Special Sale for our Readers! Just $5.99 for a Limited Time!

We are re-releasing our original book, "Reflections on Life with my Master: A Dog's Memoir on Life After Death" with a new cover and updated Afterword information inside! We have reduced the price from $14.99 to just $5.99 during the re-launch period so that our readers can get an updated copy or buy extras for those who may be grieving. 

For less than the cost of a nice greeting card, you can give a great book that will heal the grief in a matter of hours. Jack is the best four-legged counselor in the universe, and he can do it in ways no one else can.  

Find us on Amazon Worldwide. 

Also available on Kindle and in Large Print.  

https://amzn.to/2yCNam4 

Unleash Me Let Me Go. It's Part of Our Healing. Yours & Mine.

Q: Dear Jack. You talk about letting them go. Not binding them to you with the grief. How do you know when you have cut the leash so that they can run free and have fun? 

A: When you are no longer clinging to them.

Q: How do you know when you are no longer clinging to them?

A: You are no longer clinging to them when you no longer have pain over them. When you no longer allow yourself to suffer. When you have peace and you can smile when you think of them. When you have accepted that they are now living in another dimension, but living nonetheless. You can still miss them, you can still have tender tears, but it's the pain and suffering about it that must be severed from your being. The pain and the suffering weave together to create the leash that binds. 

Picking Up The Ashes: Entering the Twilight Zone of Grief

Picking Up The Ashes: Entering the Twilight Zone of Grief
Click the link above for actual video footage of the scene which will open in a new window.

Excerpt from Book 3, Chapter 20 "Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge"  

"It was the first time she went to the park without me. She had just been to the vet to pick up my ashes. It was raining that day; pouring just like it poured the morning that I passed. I knew right where she would go. She would always go to Grandfather Tree when she was having a bad time or needed to sort things out in her head. She sat down under the mulberry, which was thick with big leaves, so thick that the rain rolled right off of them while she remained dry underneath. She thought of me, her mind playing like a cinematic movie, reviewing the fun times we had shared. Her thoughts began to crescendo as she remembered the suffering of our final hours together. I did not want her to go to those memories.


Suddenly a car pulled up into the parking lot behind her. She heard a door open and close. It made her stop sniffling a little bit but she was kind of upset because she really just wanted to be alone. Who in their right mind would be out in this rainstorm? A moment later she turned her head and her tear-filled eyes to watch as they walked by.  It was a woman walking with her Afghan Hound under a big red umbrella. What kind of person comes out to the park and walks in the pouring rain, she asked herself again. And an Afghan Hound? Kate had never seen an Afghan Hound in these parts. None of it made sense and she wondered if she was dreaming, but she wasn’t. I sent the rain. I sent the woman. I sent the Afghan Hound. I sent the red umbrella. Remember what I said about things that make no sense?..."  


The Jack McAfghan Trilogy will heal your grief. Available on Amazon Worldwide and through your favorite bookseller. Visit http://amzn.to/2vSuPwb to see our five star reviews. Start feeling better in a matter of hours by starting with Book 1 "Reflections" 

Planning for the Inevitable: Learn to Communicate Ahead of Time

Hi Jack, 
It has been a long time and when it is too hard for my human brain to know, I must come back to you. My Balto is 12 years old. He still looks like a baby but he is having increasing issues with osteoarthitis. His Vet asked me if I wanted to try laser treatment to ease the pain. I wonder if this will work? I just want to be sure he will let me know ahead of time so I do not let him suffer...On the other hand I want Him to have a quiet life.  I don't know much about his life before he came to me. He was 9 years old when we met in a shelter. I really hope I will understand his signs when they come to me. Sometimes Veterinarians are only doing their job but in the same time I want to try everything to ease his pain. I am a little bit lost. Anyway I can at last feel his love now. I am sorry if this message is not clear. And as I told Kate I have your Book close to me...... ♡♡♡♡
Love, 
Balto's "Mom" 


Dear Mom, 
The energy of your message is very clear because you write from a place of love and I always understand love. Please say Hi to Balto for me. If you can get a product called Dasaquin, it helped me a lot. I was struggling a bit moving around too and once we went on that I was like a puppy again -- all the way till the end. I don't know if it will work for Balto but it worked for me. Start with that... and then the laser if it doesn't work. 

