Recently I have had the joy of working with Mrs. A. She is a lovely, sweet-spoken woman who always has a smile on her face, but the smile often hides the grief and pain she deals with daily. Mrs. A has struggled with feelings of loss regarding an estranged relationship with two of her children.

In the words of her daughter, she “knows she is dying and is sad that she will never have closure or get to say goodbye.” I was initially referred to help with coping and emotional processing, but quickly discovered that verbal processing was difficult and frustrating for Mrs. A.

A previous stroke prevented her from stating everything she wanted to concisely, and our first several sessions consisted of blundered attempts from both of us to get to know one another and explore her feelings of grief. Knowing that she still had a need to express emotions and that verbalizing them was often frustrating, I suggested a songwriting project to communicate a message to her children.

Mrs. A loved the idea of sharing her feelings and hopes for her family’s future in this way. With help from her daughter and sister, she composed a lovely message which I helped her to adapt for a song. I plan to record the finished song for Mrs. A to enjoy and to share with any family members she chooses. Through this process, I have seen Mrs. A find a sense of lightness and peace within a difficult situation. I’m so glad that she has been able to express her emotions through songwriting and I feel lucky to have been part of the process.