Nancy Miller has always been a writer, but didn’t know she would write her first book about finding her way through the stark and treacherous place she, and co-author Armen Bacon, call Griefland, An Intimate Portrait of Love, Loss, and Unlikely Friendship.
Nancy found herself stranded and alone in her grief after the drug over-dose death of her child, something most of us never want to even think about. In the midst of her anguish, she found Bacon, who had also lost a child to drug overdose, and together the two women navigated their way through the seemingly bottomless pit of despair back to a life where there is hope.
Joan Hitchens, founder of the online and Olympia-based community, Navigating Grief, is hosting an evening of conversation with Miller on Thursday January 23 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Discover – Create – Share Center located at 1026 State Avenue NE in Olympia.
Hitchens knows about grief, not only through her work as a life coach, specializing in grief, but through her own personal story of the loss of her beloved husband, Dave Hitchens. When Miller learned of the Olympia Center, she stepped forward to gift her book and story as a way to help others. Although these two women met through their shared work in the field of loss, there was an instant bond, so well known to those in grief. And while Hitchens cannot imagine losing a child, Miller in like fashion cannot imagine losing her spouse.
Both Miller and Hitchens understand, though, that while the pain of losing a loved one is an intensely personal experience, as Miller details in her heart-wrenching book, grief also contains universality. Those who have experienced loss have many experiences in common and coming together helps them move forward on a journey towards healing.
Nancy Miller found and held tight to Armen Bacon as they both tried to find their way out of their darkest hours. Join Hitchens at The Center to meet Miller, and others who are lost in the unknowable landscape of grief, and discover how to live in, and pass through, Griefland.
For more information about the event, click here. You can also read Hitchen’s book review of Griefland, by visiting this link.
RSVPs are not required, but are appreciated. Email programs@navigatinggrief.com or call 360-534-0203.
