How the death of her daughter inspired Lauren Rosenberg to write a book helping others to move forward when the unthinkable happens
How do you find the energy, strength and spirit to pick yourself up and carry on when the worst possible thing happens?
Lauren Rosenberg is an international fear and phobia relief expert, qualified holistic therapist, Reiki practitioner, mindset expert, trainer and energist.
In April 2016, her world was turned upside-down when the unthinkable happened: her beautiful, radiant 20-year-old daughter Liora died unexpectedly of a brain haemorrhage.
Lauren started a Facebook group when Liora was in hospital, and it quickly grew to over 15,000 people. Find out how sharing her grief helped Lauren through the worst time in her life and how she’s now helping others through her new book, How to Move Forward when the Unthinkable Happens: Love, Light and Liora.
Liora was my light – but I have learned to move forward
Liora was, and is, our light, and helps me now by illuminating my thoughts and bringing them together.
I feel compelled to share how I have coped with this terrible, tragic event, and been able to move forward to continue to create a purposeful and meaningful life for myself and my family, and to help others navigate their own grief.
I’m not saying this has been easy. Liora’s sudden passing was devastating. I have cried a lot and gone through the normal range of emotions. She was my eldest daughter and I had a very close relationship with her. We had common interests in energy work and personal development. There were times at the hospital – and since her death – when I just wanted to give up.
So I can empathise with those who feel they can’t cope with everyday life when terrible things happen. I understand their desire to shut themselves away and withdraw from society for a short while and sometimes permanently.
If I allow Liora’s passing to keep me stuck it would be a waste of my life
I believe that if I allow Liora’s passing to hold me back, keep me stuck and stop me from living my life fully, it would be a waste of my life.
I also don’t want our other four girls, currently aged 22, 21, 17 and 12, to be defined by this tragedy so they’re forever remembered as ‘the sister of that lovely girl who died.’
I want them to enjoy full and meaningful lives as would Liora – she never would have wanted us to stop living in memory of her because she always lived her life to the full.
I have had many messages via Facebook and text encouraging me to share my thoughts and actions, and I wanted to do something to help others, so I decided to write my book.
I know that it would be even more difficult for someone to handle loss and grief if they didn’t know how to help themselves and those around them.
This feels especially important at the moment, because everywhere I turn it seems as if people are experiencing what seem to be insurmountable challenges in their lives.
I’ve found tools that have helped my family, friends and me
I haven’t been free of challenges at this time myself. As well as Liora’s passing, I’ve had other challenges to deal with, including a carjacking. But it’s different for me – I have been given the opportunity to become an energist, and that means I’m able to use many tools not only to help myself but those around me too.
The truth is that I don’t know how I would have managed without knowing how to use energy healing and similar tools.
These tools have turned out to be extremely useful, even life-changing, and they’ve given me, my family and friends much positive energy to draw on after Liora’s passing.
My friends and clients who have used these tools on a consistent basis have made significant positive changes to their lives. I have created my own unique therapy formula so I can provide more support and positive outcome to both adults and children. I believe that energy is mystical and magical.
Why we need to talk about grief
I know that for many, death and grief are taboo subjects. But all of us will experience loss at some point. So I want to encourage people to share their grief.
If we share our vulnerability with others, we can create much closer bonds. It’s easy to feel that you should shut yourself off when you’re struggling with grief, but I believe it’s better to reach out to those you trust at difficult times. They may have ideas and insights that might help us, and they can also give us the nurturing care we need.
It’s when we’re in need that we discover who’s willing to walk alongside us. After all, we would help them in the same way. Sometimes it’s the people we least expect who give us the most support. But if we don’t open up, we’ll never find out.
Along with our own strength and resilience, letting others in can help us manage the burden of grief. We can also check our thoughts and feelings by talking to others. Understanding our feelings can help release us from the guilt or the selfishness we might have about sharing our grief.
Sharing in this way can also help others have a greater understanding of their own feelings and help them become more empathetic. When we share our fears, pain, joy and hopes, we share the universe’s wisdom and its loving care.
I’ve lost the physical part of my daughter, but she’s still with us
I’ve heard death referred to as ‘emigrating to heaven’. After my experience, this is how I see death now. I think we are born into a body and leave it when we ‘die’; we still exist, just in a different form.
An important point to remember is that the love you have for the person who has passed away will always be with you, because love never dies.
I don’t like the expression ‘I am sorry for your loss’ as I don’t feel I have lost my daughter. I may have lost the physical part of her, but she is still very much with us. Energy never dies.
Liora’s passing has been hard to bear, but I have chosen to build and maintain a positive outlook on life by choosing to be happy and positive.
This approach is powerful because it allows me to show my other children how good life can be and that they can still enjoy a good life, even though they’ve experienced tragedy. And now I hope, through my book, I can help others too.
You can buy Laura’s book How to Move Forward when the Unthinkable Happens: Love, Light and Liora here.
