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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Sunset over the bay under a cloudy sky with the silhouette or two chairs on the beach in the foreground

Watching you die

Well, you don’t die during the week I visit—you want as much time as you can get on the planet, and you’re getting it—but you’re so close, you say, that you can see St. Peter when you’re in the shower.

Jimmy squating down with his hands on an antique cannonball on a chain. He's wearing a red Red Dox hat, a white t-shirt, black shorts with white piping and flip flops

Ghost Child

Whatever I am doing, wherever I am, I am thinking: Where is he, where is he? He can’t just have vanished. He must be someplace. All I have to do is find him. Maggie O’Farrell

The ocean with white waves and blue sky overhead. In the foreground is a sandy area then rocks with some green algae on them

Pain, That Common Ground

Healing, loving thoughts toward all those struggling today. I am with you, in my own pain. It’s the human condition, isn’t it? A common ground that unites us, this pain. 

Mom reading to Jimmy on the carpeted floor of our family room. Jimmy is one and wearing a sleeveless onsie. Mom has gray hear and is wearing long khaki pants and a light colored long sleeve collared shirt

Mothering Me Still

In the end, this may be why certain losses are so shocking, not because they defy reality, but because they reveal it. Kathryn Schulz

Stormy skies over the ocean. In the middle of the photo, there's a thin strip of rocky land like a finger jutting out

The Sounds Of Loss

The sea of grief has no shores, no bottom; no one can sound its depths. Primo Levi

Cardinal sitting in bare branches of a tree with snow behind and below it

How to Keep Him Alive

Scour the internet for stories of remission. Remember you work in healthcare and spring into action — who do you know? Find a way to bring it up with every doctor you interview for work. Ask the same questions in myriad ways to unlock new answers.

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