"When our son committed suicide, I just wanted to crawl into bed and
hide from the world. Ann's insistence that we hold a memorial service
to celebrate his life showed us how much love and support existed in
our family and community. We are often unaware how vast our
community is until tragedy brings us together.
Those who attended the memorial service, because of the shared
experience, were able to be present for us as we struggled with our
loss. Friends and family members who were not there found
themselves unable to meet our eye for years afterward. They didn't
know what to say or do, so just avoided us altogether, even going so
far as to cross the street if they saw us coming. I had no idea that
ceremony could play such a role."
Deb
"As Ann led us though Kenneth's
memorial service I found it hard to
remember that she had never known
Kenneth herself, never met him
in the flesh. She was able to piece
together a mosaic of Kenneth that
was fuller than the pieces each of us -
family and friends - had
contributed to the process. She not
only brought us together in our
time of mourning and celebration of
this man we had each known in
our own special way, she fleshed him
out in a way that was now new
to each of us."
Alexandria