives: Uncategorized

By Sherrie Cassel Edited for corrections @ 9:42 P.M., PST, 9/4/2024 What is it about death that transforms reality into idealization of a person who has passed; it’s almost like sending them off to heaven with a delusion of their angelhood. That is how it happens. As Rikki’s momma, I have collected every wound IContinue reading “Balancing on the Fulcrum (revisited)”

By Sherrie Cassel I make time for rumination. I race through the two days I’m out in the craziness of life in California, but then I look ahead to see if there’s a day I can schedule for reminiscences – maybe even a day of supreme sorrow as I make the time to feel hisContinue reading “Bearing His Cross”

By Sherrie Cassel There’s a feeling I get when I hear a song I find to be beautiful. The first note can have me sobbing in seconds. I’ve learned to tame the meltdowns. Deep grief is a part of my horrible/wonderful life. I’m the mother of a child who died from the mental illness ofContinue reading “Normalizing Boo Boos”

By Sherrie Cassel Tomorrow, August 6, at 3:15 p.m. is my son’s birthday. He would be 41. I’ve booked myself solid for tomorrow: clients all day, two groups to facilitate, four hours in traffic (round-trip). I’m cool. My heart will feel pangs, just as my body did 41 years ago. I went into labor onContinue reading “Happy birthday, Son”

by Sherrie Cassel How do I console the inconsolable?the broken-hearted?Those who ache deepin their souls?How do I make their painSTOP!How do I do that?I’m in constant soul-painFrom the most significantLoss a parent can endure.the loss of a child —I know pain at a level so deep.It’s as infinite as a black hole.How? You ask. HowContinue reading “Grief — in prose”

By Sherrie Cassel “Will you still need me? Will you still feed me when I’m sixty-four?” said the Beatles a half-century ago. I’m not sixty-four – yet. I had my 62nd birthday in June. The clock seems to be ticking a lot faster than it used to, or maybe it is the fact that IContinue reading “Pablum”

By Sherrie Cassel Incorporating self-care into our lives may not be a benefit to everyone in our circle. For example, I recently diagnosed myself with burnout. I’m in the helping profession and sometimes life gets really heavy. I know about burnout. On one of my academic journeys, I was very much into Christine Maslach andContinue reading “Burnout and Grief”

By Sherrie Cassel Normalizing Grief By Sherrie Cassel I do well to manage through the day, each and every day. Eight years have passed and though my mood be light, my heart is constantly weighed down with grief. I miss you. Smiling is something I learned as a child, smiling through the drama, smiling throughContinue reading “Normalizing Grief”

By Sherrie Cassel Memories fascinate me, and how we evoke them based on where and how we are at any given moment. A song, a breeze, a scent, etc., can bring a memory wafting in like a feather, or crashing in like a wrecking ball – with intense force. This morning was the latter, butContinue reading “Over the flame”

By Sherrie Cassel I caught myself dancing this morning, and for just a second. . . it was an ordinary moment, a moment like when you                 were still here. I wanted to call you to tell you the day started off                 without a hitch, a precursor to a good day. I wanted toContinue reading “The Jig is Up”