I am glad you keep my book close to you because that is where I can always remind you that everything is okay, even if it doesn't feel like it is at the moment.  

I must tell you that the most important thing you can do these days is to sit quietly with Balto. Put your hand on his heart and the other hand on yours. Tell him that you want to learn to communicate with each other through your hearts and that you may need his help with this. This is where he will communicate with you when he is "gone from your sight" one day.  Sit quietly with him, breathe with him, feel your hearts together. It will be good for both of you.

Whenever the world gets to be too much, with your hands on your hearts everything always seems better because it reminds you that your power is in your heart, not your head.

Love, 
Jack

Flowers Where There Were No Flowers

Have you ever been on a road or a path you have taken many times with your beloved best friend? After your friend has gone to Rainbow Bridge and you are working through your grief, we like to venture back and show you little surprises along the way. Some of you refuse to go back to those special places we shared because you are afraid of your tears and your grief, but we need you to go there. It's where we always went together and it's where we will always continue to go. Even though we are Gone From Your Sight. It's okay if you shed those tears. Tears must be shed to work through the grief. It's our only goal: to heal you, to comfort you, to help to make you happy again. It's all we want. We want you to believe in miracles! We have lots of opportunities to come to you because the rules are very different in the world of Heaven beyond Rainbow Bridge. Just like God created the world, POOF!, we are, each one of us, magicians in a world where scientific rules do not prevail.

Hi! That's Me Saying I Love You! What Cactus Flower Blooms in April??

If you've read my book "The Lizard from Rainbow Bridge", you know how signs and angels can show up in ordinary ways in your life. In our book, Lizard teaches you to recognize a sign when you see one. We can show up in extra-ordinary ways too!  Like shooting stars and funny metaphors. We especially like flowers because we know you like flowers and that you will notice them. Especially in places that are otherwise flower-less.

Kate and I made this path on the Wild Horse Mesa wilderness trail over the years of hiking there. There were never ever any wildflowers there. Just pine needles, juniper brush and red dirt. She eventually spread my ashes under the tiny juniper tree that you see in the photo. We had re-routed the trail to allow my friend the tree room to grow. The trail originally ran along the righthand side of the little tree... and it simply didn't have room to grow. Horses and travelers would graze by the tree each and every time so that it was becoming lopsided.

                     

So now she calls it Jack's Path. The first Spring after I made my passage to Rainbow Bridge, not only did purple four o'clocks pop up to the lefthand side of the path, but the daisies came up in the middle too. Here's the proof.

Jack's Path

By the way, my friend the tree is doing really well, growing balanced and strong now.
And so is Kate.

Love,
Kate

Your Book Has Healed Me In Ways Nothing Else Can

Hi Kate, 

My Sat. Morning has been consumed by "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" and it is with red and swollen eyes I commend you on this lovely book about a lovely dog, love being the operative word throughout. With my Maggie's head on my lap, her big eyes begging me not to cry I would have to put it down as the pages and words blurred. You certainly struck a nerve in me as I am sure you will many others who have ever loved and had to make this choice. I would love to buy a copy for my daughter-in-law and son who have just said goodbye to their beloved Faith, I think it would help them in their journey to heal as well. I told my her it was a book about healing not dying to get her to read it she is grieving her big beautiful black lab. I am sure she will love it! Many Thanks! 

Karen Petit

Dear Karen, Thank you! I love what you say about the book being about healing, not about dying.  I would like to use that quote -- maybe quote you, in a Facebook or blog post sometime soon. Most people say "I'll read it, but I already know how it ends, " but they don't know what's in store. I'm sorry you cried so much over it, but there is a method to my madness because every tear you cry you are releasing something from your own past that needs healing. Thank you so much for writing.  xo   Kate

Do You Ever Get Goose Bumps?

Tonight she was out walking the dogs, Immy and Joey. It was a cold high desert night but it felt good to walk, so they walked a little farther than usual.  Just as they turned to head for home, she looked up and saw a bright star in the western sky. 

