In this episode, Giulia Jeary Knap interviews grief support expert and author David Pierce Jr., who is the editor and one of the authors of an inspiring anthology, called ‘Living with Grief – 36 Lessons from Life’. The 2nd edition of this anthology has just been published both in e-book and paperback format.
The title of this podcast is: “How caring support may help those suffering loss make their own decisions on how to grieve – An Interview with Author David Pierce Jr.”
In this interview, David Pierce Jr. will be talking about this newly released book and about how each person’s experience of severe loss may provide unique personal insight on how he or she might live with grief.
He explains how the anthology is one example of a bereavement sanctuary. In this literary environment, the authors explore grief on their own terms and readers may do the same.
The interview comprises a first set of questions about the importance of grieving on one’s own terms in general and David’s background and experience in the field of bereavement support.
After talking about his mission and the Values and Vision statement available at www.friendsalongtheroad.org, David will answer questions about the newly released anthology and how it can help the reader understand how each person’s experience of grief is unique and may provide guidance in how he or she might best go about it. David will also share some tips from the book that may help listeners suffering loss.
David Pierce co-founded Friends Along the Road with his wife Judy after the death of Lilli, their only child and best friend.
In 2002, David and Judy embraced the philosophy of Sanctuary and Caring Support. Finding that there are many misconceptions about death and grief, they came to understand that grief is an entirely personal experience, and that no one should suggest how another ought to experience it. However, the Pierces were encouraged by wonderful professional counseling organizations and healing networks that adhere to the ideas of safety, comfort, and unconditional positive regard. Especially important to David’s thinking was Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death and the Theory of Caring as conceived by Kristen M. Swanson, Ph.D., R.N. Although Dr. Swanson’s ideas are directed toward nursing and clinical practice, David found them an excellent model for FAR’s work of creating sanctuary. David realized that sometimes, the best thing one can do for a person in grief is to offer safe and comfortable places. Friends Along the Road makes such places available, recommends similar places created by others, and teaches the art of Sanctuary Anywhere for those in grief.
David and Judy are currently living in Pueblo, Colorado.
David has written two books, Looking for Lilli: Living With the Death of Our Only Child and A Father’s Astral Diary: Looking for Lilli in the Otherworld. He has also written the foreword to Looking Beyond the Fishbowl: A New Comforting Perspective on Reincarnation (Between Heaven and Earth Book 2), by Giulia Jeary Knap; 1st edition (December 28, 2017).
David enjoys writing flash fiction, hiking, gardening, treasure-hunting, body-surfing, and dreaming. He is the administrator of two dreaming forums on the Internet. It is his hope to someday write children’s books and other fiction.
The interview is hosted at http://fracieloeterra.org/Living with Grief
