One-on-One Remembering Conversations for Ongoing Connection

Prior to dying, people often have many questions about how their lives have made a difference and who will tell their stories when they are no longer living. We have often left these very important conversations to ministers, rabbis and clergy to address the existential questions of life and death, but this can fall short still. The dying need to have a sense of where their presence will be honored and in what ways people will uphold their importance. More than simply planning memorial services, remembering conversations before a person dies, speaks to the arc of a person’s life and how their influence will give meaning for friends and family members. Having recorded conversations with people who are grappling with their own death can comfort the nagging questions that affirm the importance of connection that transcends death.

These conversations are usually around 90 minutes and most often happen online with the individual who is dying and are recorded with audio and video to be gifted to those who love them. Conversations can also be shorter to accommodate energy and schedules and happen over the course of a few weeks.

When a person dies, the bereaved are often tragically encouraged to say “goodbye”, complete unfinished business, and move on. Remembering Conversations are more than just a conversation that wistfully reflects on what was lost, but engages bereaved people to actively find the rituals and practices to affirm love of those who are no longer living. By keeping the stories close after someone we love dies, we can build a path forward where we draw on the best parts of our relationships to respond to heartbreak and challenges that death brings.

Remembering Conversations can soothe an aching heart when it has been shattered by grief. Like with conversations before a person dies, speaking with people who are impacted by grief, can be recorded, and can either take pace in single session or over a period of time. Most people prefer to have several conversations where they find ways to incorporate the many legacies of those who are no longer alive, building purpose that affirms love that does not die. Bereaved individuals can find hope that creates new purpose over time, knowing their loved one continues to matter.

Lorraine has pioneered work in the grief field with her remarkable practice of Remembering Conversations, that looks to hold close all an in-depth discussion between Lorraine and the loved one whose values and memories you and your family members want to explore, discover and carry on.

Lorraine brings decades of clinical and emotional skill to the process that to support you having the best possible experience at times when your life might feel torn apart. Having a  Remembering Conversation holds space for everyone, space that family and friends might find tender following a death alongside a deep desire to tell and re-tell the stories of connection that ease the sting of loss today and tomorrow and for the rest of your life.

Each conversation is as unique as each relationship is. The contours and shape found in a remembering conversation will probably include stories of success, values, how people respond to challenges in life, and wisdom. These precious moments can feel like a hug from the dead, soothing the yearning and unanswered questions that can surround a person’s death. They are the many moments of how the deceased lived and how they will continue to have places of importance in your life.

Lorraine uses her decades of experience with the dying and bereaved to patiently and intentionally guide the conversation through both joyful and difficult subjects, while holding space for all involved. Most walk away with a renewed sense of connection to the loved on in their lives, and a sense of hope and possibility about the ways in which that relationship can continue to live in their lives.