The Mission of AfterLoss

If you have lost someone very dear to you through death, you are probably going though an intensely emotional - and certainly a very painful - period in your life. Until we suffer a grief of our own, we know little about its requirements.

The management of grief takes place over time because grief is a process, not an event. Because the loss of your loved one is such as highly personal matter, your grief process will be a totally individual one. However there are many experiences common to those who grieve and it is for this precise reason that AfterLoss was created:

1. to offer the knowledge and insight that promotes a better understanding of grief
2. to provide a valuable and helpful resource for the newly grieving people and for the professionals who want to help them
3. to offer comfort and care in an easy-to-read format and
4. to provide the tools needed to successfully manage the grieving periods that are so much a part of every life

As editor of Afterloss, I will endeavor to arm you with skills that will see you through the worst times and prepare you for acceptance of the best. The only 'cure' for grief is grieving. It cannot be ignored, repressed, refused or dismissed without lingering repercussions.

The duration of your grief process depends entirely upon you and your willingness to work through your feelings. Please do not be misled by the old adage, Time heals all wounds. It is what you do with the time following your loss that counts.

My goal is to help you learn how to help yourself by building and then exercising mechanisms that will help you cope - mechanisms that will work specifically for you. The result of our working together will include the development of healthy behavior and attitudes that can enhance your ability to successfully work through the demands of your bereavement.

The need for support varies from person to person and from time to time. However, when we are grieving, the need for support seems universal. AfterLoss is committed to providing support for you at a time in your life when confusion runs rampant, emotions seem out of control, needs are not readily identified and resources are virtually unknown.

In the successive issues of the AfterLoss HelpLetter, we provide you with a comprehensive 'course' on grief recovery. We want you to be able to derive the same benefits that others receive from our successful support groups in the comfort and privacy of your home. We know it may be difficult for you to concentrate right now, so each article will be short, succinct, instructive and supportive.

We want to help you make your grief recovery process a growth process.