How To Cope With The Death of A Loved One

This post features the 2nd episode of my podcast “Found Pearls.” I sat down with Janene Davis who shares her moving story of losing her mother when she was 14 years old and her advice for those trying to cope with the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one.

I’ve also included the following synopsis of the podcast episode:

Edgar Allen poe, the famous poet of the 19th century, in his poem Annabel Lee captured the life altering grief that accompanies the death of a loved one. The poem depicts a couple deeply in love who is eventually separated by the death of the woman, Annabel Lee. The final stanza says

“For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulcher there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.”

Many of us, when faced with the horrendous loss of someone we deeply loved, similarly hang on to our beloved and figuratively lay down in their tomb, as the poem depicts. Unable to know how to move forward against the crushing loss.

I sat down with Janene Davis to get her insight as to how to cope with the debilitating grief of the loss of a loved one.

When Janene was 14 years old, she lost her mother. The year was 1974. Maxine Taylor, the mother of 4, was only 40 years old. She began to have severe headaches and doctors quickly learned that she had developed a brain aneurism- a blood clot in her brain.

A few months later the aneurism burst and Maxine passed away, leaving her family stunned and devastated.

Janene is the one to the right.

Though it has been 45 years, some of the pain of losing someone so precious is still present. Janene tells her story and offers wise advice to those that are going through loss themselves as well as those looking to help someone who has lost someone close to them.