“I remember that star,” she said aloud. “I used to look at that star from my living room and from our front porch.”  She had a smile when she first said that.  She had built the house and loved the house. She and I had lived most of our years together there. She remembered looking out over to the western horizon as she watched the sunsets come and go, and then the bright star appear every night when the night was clear. Suddenly her “view” was interrupted by the memory of the neighbors at the house across the street.  It blocked her line of vision and took the star away from the sky in her mind. The neighbors had been very mean and they did some things that indirectly caused and ultimately brought us financial ruin.

“It was all so beautiful,” she said as the tears began to sting her eyes.  I sensed I might have to intervene.  “It was all so wonderful,” (Was she sad? Was she mad? Her emotions were intensifying) “...until they came along and ruined everything.”  She was starting to get upset about it again. I had to do something. I did not want her thinking those negative thoughts. There was nothing she could do about those circumstances now. It did her no favors to be dwelling on it.  After all, she had had such joy when she first saw our star.    

She was startled when she felt my goose bumps from the back of her neck down to her lower back, radiating with warmth. Everyone has their own “signature” goose bump. This was mine... and she knew it.  

“Okay Jack,” she said to me, “You’re right. I know it doesn’t matter now.” 
She had learned when to identify me and she had received the message I had intended for her! “Thank you Jack.  Thank you.”  
She was so pleased that she had not missed a beat and she knew that it was me. 

I radiated out my warmth and love and covered her again, so proud that she could learn to set her pain aside and live in the moment with me, just like I taught her to do.  She thanked me again. She could tell from my warmth and intensity that I was happy and that made her happy too. That’s how soul mates are. Connected on such a deep level that everything they think and feel affects the other.  

Do you ever get goose bumps? Who do you think it is? When do they come to you? What are they telling you?  Pay attention. Goose bumps are not just a random occurrence. They are how we reach out to you in vibration. It’s how we touch you when we no longer can be in your view. 

                                                                                                            

  Love,  Jack

Scheduled for Release This Weekend! Stay Tuned!

This is the third book in the Jack McAfghan Series. As you join Jack on his journey to Rainbow Bridge and back again, he will give you a glimpse of the world to come while sharing his deep wisdom of unconditional love and the power of healing. Our story is your story too. It is the story of life, love and renewal. What you get out of his story is limited only by your beliefs. Sometimes what seems to be the ending of something is just the beginning of everything.

'My Master calls me in from the fields of green and gold. His voice is commanding. I run to Him obediently. He gives me a choice: To remain Here and continue living life as an angel in Heaven, or to return to Earth. I hesitate. I tell Him I don’t want to leave this place, especially the field at the edge of Rainbow Bridge where I keep watch for her. I don’t want to be somewhere else the day she crosses Rainbow Bridge. He makes me a promise. I know He keeps His promises, so I begin my adventure back across the Rainbow Bridge; back into the world I shared with her.'

We highly recommend you read Jack's first book "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" before embarking on this one, for Jack will help you to heal your grief so that you can move forward into the magic that is waiting to be discovered Beyond Rainbow Bridge.

Click Here for a preview! 

Amazon Ranked #17 : Still She Grieves

A note from Kate:

Jack made it to #17 in Pet Loss on Kindle today!  Oh Jackie! It makes me so happy! 

It's not about selling a book for $2.99. It's about giving the priceless gift of healing the those who read your story. Everyone who knew you, loved you Jack. They are still meeting you and loving you through the pages of our book. Thank you Jack. Thank you for bringing all the pets who have been loved and lost back for healing for our readers.

But wait. If I'm so happy about it, why am I crying as I post this? 
Me the expert?!  Still crying?  It will be two years in August since you crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I know I am healing because I no longer count the hours, the days, the months since you left....they are getting away from me. Where has the time gone? Why do I still cry?

