GriefHaven Blog | Insights and Stories of Healing

October 20, 2020

The Year Before Last

The holiday season is approaching,
and with it comes the New Year.
Although for me time passes slowly,
New Year's Day will ring in quickly.

August 1, 2012

Educational Event – Companion Hospice Center

Susan Whitmore – Educational Event Companion Hospice Center – Pasadena, CA – August 2012

November 13, 2016

Welcome to Our 2016 Heart to Heart Gala Page Thank you to everyone for helping us turn upside-down hearts right-side up again. YOU raised over $85,000! Over 200 people joined us on November 13, 2016 as we celebrated all that griefHaven offers those in need, raised needed funds, and recognized those who give so much back by giving them awards. Photos at the Luncheon Tributes at the Luncheon

November 18, 2023

2023 – Live Your Best Life Luncheon

After not having had an event since 2019 due to the pandemic, griefHaven had its first Live Your Best Life fundraising event. The room was filled with love as everyone gathered to shop, bid, and join one another to support griefHaven’s mission. The goal of griefHaven’s event is not only to raise the funds needed for another year, but also for people to experience being together in a room where they are safe, loved, and having fun!

October 19, 2020

The pain of death

The pain of death is not with those who have passed on.
It lives in the hearts of those who remain behind.

An unbearable ache that grows with each empty day.
Days without our children; comforting them, holding them, drying their tears and sharing their laughter.

Our children have passed into a place of calmness, comfort and peace

July 26, 2012

Starting Over Television Show – NBC

Starting Over was a daytime reality show from the creators of “The Real World” which followed six women who came from all walks of life to overcome issues that had held them back from leading a fulfilling life. The producers of Starting Over contacted Susan Whitmore, asking her to visit with Bethany who was one of the Starting Over house guests. Bethany had just lost her only child, Shelby, in a tragic car accident a few months earlier (see Shelby’s photo on our memory page). The holidays were coming, Bethany was far away from her home, living in the Starting Over house in Southern California, and feeling the painful separation from family and friends. The hardest part for Bethany was that she was missing Shelby terribly. Bethany was trying to decide whether or not she would continue living in the Starting Over house while feeling such intense pain […]

October 19, 2020

The Still Life

Now—just at that silent place,
between sadness and gratitude,
wind-worn balances we all weather—
a cardinal leaps from a bare trim limb,

April 16, 2021

Spanking May Affect the Brain Development of a Child

Spanking may affect a child's brain development in similar ways to more severe forms of violence, according to a new study led by Harvard researchers. The research, published recently in the journal Child Development, builds on existing studies that show heightened activity in certain regions of the brains of children who experience abuse in response to threat cues.

November 23, 2019

2019 – Live Your Best Life Luncheon

The day included a message from our founder and CEO, Susan Whitmore, who started by saying, “I want to talk to you about rabbits! Yes, rabbits! And not just any rabbits, but specifically New Zealand white male rabbits. You see, these rabbits develop heart disease much like humans if they eat a high-fat diet.”

November 2, 2017

San Fernando Valley Counseling Center

May 19, 2007 San Fernando Valley Counseling Center Presentation 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon. Call 310-459-1789 for details and directions Susan Whitmore presented and showed Portraits of Hope. For more information, please contact Susan Whitmore at swhitmore@griefHaven.org. Susan, I just wanted to thank you again for your very moving and meaningful presentation today at the San Fernando Valley Counseling Center. I was touched by your words as a human being. I also learned a lot as a therapist. I think you are doing amazing, wonderful work. Thank you so much for what you are bringing into the world. Thank you, Jackie Castro, MA, MFT therapywithcare.com

October 19, 2020

In Moments Like This

In moments like this,
I realize once more how much you meant to me.
Time has brought some healing,
and abated the pain that I felt when you died.

May 27, 2020

Addiction – Important Brain Reward Pathway Confirmed By Researcher

Details of the role of glutamate, the brain's excitatory chemical, in a drug reward pathway have been identified for the first time. This discovery in rodents shows that stimulation of glutamate neurons in a specific brain region leads to activation of dopamine-containing neurons in the brain's reward circuit. Details of the role of glutamate, the brain's excitatory chemical, in a drug reward pathway have been identified for the first time.