There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief … And unspeakable love …
Washington Irving

After the death of a beloved, there is no avoiding the overwhelming grief or the tears. In the immediate aftermath, we may be in shock, feel numb or even be in denial about the loss. Although everyone’s timetable is different, eventually we have to acknowledge the loss and how devastated we are. No matter how painful, we must sit with our grief and all that we’ve lost in order to start healing.

a close up image of a piece of paper with handwriting all over it

At Salt Water, we can help you learn to live with an unbearable loss. We offer ideas, strategies, tools and most importantly, hope that you can survive the death of someone you didn’t think you could live without.

We invite you to become part of our community. Share your story, ask a question, make a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

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Brass statue of the Bodhitsava with headdress, eyes closed and right hand raised

goddess of compassion

after steven died, you would show up
on occasional friday nights
for my creative writing class

Healing The Broken Place

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. Ernest Hemingway

Lake in Masuria, Poland at sunrise. The sky and water are light and darker purple respectively. The clouds in the horizon are red and orange. There's a wooden dock stretching from the lower 1/3 of the photo on the right 3/4 away across the photo toward the left side

The Sounds of Silence

Listen to silence. It has so much to say. Rumi

Diane sitting on a black leather couch with her mother. Her mother's kitchen with light wood cabinets can be seen in the background. Diane is on the left wearing a light red collared blouse over a long sleeve red t-shirt. Dian's mom is wearing dark pants, a white shirt and a red and black Christmas sweater.

I Can’t Save My Mother

Even though I’m trying as hard as I can
I must accept the fact that I can’t save my mother

The silhouette of two people in a rowboat. The one on the left appears to be a woman; the one on the right who is rowing appears to be a man. The sun has set and the water and the cloudy sky are a deep blue gray.

How The Light Gets In

We are all broken … that’s how the light gets in. Ernest Hemingway

Jimmy in his freshman dorm. His elevated single bed is on the right with a penguin and red quilt on it. He's wearing a Mellow Johnny's tshirt and black basketball shorts. There's a window behind him and a wooden chair in the left of the photo

The Forgotten Parts

Jimmy’s first home at Stanford was Cedro where he lived in room 218. He was known for his dry sense of humor, fanatic love of the Portland Trailblazers and playing pool and Super Smash Bros at all hours (along with the rest of us).

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