Loss affects us all, no matter who we are in the world.
Loss is also unique to the individual in that it touches our lives in different ways.
What is universal, however, is the fact that some of us feel alone in our grief. We know we aren't alone, but loss can sometimes feel like a topic that is just too hard to talk about, and so it is avoided.
One woman is single-handedly turning that notion on its head.
Rebecca Malthus is the founder of Project Butterfly, a New Zealand-based charity that assists people through grief. It's a unique concept created to address the need for support following child loss. Currently working on a book, I sat down with her to talk about it.
Can you tell me about your upcoming publication?
We are currently gearing up for our book project titled 'Good Grief - 365 ways to get through the first year of grief'.
The book project will be our most ambitious project to date.
It is not just based on child loss, but any kind of bereavement.
While the book project is New Zealand-based and many of the ideas come from here we have attracted ideas from the UK, the US, Australia, Korea, and Japan.
We are open to ideas from any place and any culture. We hope it is a great reference piece that is accessible to anyone who is grieving, no matter where they may be.
What do you hope to achieve through publishing the book?
The reason we decided to publish a book is because we have heard from many people over the years.
Everyone seemed to have so many amazing ideas to help remember loved ones. We have heard everything from stories to ideas and tips.
We have been blown away by the incredible love shared and the tributes and foundations that have been started in the memory of lost loved ones. Some ideas were so simple, some complex, but they all helped at a difficult time.
These ideas can help so many others just beginning their journey and illustrate that there is life after loss. We knew we couldn't let this important information pass, and so decided to collate all of them into a single book.
We hope that by sharing your ideas you can find some peace and for others reading the ideas they can begin their journey knowing they are not alone.
We are self-publishing and are also in the middle of raising the funds for that, too. If we can get the book to be successful it will also help us to become self-sufficient.
Project Butterfly invites you to participate in 'Good Grief - 365 ways to get through the first year of grief'.
All proceeds of this book will be used to provide respite weekends for not only grieving familes but also for children who have lost siblings. All people who work on this publication are volunteers.
If you wish to contribute, please visit http://www.themscript.com where you can find all the information on how to participate in this project.