I’m excited to announce that the Let’s Talk Grief E-Book is now available for purchase. Like the paperback, the best place to buy it is on the Let’s Talk Grief website. After you log on, a pop-up window will appear. Click on “Purchase,” and it will direct you to the Archway Publishing website. Thanks again to the 28 Contributors and the people who have supported me during this 5-year grief journey across the USA and Canada. A reminder that Let’s Talk Grief is now a Trilogy. I

Susan Price is one of 20 people who have submitted an essay for Let’s Talk Grief II: Success Stories From the Real Grief Experts. I need 30 more essays to publish this book. If you’d like to submit an essay, please contact me by filling out the “Get In Touch” Form on the Let’s Talk Grief website's Home Page and I will send you the instructions and guidelines. Click on "Get In Touch" above the photo. Susan and Mike Price K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Wading Through the Waves of Grief by Sus

I’m excited to announce that Let’s Talk Grief is now available for purchase! The best way to purchase the book is to visit the Let’s Talk Grief website Homepage. After you log on, a pop-up window will appear. Click on “Purchase,” and it will direct you to the Archway/Simon and Schuster website where you can order the book. What makes this grief book unique and special? The 28 courageous people who share their knowledge and wisdom about grief in essays they wrote for this book

Joan and Miya Brenton (Photo is from Let’s Talk Grief About Page) I’m excited to announce that the first Let’s Talk Grief book is now available for purchase. The best way to purchase it is to visit the Let’s Talk Grief website at www.letstalkgrief.org. After you log in, a pop-up window will appear. Click the “Purchase” button and it will direct you to the Archway/Simon and Schuster Publishing website, where you can place your order. I’m also excited to announce that I will be

Troy shooting free throws and John rebounding. I hope you enjoy this inspirational grief video about how two men managed grief together with grace, peace and harmony as much as I did. Jadranka D’Richards, an essay contributor for Let’s Talk Grief II, shared it with me. I enclosed the link to watch it at the end of this post. Let’s Talk Grief would like to publish more grief success stories like this one I’m sharing with you about Troy and Deedra Russell, who lost their son, A

Nicholas Toft, his son, Noah and his dad, Eric Toft Live Like An Eagle by Eric Toft Many things in life can bring you to your knees. Like being fired from a job, especially when you feel you didn’t do anything wrong. I was also upset about being walked out of the maintenance shop the day the company fired me. Losing my job drained the blood right out of me and increased my stress level. I was raising a family with two boys, Jason and Nick, and their mom, and we had pets to fe

Animas River Walk in Durango, Colorado. Photo 1 of 2 from Ciarra As of today, I have received a 25% return of messages from people who have found Wesley’s Charm. On Monday, September 14, I received two messages. One from Ciarra Wagner and one from Connie. I will also share photos of places where I’ve left Wesley’s Charms. Ciarra’s Message Hi Hogan, My name is Ciarra Wagner. I am visiting Durango, Colorado this weekend, and after two big hikes back-to-back yesterday and the da

What an honor it was to meet these two special people, Danielle Stein and Todd Buck I thought this visit would be about spending time learning more about Todd and Danielle’s incredible story of grief, grace, forgiveness, and empathy. But it turned out to be more than that, and more than I had ever expected. First, a brief review of Todd and Danielle’s story. After I read an article about Todd and Danielle’s story and watched a video of the sentencing hearing on a Facebook pos

Joan and Miya Brenton Joan Brenton is the grandmother of 10-year-old Miya Brenton, whose essay I posted in the last Blog. Unshaken: Finding Purpose After the Loss of My Son by Joan Brenton Some moments in life divide everything into a before and an after. For me, that moment came when I lost my only son, Tyler, to fentanyl poisoning. The day Tyler died, my world shattered. As a mother, I never imagined I would outlive my child. Like many parents, I dreamed of watching him bui

Miya Brenton Last month I met with Joan Brenton in Toronto, Canada. She had submitted an essay for the second Let’s Talk Grief book, Let’s Talk Grief 2: Successful Grief Stories From the Real Experts. Joan and I had a wonderful conversation about her life and the loss of her son, Tyler, who died from fentanyl poisoning on April 24, 2024. Tyler had one child Miya. After Tyler's death, Miya, moved in with her grandmother, Joan and grandfather, Poppa T. Two weeks after my visit

