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by Hilary Farquhar February has been a strange month. My mother got shingles at the end of January, which led to a cascade of issues that landed her in the ER. As luck would have it, my sister, who is Mom's primary caretaker, had a severe...
by Jennie Reichman I think I’ve mentioned in this space that my mother was a young German woman during World War II. She endured bombings, displacement, walked and hitchhiked to Czechoslovakia from Berlin, scavenged for food and experienced many other hardships. She met my dad, an...
Serious Illness Program (SIP) Volunteer Training Begins in April 2025 The Serious Illness Program was created to offer support, solace, and assistance to people going through a life-altering serious illness that may or may not carry a terminal prognosis. Become a SIP Volunteer! This is a wonderful...
By Jennie Reichman Live from Brattleboro, It's Experienced Goods! Driving to the grocery store on a recent Sunday, I was listening to the New Yorker Radio Hour. The interviewer was talking to magazine editor Susan Morrison about her biography of Lorne Michaels, creator of the iconic late...
Demystifying the care of a body after death For as long as humans have existed, we have cared for each other at the end of life, including after death. Caring for a body at home is often legal and practical. Brattleboro Area Hospice provides volunteer support to...
By Jennie Reichman The inspiration for this month’s article begins with a spatula. Not one I bought for a dollar at Experienced Goods, but a green silicone number I purchased sometime in the mid-1980s while visiting my friend Ruth in Seattle. She had taken me to...
By Eileen Glover, SIP Coordinator I try to start every support group session with some sort of grounding visualization/guided meditation. (Sometimes we get carried away talking right out of the gate and then we’ll do it at the end.) It’s fascinating to watch how each unique...
Ten Tips for Getting through the Holidays when You're Grieving a Loss Eat well. Drink plenty of water. Cut back on sweets, alcohol, and caffeine. Exercise. It reduces stress, and can help you sleep better. If you accept invitations to parties and dinners, ask permission to be flexible....
By Hilary Farquhar Whether this is time or snow, passing Through the night, earthward, Who can tell— White Darkness, Virginia Hamilton Adair I miss my cat. For as long as he lived with me, Tris would spend the first few hours after I brought my Christmas tree home sniffing every...
By Jennie Reichman We are entering the time of year when shopping is tantamount. Somewhere around the week before Thanksgiving, everyone really gets it that summer is over, winter is in the wings, and Christmas is (yikes!) a few weeks away. For several days before we...