The process of grief can take a long time when love runs deep.  I see this face, these eyes, this love, the offering of everything he is and was. He wanted to give me everything.  He still does. Just like our Master in Heaven does, He gives all of us everything He is. This is why pets are our greatest gift. They live for their master on earth. We are their Beloved. They are each and every one a little piece of Heaven sent to us to bless us, love us and be loved by us. It's all by Design so we know without a doubt that we are Loved. It's all about the love and the love that is waiting for us at Rainbow Bridge when the time is ripe for us to return Home.  

I am so grateful to the many readers who have become our friends. For the old and new friends who are following Jack's Page. I am thankful for the members of Jack's Pet Loss Group. So many of you have thanked me for all that I do but I thank you for all you do for me. For all you have come to mean to me. I have received so many blessings from the loss of the greatest gift I have been given so far in this lifetime. We are all healing each other, one day at a time.

It's all about the Love. 

Kate 

"These three things remain: Faith, Hope and Love...

but the greatest of these is love."  

1 Corinthians 13:13  

When We Truly Love, We Love Everything --- And Want To Take Care Of Everything

You know how it goes in the human mind. You see something that upsets you. You start imagining everything. You can't seem to turn it off. 

She saw a man in the city yesterday near the main intersection. He was walking about ten steps ahead of his very old-looking pit bull. The dog could hardly lift it's feet off the hot pavement, perhaps was dehydrated. A worn leather leash dragged by its side while the sauntering man chewed and spit his tobacco onto the curb ahead. 

While sitting at the stoplight Kate watched the man. The dog. Kate started crying. She passed through that intersection three different times during the course of the day. Every time she did, she cried for that ragged old dog. She worried that he was not being treated with care. That he was not loved. And yet he was so loyal to keep following his master. Her mind took over and created the worst possible scenarios! Had he had any water? Were his paws burning up? Couldn't his owner even hold his leash? What happens in the privacy of their home? She cried well into the evening. You know how it goes with the human mind that wants to care for and protect every living creature that exists.  She did not know how to stop thinking about that poor dog.

Then....Then she picked up our book, the one we wrote together. She opened it to Chapter 92. She read it... and then Chapter 93. She went back to Chapter 37 and read about Rox, the Rottweiler. 

She isn't crying anymore.

She could have taken a photo of the dog. The man. But she had too much respect for the dog to do that.
This photo that looks quite similar -- but the dog is much younger and healthier.... This is what the old tired dog will look like by the time he returns to Rainbow Bridge.  

Kindle Countdown! 99 Cents Until March 21 !

Find your pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow Bridge. 

What better gift than to connect with your best friend who lives there... 

Available for .99 at the Amazon.com Kindle Store and in Print and Large Print on Amazon Worldwide.  

The Anniversary of the Cover of our Book

She used to focus on the anniversary of my passing, the 1st of every month. This year on the 2nd of December (15 months after I crossed Rainbow Bridge), she realized that she had forgotten to notice the 1st of December. It had come and gone. She felt so guilty until she realized that it was really a good thing. It was a sign of her healing. Oh I was so happy!

One year ago today, she was still grieving bitterly. It had been six months. She walked our trail, lost in her tears. Today she is going back up on the trail to honor the day when she made peace with her grief. To honor the day that her love for me became stronger than her grief over me. 

In Honor of this Anniversary, we are sharing Chapter 86 of 

"Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" by Kate McGahan in it's entirety. 

It was my gift to Kate and it is now our gift to you. 

We are not religious and this is far from being a religious book, but over time things happen that urge us to realize that, beyond a doubt, there is something much bigger than ourselves that is spiritual 

that oversees the design of our life here on earth.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master

Chapter 86

It was the first time she hiked the east part of the trail since we walked it together. She went up and up and up to the high places we used to go. She took a breather at the shady little halfway place where we used to stop to rest. She sat down on our big flat rock, looking at the view and picturing me there.

Do you see how you cry when you replay

The memories of my week of pain?

Emotional scars take longer to heal,

Shrapnel fragments cut and hurt!

They live on only in your mind.

Don’t think of those things any more.

That is not who I was.

That is not who I am.

Don’t think of me in pain, I’m not!

Pain and suffering just exist

When you have a body.

Pain is just your messenger,

Telling you it’s time for change.

I had to suffer for had I not,

You’d be clinging to me still,

Wanting me to stay with you.