I Died That Day Too by Rose Chérie Rose and her daughter Allison When we love someone, they become integrated into our lives. Their life and existence become intertwined with ours even if we don't see or talk to them every day. Our day-to-day lives are influenced by their existence as we plan a future around their presence and future interactions. From major milestones such as graduations and marriages to small details such as driving past a new restaurant and thinking, “They

Matt and I in front of the Calicut Heroes Team Van after a practice. Matt’s headshot is on the van next to me. Taking time away from one’s grief to help other people heal is part of the healing process. Here is my personal story to illustrate how to overcome the selfishess of grief and practice empathy. Three months before Wesley passed away, Matthew and I had made plans to travel to India together. Matt had signed a contract to play professional volleyball for the Calicut He

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - Mahtma Gandhi Nothing is more important than empathy for another human being’s suffering. Not a career. Not wealth. Not intelligence. Not status. We have to feel for one another if we’re going to survive with dignity. - Audrey Hepburn Once you feel comfortable talking about grief any time, any place, Stone #8: Help Other People Heal is the second most important and toughest to practice. The reason

A toast to Corban and Wesley! Cheers! It was a pleasure eating dinner and sharing a bottle of wine with Michelle at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Lansing, Michigan on Friday night. Earlier this year, after Michelle, told me that Corban, worked at the restaurant as a busboy and barback before he died, I invited her to dinner next time I was in the Michigan area. Corban was well-liked by his co-workers and manager. A memorial plaque with Corban’s photo adorns the wall near

So how does a griever heal? First, it’s important to define what healing is and what it looks like. Some grievers I’ve spoken with prefer to use the word “resolution.” Whatever word you choose to describe the process is not as important as doing the work to heal or resolve the grief. Healing also means taking responsibility for the role you play in your own suffering. The moment you begin taking more from grief than it takes from you is the moment you begin to heal and move

I love this description from Tony Robbins about suffering. “All suffering comes from the focus on self. Therefore, suffering is selfishness, and we all do it. The mind will always find something to suffer over if you give it enough time. But when you think of other people, growing and contributing, you don’t suffer because you’re not in your own head and mind. You’re in your heart or soul or spirit.” The emotional pain and suffering of losing a loved one is indescribable, and

Joan Brenton received Wesley’s Charm during my visit with her in Toronto. Joan lost her only son, Tyler, to Fentanyl poisoning. I received three email messages about Wesley’s Charm. One was from Joan Brenton, who contributed an essay for Let’s Talk Grief 2. The second was from Trevor Pelley, who found Wesley’s Charm two hours after Joan left it at a park, and Ethan Cowley, who found one of Wesley’s Charms I left in Portland, Oregon. On Sunday, August 23rd at 2:20 pm, Joan Bre

I’m in Hankinson, North Dakota, and will be meeting with Todd Buck on the anniversary of his wife’s, Mariah, death. And on Tuesday, I will meet with Danielle, the woman who caused the accident that killed Mariah. And as I shared in an earlier blog, Todd and Danielle will submit essays for the Let’s Talk Grief 2 book. I will let the video speak for itself. Todd's Amazing Grace Interview

Ann and James Farmer My Life After the Loss of My Wife By James Farmer My third wife, Ann, and I met in 1996 after I placed an ad in the statewide newspaper looking for a Christian woman. One week after she answered the ad, we scheduled a date. I’d already been married twice and divorced twice by the time we met. Ann had been divorced five years when we met. Both of us had been married 13 years before our first divorces. To commemorate our 14th anniversary, we celebrated bre

Grief presents a list of fears. The list of fears includes: fear of not grieving correctly. Fear of another death. Fear of being embarrassed. Fear of being abandoned. Fear of never being happy again. Fear of what life will be like without your loved one. Fear of depression and losing one’s mind. And fear of the unknown. Here is a list of ways you can conquer the fear of grief. Self-awareness. Acknowledge the fears, identify their triggers, and address them. Be mindful of what