SIBBS Newsletter, Autumn 2021

SIBBS Newsletter, Autumn 2021 | www.tcf.org.uk 8 As grieving people it is sometimes hard to know how to help ourselves. Friends and family may not know what to say, or may say all the wrong things. We have to try and follow our instincts, create space within us for the work of grief – which is slowly adapting to the new world, and finding a way to keep that precious bond of love within a new landscape. Some people find that writing helps. Sometimes if I can’t sleep I get out a notebook and pen and write till I’m exhausted. It’s amazing what I find out about my love and my sadness when the pen takes over from thought. You could try that, or you could try some of these writing experiments. Experiment 1: Five things Poems can emerge out of jumbles of words and disorder. From a mess of ideas and images, we find our own meaning. It is like clearing a house – a pile of objects that might mean nothing to a bystander, but we who understand their significance can see the stories and memories that link them. Think about five objects associated with your sibling. Some may seem trivial (receipts or train tickets for journeys they made found in a pocket), some more obviously important Writing experiments by Rachael Claye Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak Whispers in the o’erfraught heart and bids it break. - Macbeth, Shakespeare Photo credit: Nancy Rashleigh-Claye