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In Journey’s End, we write about death, dying, and end of life issues. We attempt to define and describe these real-life circumstances, and we discuss ways to proactively deal with them. Multiple personal and professional perspectives provide valuable insights.

What is dying like for dying persons, for loved ones, and for those who lend support in the process? Each experience will have unique qualities. Everyone dies in his own way, on his own schedule. While we explore the dying process, we make no assumptions about how any particular death will unfold.

Grief and bereavement support, training tools, and educational resources are included.

Victoria has a master of social work degree. She has worked as a case manager with older adults for the past seventeen years and as a group facilitator. Her past work experience was as a therapist with children and families, and as a case manager for adults with mental health issues. She just launched a consulting business, NorthernMSW to focus on end of life issues, planning, training, and advocacy, along with memoir writing and life legacy writing.

Julie was inspired equally by her professional backgrounds as a biomedical researcher and long time educator. Julie values open and lively discussions based on interview and research findings, trends in health and wellness, and exciting new modalities of treatment and professional education. She believes it will be through such discussions that we will create new and more satisfying cultural paradigms within which we may live all the days of our lives with dignity and quality of care.

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My Grandmother

by Victoria Brewster

My maternal grandmother-my memories of her are when I was older. I do not remember her from when I was young. She was a widow and supported my mother and uncle by herself. I never met my maternal grandfather.

I was nine when she moved to Florida, so what I remember of her is from then on. She went to Florida to help take care of my great-grandmother.

I have fond memories of​ visiting with her the summer I turned thirteen when I flew by myself to spend two weeks with her. It was a great vacation! I remember visiting the beach, buying milkshakes, and her teaching me about homeopathy.

My grandmother and I wrote each other often, and even as the years went by, we still wrote one another until she became very ill. We spoke by telephone for birthdays, holidays, and for Mother’s Day sent cards to each other.

When I married, she was unable to travel for the wedding so my (then) husband and I spent two days with her before we went on our honeymoon to show her our wedding video and to visit with her.

When her first great-granddaughter was born, I went with my parents to Florida so they could meet one another. A few months later, my husband at the time and I along with our daughter went down to Florida to say goodbye.

My grandmother was in hospice.

It was difficult, but something I had to do. I needed to see her and say goodbye.

She was buried in New York State when she had lived most of her life. I remember choosing a special poem to read at her funeral, but then the time came, I could not read it. I was too overwhelmed with grief and sadness. My brother ended up reading the poem.

I miss her, but I cherish the photograph that was taken when my oldest was eleven months old of four generations of females together, my grandmother, my mother, my daughter, and myself-memories not to be forgotten.