Rachel lost her little brother Aaron in a motorcycle accident in 2002. She was really close to him, as he was the only full brother and her sibling that she shared a childhood with, so receiving the call was a heartbreaking and pivotal moment in her life.
The first few weeks after Aaron passed were a blur for her. Rachel felt a mix of emotions, because everyone expected her to be strong for her parents and to deal with all the funeral arrangements for her brother. Two months after Aaron’s death, she felt desperate as she couldn’t control the fact that Aaron had died. She was trying to fix her grief, which led her to attend her first group meeting at one of The Compassionate Friends chapters in Atlanta.
In this week's episode, Rachel shares about her and Aaron’s story, the before and after of receiving the call that changed her life, and how she has been dealing with her grief. Rachel also talks about how she doesn’t resonate with the words “acceptance” or “closure”, so she prefers to acknowledge her brother's death.
Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.
In this episode I’m covering:
Intro [00:00:00]
Rachel and Aaron’s story [00:01:38]
The Call [00:03:54]
Dealing with grief after Aaron’s death [00:07:26]
Family dynamics after Aaron passed [00:22:40]
The Compassionate Friends [00:33:11]
Acknowledging Aaron’s passing [00:40:06]
Being a facilitator in The Compassionate Friends [00:47:13]
Advice for Surviving Siblings [00:54:38]
For full episode show notes and transcript, click here
Connect with The Compassionate Friends
Website | The Compassionate Friends Non-Profit Organization for Grief
Find your local chapter of The Compassionate Friends
Connect with Maya
Website | The Surviving Siblings
Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler
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Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast
YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast
Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast
Twitter | @survivingsibpod
✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨
