Please, Share Your Story

Did you know that sharing your story with others may help with your grieving and healing process?  It’s true, I have had the honor of witnessing this phenomenon first hand over the years as the founder of DoveLewis Pet Loss Support Program. Storytelling is considered one of the oldest healing arts; it has been used for centuries as a beneficial way for grieving people to cope with loss. 

Experiencing the loss of a very close companion animal can disrupt your world and cause you to re-evaluate your priorities and think about mortality.  When a significant life event like this occurs, we are forced to adapt our life story to include this loss.  Sharing your experience helps you to make sense, find meaning in the loss and weave the pieces of your shattered life back together.

Translating physical/emotional distress into words aids in assimilating your loss and will allow you to move forward.  Each time your story is repeated, the reality of your loss becomes more undeniable and more real.  Your personal story can also inspire and provide hope during a dark time for others.

Sadly, we are a society that in general minimizes grief felt over the death of a companion animal.  We get the feeling that we should grieve quickly and get over the loss.  But we need to acknowledge the benefit of “being” with these painful emotions.  This can be achieved by telling your story and listening or reading others stories.

Recovery from loss begins with telling your story.  Stories help us explain the world, making sense of the insensible. Please consider voicing your tale of grief in writing, here, by commenting on this blog entry.  My hope is that many of you will find solace in sharing your experience with others, knowing you/they are not alone in your feelings of grief. Sometimes it is hard to express your feelings to others who have not had your experience. Our idea behind this blog is that by sharing stories with others who have suffered loss of a loved one, one will come to realize that they are not alone in their grief. Click here to share your pet loss story.

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