It hurts when someone won’t let go.

Not only do we have to leave,

We must tear ourselves from one who clings.

Jack…is that you?

She heard me! Oh, She heard me! She spoke to me, her heart to mine!

It is! It is! Yes, it’s me! It’s me!

Oh Jack, she said, I’ve missed you so but I’ve learned I need to let you go. I thought I let you go that night. I didn’t realize I’ve been hanging on. I’m sorry, Jack. I just wanted to do the right thing.

You are. You do. You will. You always do the right thing. You always do the loving thing.

“Is it time for me to scatter your ashes?” she asked me out loud.

Yes, scatter the ashes. They are not who I am. They only represent my death. Don’t think of me as breathing my last breath. Don’t think of how our beautiful life changed overnight. Just think of the gift of our beautiful life.

“You’re so right. We had such a beautiful life.”

Don’t think of Jesus on the cross. This is not how he wants to be remembered either. Set him free from the cross in your mind so he also can rise from your dead. He is not dead! I am not dead! Set us free! By setting us free you set yourself free. Life goes far beyond what you can see or even imagine.

She was crying again, this time because she understood completely that it was time to close this chapter of her grief. She would no longer be death’s victim. She knew it was finally time; it was time to let me go.

Suddenly the sound of a great gust of wind approached her from behind. A big cloud of black birds, twenty or more, flew within inches of her head. The group vibration was strong. As she recovered from that, one final bird brought up the rear, skimming the space over her left shoulder. The experience gave her goose bumps much like the ones she sustained when the hummingbird moth visited her on the other trail that day.

Have you noticed that every time you cry something comes and interrupts your tears? That is me. I am unhappy to be the source of your grief. I want you to be happy when you think of me.

“How,” she asked, “how do I get over you?”

When you remain attached to me,

You keep the chain around my neck.

Please free me from your leash of love.

By doing so, you free yourself.

Remember how I was in life,

Always right beside you?

Always at your feet!

You did not have a leash on me.

There was no fence. I was not chained.

I stayed close by because I loved.

Don’t ever question where I’ve gone or

Where I am when you can’t see.

There’s nowhere else I am and

There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

She took a deep breath. “I love you, Jack. I now know what I have to do.”

She resumed walking the trail towards home. The crowd of birds still gathered ahead in the orchard of trees at the curve of the trail. As she rounded the curve, a great view of the western sky opened up. Painted into the setting sun was a cross as straight as could be. It took her breath away. She pulled out her phone and took a picture of it and that picture became the cover of this book.

c. 2015 by Kate McGahan

Yes, Joey was on the trail that day.  He will tell his own story some day. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER JACK'S BOOK IN IT'S ENTIRETY. 

Preview the first 10 Chapters in "Jack McAfghan" for FREE

Written from beyond Rainbow Bridge, the canine Jack reveals the secrets to living a life full of love and methods of coping with life after loss. As he teaches what to expect from the grieving process, he gently guides the reader from grief into healing.  

Read "Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master" by Kate McGahan today. 1000's of readers have been healed by the time they turn the final page. 

Our story is your story too.  

Download at Amazon.com or at other Amazon locations worldwide

Do Like Dr. Doolittle -- You Must Talk to the Animals

Dear Jack, 
My beloved Barney crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few nights ago. My sister says that I should "tell" my other two cats, but this seems a little weird to me. My sister's always been a little "out there" so I thought I would ask you what I should do.
Thank you Jack.
Belinda

Dear Belinda,
ABSOLUTELY you must tell them. You must share everything that is going on. They live with you, they lived with Barney, they loved him too. They know what life is all about and they remember Where They Came From and Where They Are Going.  Humans may forget this, but this is no surprise to them.  Do not withhold information from them that will help them grow too. 

Have you learned from reading my book how alert and aware the four-leggeds are? Sometimes they are more alert than humans are. Sometimes they even care more than humans do. They want to know. They need to know. They sense clearly that something is going on and they will be very confused if you don't tell them what it is. They feel your emotions and your vibrational energy and they can become quite distressed if you do not help them to understand what's going on.  

