Katie Couric
Goodbye
By Dr. Mel Glazer
When
someone dies, they must be mourned. They
must be remembered for the good
in their lives, they must be thanked
for the contributions they made to those
who remain, and stories about them must
be told and re-told. When all of these
happen, their death will be mourned not
as a tragedy but simply as a normal event
which takes place each and every day.
Someone dies, someone is born, that is
the way of the world. But sometimes
in our lives, someone comes along and
makes a difference. Katie
is one of those special people. We
felt that she understood us normal folk,
even
if there was such a distance between
her life and ours. She is extremely
wealthy, most of us are not. She seems
to float
through life effortlessly, we seem
to have more on our plates that need
to
be addressed. Her life appears to be
flawless, without pain and struggle,
unlike our own.
But that
is not so. In fact, it is only because
of the pain
and suffering that
she suffered in her own life that she
could “touch us” emotionally.
She knew what grief was all about, because
she had to deal with the illness and
death of a loved one just as we do. Her
husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer.
It was all very sudden, with little warning,
and they had two small children at the
time. Katie talks about her ordeal in
a marvelous Good Housekeeping article
(http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/hb/health/articles/0,,284594_290498-2,00.html)
that should be required reading for all
those who love her. In the article she
discusses her reactions to finding out
Jay had cancer, her feelings as his cancer
progressed, how his death affected her
and the kids, and how she became a vocal
advocate for cancer screening after his
death. She did not allow Jay’s
death to overwhelm her, she used Jay’s
death to bring hope to others. And she
became a deeper and more giving personality
because of what she experienced. His
death was her teacher.
Katie knows
how pain looks and feels, and so she
can
speak to us with honesty
and with a realistic understanding of
the pain we go through when someone we
love dies or is struck down by a dread
disease. And that is why we love her
so much, she is believable because she “knows” what
she’s talking about. We trust her
because she’s “been there.” She
understands well that we only learn anything
about ourselves by how we respond to
the losses in our lives.
It may have
seemed that NBC took a long time to say
goodbye
to her, but that
isn’t so. She touched so many,
and they each needed to say goodbye in
their own way. And now she moves on to
another network, another context, another
life. No one knows what her future will
look like. But we all know that her past
was a glorious one, a gift to us all.
Thank you, Katie, we wish you godspeed
in your new career.
Mel Glazer
is the Rabbi of Temple Israel of the
Poconos
in Stroudsburg, PA. He
is also a Grief Specialist working in
private practice with grievers all across
America. You can visit his website at
http://www.yourgriefmatters.com He is
the Author of “When Death Visits
A Jewish Home: 99 Answers For Mourners
(2006). His upcoming book, “And
God Created Hope: Finding Your Way Through
Grief from the Lessons of Early Biblical
Stories” (Avalon Publishing, Jan.
2007), follows in the footsteps of Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross in the importance of accepting
the reality of death and loss, and being
able to move to a life filled with hope
and joy. He has lectured nationally to
religious organizations, philanthropic
groups and public and private schools.
Dr.
Mel Glazer • Your Grief Matters
1.877.532-4246 (1.877.LECHAIM)
mel@yourgriefmatters.com •
www.yourgriefmatters.com
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© Dr. Mel Glazer, 2005. All rights reserved.
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