A wife and medical professional reflects on the loss of her husband in a series of reflections that reveal the emotional stages of grief and healing.
Although grief and loss are universal human conditions, the idea of losing those we love is still greatly feared, largely undiscussed, and certainly not prepared for. It is no wonder people feel alone and isolated in their feelings and thoughts when loss comes to them.
Longtime nurse and Red Cross volunteer Susan Beth Hassmiller is no stranger to death. Not only has she experienced the suffering of death alongside her patients, but she was blindsided by the physical and emotional toll of loss in her personal life when her husband was fatally injured in an accident.
Resetting is written in a daily diary format in which Susan opens a very private window to the actual feelings and thoughts she lived through during her grief process. Raw and gripping, Resetting reveals a profound understanding of the human experience of death. By sharing her perspective as a wife, widow and medical professional, Susan helps those who going through grief gain a new perspective and a greater understanding of death, while also offering ideas on how to help those who are experiencing bereavement—from words to say to providing support.
Susan Beth Hassmiller works for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest philanthropy in the United States, devoted to improving the health and healthcare for all Americans. A nurse by profession, she writes and presents frequently to national and international audiences on the importance of nursing as a means of improving the health care system. After growing from the pain of losing her own husband, Susan began to teach those around her what it is like to experience profound grief. Among perhaps hundreds of lessons, she uses her blog to illustrate how to speak to a grieving person; how to manage finances; and how healthcare providers might do a much better job for providing compassion at the front line. Susan currently resides in Princeton, NJ.