Ethos’ Conversation on Aging: Opening to Grief with JP@Home Member Claire Willis

Register today, and a Zoom link will be emailed to you.

In the last several months we have learned that the unimaginable can and does happen, and that grief not only can engulf us when we experience a personal loss—such as the loss of a friend, a pet, or our health—but in the pandemic, we have seen the loss of lives, livelihoods, homes, employment, and the familiar comfort of life as we once knew it.

We are recognizing that some of the feelings we experience in these uncertain times—such as anxiety, despair, anger, irritability, and confusion—are grief. Our grief is an expression of our love. How can we open to the sorrows we all carry without our hearts completely breaking?

This discussion and book reading will offer resources for building resilience and holding grief, so that we are able to connect more deeply to ourselves and to one another and to find meaning in the midst of loss. Claire will offer a time for questions following the talk.

About the presenter

Claire Willis is a clinical social worker and lay Buddhist chaplain who has worked in the fields of oncology and bereavement for over 20 years. She offers therapeutic writing and support groups. Claire is a co-founder of Facing Cancer Together, a non-profit offering a variety of support and educational services to those living with cancer. She earned an M.A. from the Episcopal Divinity School and a MSW and M.Ed from Boston University. Claire is the author of Lasting Words: A Guide to Finding Meaning Toward the Close of Life and co-author with Marnie Crawford Samuelson of Opening to Grief.