A local resident has experienced firsthand the help and compassion of the Beth Donovan Hospice, and has decided that it is time to give back. Bradlee Zrudlo lost her mom a few years ago, and that’s when her journey with the Hospice began.
“I felt so lost and broken,” said Bradlee. “I had read positive stories about the Beth Donovan Hospice in the Times for several years, so I decided to contact them about grief counseling. They were incredibly helpful, supportive and caring at one of the most vulnerable times in my life.”
Bradlee loved going to the Hospice. She shared more information on her experiences. “It was a safe and comfortable place for me when I was feeling very delicate,” she said. “I felt nurtured by all the staff and volunteers, especially by the grief counselors. During my sessions, I learned about grief and how to feel it instead of avoiding it. I learned how to nurture my hurting heart and to put into words what I was feeling. It was an incredibly healing time for me, and I really want to help others know about this tremendous resource in our community.”
What better way to thank an organization that has provided much needed help then to raise funds so they can help other people in similar situations? That was Bradlee’s plan. “As a way to thank them, I have written a book of poems to support people going through times of grief, loss and transition, and I will donate the proceeds to the hospice,” Bradlee said.
Below is one of the poems in the book, which has been read by the Hospice at some of their events, and they have received very positive feedback about it:
Grief Flows Like A River
Grief is like a river that flows through me.
I feel it within me, around me and throughout our humanly existence.
Like the cycle of water on our planet, grief cycles as well.
It pours down and overflows from my heart, breaking the banks of its usual resting place.
It evaporates and leaves me feeling more healed, whole and healthy, only to form clouds of heaviness and sorrow before it rains down again.
Our emotions and our grief come in cycles, just as everything does on our planet.
May we heal and resolve all barriers to the cycles of life, including those that feel heavy, bring pain or death, even to those that require the dams in our hearts to burst open and the floods to reign.
May the cycles of our grief wash away and bring healing to humanity’s pain through our willingness to be rained down upon and flooded.
May we rejoice in the bright sun that shines on our planet and with-in our hearts after the rains of grief, pain and sorrow have completed their current cycle.
May we put our hands on our hearts and honour the miraculous nature of who we are as humans, as gentle, fragile and delicate as the smallest bird and yet as thunderous, powerful and strong as the biggest waterfalls.
May we thank the cycles of all things, as they remind us that to feel is to be human and does not make us weak or any less than lovely.
Sales of the poetry book are already underway. Copies are $15 each, and are available for purchase from B&H and at the Beth Donovan Hospice. Bradlee also has copies available for direct sale, and she is reachable on Facebook under the name “Bradlee Zrudlo.”
