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TW: Mention of Suicide

Eileen Vorbach Collins joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about living with and writing about grief, breaking free of stigma and shame, how your structure serves your readers, and the importance of humor, even when writing about unimaginable pain. 

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: Have you experienced a profound loss like death, divorce, or something else? What helped you make sense of it? What helped you learn to live with this experience? What are your thoughts on Prolonged Grief Disorder? How do you find the light in the darkest of moments? 

Eileen Vorbach Collins, a Baltimore native, has a BS degree in nursing and an MA in pastoral care. She has written extensively about child loss since her 15-year-old daughter's suicide. Eileen’s writing has received several literary awards and two Pushcart Prize nominations. Her micro essay, “Howl and Whisper,” was nominated for Best Microfiction 2024, and her award-winning essay collection, Love in the Archives, A Patchwork of True Stories About Suicide Loss, was published in 2023 by Apprentice House Press.

Episode Highlights:

2:00: How structure serves your readers

10:00 Roadblocks to write the unimaginable 

15:30 The importance of including humor  

17:00 The problem with Prolonged Grief Disorder 

25::00 Living with grief and dealing with sibling loss 

33:30 Battling the stigma of suicide loss 

39:00 Writing as a way to combat shame 

Resources for this episode: 

• To learn more about the history of homosexuality and the DSM, click here
• To read about Prolonged Grief Disorder, click here; to read about the criticisms of it, click here

Essays by Eileen:

• Howl and Whisper
• A Publishing Contract: When Jupiter Aligns with Mars
• Give Sorrow Words  

Connect with Eileen: 

Website: https://www.loveinthearchives.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vorbachcollins/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evorbachcollins

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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production