Dear Dr. Neimeyer, My wife took her own life a few months ago, and it has busted me wide open. I’m better than where I was but far from being better. I wrestle with the coulda, shoulda, woulda of survivor guilt and anger. I miss her terribly, and now have somewhat come to terms that this
Category Archives: Loss of a wife
Grieving a wife’s death from cancer
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, My wife passed away on last month from cancer. We knew it was going to happen someday but we were utterly floored by the speed with which she went downhill. I know she is in a beautiful place with the Lord. I am trying very hard to deal with the emotions from
Parting with a loved one’s belongings x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, My wife passed away two years ago. We were both in our middle 60s. I want to resume dating, but female friends tell me I need to remove all traces of my wife from the apartment before I do so. I have not been able to part with anything since she died.
Confronting my grief x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, I’ve been reading your column for some time now, and trying to follow your advice about confronting rather than avoiding my grief through writing on AfterTalk to my dear wife, Dorothy, who meant the world to me before her death two months ago. We did just about everything together for decades, and
Widower in search of…x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, I am a widower (although I don’t like this moniker) after more than 30 years of marriage. I don’t understand why “widowers” are not in the highest demand. We have proven our capacity for commitment, as well as have tons of experience in child rearing, relationships, and the refinement of how to
“My Wife Passed Away…I have not felt her Presence since.” x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, As a former student of yours many years ago I have a deceptively simple question. My wife passed away less than 3 months ago. I have not felt her presence since I watched her pass away. The analytical side of me says that death may in fact be final but the spiritual
Why do I want to live? x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, My wife of over fifty years died a little over a year ago from a stroke. I have talked with my pastor, a psychologist, my family and friends and it seems nothing helps me. I was her caregiver for about eight years, which given the opportunity I would do it all again. I
A Husband’s Grieving x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, The wife of a close friend of nearly 50 years passed away from ALS. We spoke each week at least once and I visited her when I could. I actually emailed her more towards the end since she longer could speak. The bottom line was that she asked me a few months
I lost my young wife x
I lost my young wife after twenty years of marriage. Since then I feel like I’ve moved on; I found a new wife whom I love completely. We’ve raised terrific children. My problem is that I have an irrational fear of loss. At least once a day I obsess about losing my new wife, our
A Widower’s question: Dwelling on the past… x
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, I’ve been following some of the advice given in your column in the 3 months since my wife, Linda, died, and although my life will never be the same, I can see that I am improving. I was a real mess for a while, but now I’m able to work and concentrate