MANATEE COUNTY — For parents who have lost a child, life never will return to normal.
But maybe it could be close.

Nearly a year after starting a support groups for parents who have lost a child, Greenbrook resident Linda Murillo is hoping to reach further into the community while raising funds for her organization.

Her support group, Healing Hearts, will host renowned bereavement speaker Dr. Lou LaGrand, who will lecture on the “Nine Proven Survival Skills for Coping with Loss and Change,” at a special fundraising event Aug. 15 at the Pinebrook Clubhouse.

“We are feeling a need to reach out more in to the community and provide them with something they can use,” Murillo said.

LaGrand, who lives in Venice, has spent more than 35 years in bereavement counseling and said his lecture is based on what he has learned over the course of his career.

“These (things I’ll be talking about) are things that I have found that people who are grieving have used the most and for their benefit,” LaGrand said. “I’ll give some very practical advice on how to use the skills we are going to talk about.”

The ninth skill, “Trust mystery and the unseen,” will serve as a transition in to the second portion of the lecture, which is about extraordinary experiences.

“A lot of people are absolutely convinced that they have received a sign or a message from the person who died or a divine being,” LaGrand said. “They are just as sane as you and I, and they are absolutely convinced.”

LaGrand will focus on 10 to 15 common experiences shared by many individuals who have lost loved ones and explain how to use those experiences to aid in the healing process.

Murillo said funds raised at the event will help the group reach parents who have lost a child. Monies will be used to provide bags or kits containing a sympathy card, a book and other practical items for those families.

Murillo said she also hopes to launch a Web site so that more families can learn about Healing Hearts.

Contact Pam McTeer at pmcteer@yourobserver.com.

Healing Hearts fundraiser
WHAT: 6 p.m.: Dinner; 7 p.m.: Lecture by bereavement counselor Dr. Lou LaGrand titled “Nine Survival Skills for Coping with Loss and Change.”
WHEN: 6 p.m., Aug. 15
WHERE: Pinebrook Clubhouse, 3890 Pinebrook Circle, Bradenton
COST: $12
RSVP: By Aug. 9 to Linda Murillo at newmurrilo1@yahoo.com or 356-8143. Seating is limited.

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