Once you do tell them, they will need your care, comfort and compassion, so treat them gently and with understanding because they are grieving too. Their lives move much more quickly than yours do in the scheme of things, so you can go into it knowing that they will probably work through their grief rather quickly. Typically they will be resolving their grief by the time you get into the thick of yours. Then they will be there to help you with yours... because they understand.

This was a great question.  Thank you for asking it so I can share with others because some of them probably have the same question too.  

Love,
Jack

The Ripple Effect of Life and Love

Catbrother 

Dear Jack, 

Do you ever wonder how many lives you have changed? I have been advised from time to time in my life to journal my thoughts and feelings. This was true when in 1997 I lost my husband, father, and brother all within a six month period of time. I could not express my sorrow and got stuck in toxic grief that lasted almost three years. 

My favorite cat, Catbrother, a beautiful Flamepoint, was my only solace as I did not think a human on earth could comfort me. Catbrother lived a long life and his passing on November 17th 2009 took a large toll on me as I had needed him so much for comfort. He lived for 16 years on earth. He lost his battle with kidney failure and I was finally helped to set him free of his earthy body to live in the wonderful place where pain has no place. But I digress. 

It is a comfort to write to you who cares, does not judge and offers all who come to you comfort, love and hope. These are scarce commodities sometimes here on earth. I pray that your story spreads far and wide and that those who grieve find you and join those of us who love you beyond that which words can express.

Regards,

Denise

Dear Denise -- 

I've lost track of how many lives but from where I see it now, I can see a rainbow ripple of love traveling all across the world, the earth, and stretching forth into the universe. That's what love does. One act of love goes beyond our deepest imaginings!  Your love is doing the same thing and your words of appreciation have traveled into my heart and there they will stay. They grow in their love for you and offshoot to everyone around me (and there are lots of us here, believe me).

>''< Flamepoint Catbrother  (that's what we call him) has been here much longer than I, but he says that it's been like the blink of an eye from when he arrived until I came through the gate. I know you think he lost the battle, but he actually won it. He got the prize. The one thing everyone on the earth -- two legged or four legged or eight legged -- must remember. The most important priority in life is to prepare for the next life. That life is the real life. That life is immortality. This life is just a dream and your husband, your father, your brother, they were all players in the script. They loved you very much when they were there with you, but they await your arrival one day here with arms open wide and hearts 100x bigger than they were when they lived there.

I am glad we have found each other.  When I crossed the bridge, Kate could not see all the good things that were ahead of her, but she is starting to. She is meeting beautiful people like you who connect with her because of our book and she one day will see what it was all about.  It's all about who we love and where we are ultimately going. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your kind reviews and for helping us to reach the others who need comfort and love too.  We all love you Denise... and in the blink of an eye we'll be together again. 

Love, 

Jack

Where are you in the Grief Process? Find Out Here.

You are managing your loss in your own unique way. Everyone is different. There is a framework, however, that was designed by the famous death expert, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Ross determined that most people typically go through a predictable series of stages of emotion and growth in their grief. After working with Kate as a hospice therapist for many years, I can say that yes, most (not all) people go through these very stages -- in their own way and in their own timeframe.  

Others have a more unique style -- they can ride the roller coaster of loss and go around and around on the merry go round, re-visiting stages repeatedly and sometimes out of order. They can be stuck forever without a guide to help them through their grief, or they can fly through the process all at once and never even realize that they grieved a loss at all.

How do you know if you are on track?  

What phase of grief are you in right now? 

Most of us have seen the "Rainbow Bridge" poem many times.  

Did you know that it can be used as an Assessment tool too? It is a very good indicator of where you are in your cycle of grief.  It applies beautifully to those who have lost a beloved pet, but it applies to all losses on the Life Stressor Scale. 

Kate is reading the poem today. She still cries at the part towards the end where pets and their people are reunited. She cries because the thought of seeing me again makes her so happy. It's so much better than it used to be because she used to cry at the first sentence because I was gone from her sight. She was devastated because in those days, in that phase, she only wanted me back. She couldn't let go. She was in (1) Denial then.

