The best of times – the worst of times

The classic opening of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities is where I’d like to begin. For many of us who experienced the death of one our parents when we were children, our life time has been marked by two distinct divisions: “It was the best of times,” with the ordinary happenings of childhood (family, friends, chores), then a severe shift, brought about by the parental loss, into “the worst of times,” with unanticipated and unwelcomed occurrences (family upheaval, friends with intact families in contrast to our own, premature assumption of responsibilities).

The emotional life too is divided into the “before” (safety, predictability, relative freedom from cares or worries, relative happiness) and the “after” (insecurity, chaos, uncertainty, fear, sorrow). Of course these changes occurred in various degrees, in different ways and at random times, and we all had our own personal experiences of them, but as individual as we all may be, the lifetime demarcation of before the death and its aftermath is something we all were forced to face – and to handle.

I hope we will find in this site, and through the group coaching program, an opportunity to explore and reflect on the meaning of the early loss event in our lives. In discussing it with others who have gone through very similar times, losses and changes, we will learn and gain support from each other.