Hey brothers. A follower of Wolf and Iron recently reached out to me to see if I had any articles on dealing with the loss of a father. I didn’t, and felt that while I would like to write an article on the subject (as I have thoughts on this subject like many others) I felt wholly unqualified as I have never lost a father. Though I have had one grandfather die, whom I miss dearly and who occasionally visits me in my dreams, I was not as close to him as the grandfather on my mother’s side or my dad. Furthermore, family dynamics being what they are, not every man has the same relationship with his father or grandfather. Some are estranged, yet there is still a grieving. Some had a slow digression in health over the years, which makes the process very long and drawn out. Other’s may have been around but not much of a dad, yet still there is mourning.
I quickly realized that what we need is not a “from-my-perspective” article like most of the others, rather we need to hear from our brothers, opening up about their dads and granddads and how they dealt with the loss. It gives men so much hope just knowing that there is a light ahead, a crest in the hill. Being that this isn’t a subject that men really talk about even after they have been through it, we don’t really have the tools to deal with it. That’s why I am hoping you will step up.
How You Can Contribute
If you’ve lost a father or close grandfather, would you consider writing a paragraph or several about the experience? What was your relationship like? What was your dad\granddad like? What did it feel like when you got the news? How did you handle it? When did the grieving process start or stop? What helped you most during that time? These are just suggestions. You might start from a totally different space. Just let your heart ring through.
I’ll handle the editing and make sure the posts are somewhat anonymous; first and last initial followed by city and state.
More than likely, these will all appear in one article and will be a living article that is updated just as often as men continue to contribute. What I am envisioning is a multi-paged article, with dozens (or more) of men’s contributions on this subject. I can only imagine how many men this will help!
Update: The ongoing article has been published and can be found here. Thanks to those who have contributed! Keep the contributions coming!
Where to Send
You can use the contact form on the home page or send an email to *protected email*.
I know this can be a step way out of your comfort zone, to say the least, and I and other men will appreciate it all the more. We have to do rare things if we want to be rare men. Your experience will certainly help other men who are going through what may be the hardest moment in their life. Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing and learning from you.
– Yarbrough