Those in the (2) Anger stage will tend to get triggered by 'all the animals who had been ill', as this is the one place in the poem that focuses on the past; on the pain and on the suffering. Grieving or not, people who are angry are typically stuck in the past. 

  

Those in the third stage of Bargaining will get an emotional jolt from 'they each miss someone very special to them'. They are still fighting the missing of their friend. They are focused on 'the dreams of days and times gone by'. If only they could have their loved one back! This person is still trying to negotiate. They can be stuck on the IF ONLY's. They will be emotional at this part of the poem because the predestined reunion is not yet clear. 

(4) Depression. When we are depressed we get stuck on 'they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind' (!). People in this stage are now totally aware that their loss is real and they feel the pain of the loss more than ever. 
This is why sometimes you think you are getting worse, but you are really getting better. If you were in an accident, your traumatized body would initially go into shock. Hours or days later you would feel the intense pain when the shock wears off. In much the same way, Denial, Anger and Bargaining keep us focused on something other than our pain. These stages keep us "safely" in our heads and out of our emotions. God designs us this way because we cannot handle all of our losses all at once.   

But look! They run and play together, the animals. They are not unhappy at all! The process of Acceptance begins the moment you draw near to your pet; when your pet spots you and you see your pet and you know your reunion is inevitable and permanent.  

The grief process is complete when 'you cross the Rainbow Bridge together'.  Crossing the bridge is a metaphor for Acceptance and completion.

Tears can flow for years and years and tears can flow forever, but there are also some people who are able to work through their grief, allowing things to be what they are with no more tears at all. There is no "right way" to grieve. There is no "wrong way" to grieve. There is only YOUR WAY.  If you have loved, you will always feel a bittersweet sentiment when you read this poem from beginning to end. 

What sentence in the poem makes your tears start to flow? 
Your answer will tell you how much further you have to go to heal.  
The further you go into the poem without tears, the more you have healed. 

If you are struggling with grief and loss issues and you see no improvement or hope for recovery, please seek out a bereavement or loss counselor to help you through it. Most community hospice organizations have a counselor or pastor available who is willing to provide such a service in the community at no charge. Godspeed your journey.

Dear Jack: Will Your Book Make Me Cry?

Dear Jack, 
Will your book make me cry?
Rhianna

Absolutely and yes Rhianna. It will make you smile and laugh and the tears may come even then. Yes, it will make you cry because my story is your story too and you can't help but connect us together when you read it.  I guarantee, however, that you will not be crying as you turn the final pages.  This is not just a book about a dog who dies at the end, Oh No.  This book is designed to bring you healing and peace and I promise your sweet tears will be worth it. 
Love,
Jack 

"YOU WILL NEVER LOOK AT LIFE THE SAME WAY AGAIN"

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Dear Jack: The Unknowns and the Final Hours

Dear Jack,

My little girl died unexpectedly. We still don't know what happened. We came home to find her lifeless body, still warm. We had a funeral for her and decided to cremate her. Here's a photo of her body on the altar and then her ashes in the urn (photos not shown because we don't want to focus on that. She would not want us to). It's been very hard and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her and feel that heaviness in my heart... It's been three months and it just doesn't get easier. I still miss her terribly. I look at her photos and think why? My baby. 

Samantha

Dear Samantha, 

It's always hard not to know what happened. It makes us feel really bad when they have passed alone, even though there was no way you could have known. Please don't keep focusing on her final hours. She wants you to remember the good times, there were so many! When you dwell on her death it keeps you stuck and you cannot heal. If you dwell on something, dwell on the life! Dwell on the love. LOVE is what heals you. She is full of love for you still and she is doing very well over the Rainbow. Prayers for your healing. Don't forget: try to focus on the Love. If you focus on the love, it will get easier, I promise, because that is where the power is for both of you. 

Love, Jack 

You Are Only Gone From My Sight

"LIFE IS JUST A DREAM. IT ISN'T REAL. I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T SEE THAT YET. YOU WANT ME TO WAKE UP BUT IN MY DEATH I DID WAKE UP AND I SAW YOU WERE STILL SLEEPING."  

From Jack McAfghan: Reflections on Life with my Master