by Carolyn Thomas  ♥   @HeartSisters

Lately, I’ve been nostalgically contemplating two classic books.  The first is a children’s story I used to read to my kidlets when they were little.

You may know it: Judith Viorst‘s wonderful book,  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, in which poor little Alexander has one of those days when everything goes from very bad to much worse as the hours go by.

To this day, my now-grown children will sometimes phone me and wail:

“Mum, I’m having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day today!”

The second book I’ve been reading is Harold Kushner’s 1981 book When Bad Things Happen To Good People, which is recommended to patients and families facing death and bereavement at the Hospice where I worked since the year 2000. Rabbi Kushner wrote this book after the death of his 14-year old son. It’s a useful guide for those desperately trying to make sense out of life events that make no sense at all.

The “Why?” question can easily morph into the “Why me?” question, inviting an avalanche of self-pity, isolation, anger and depression, especially for those of us with a diagnosis of heart disease. Continue reading “When you’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” →