Hospice Trainings and Book Event Comments

“Volunteers who are drawn to hospice work have an abundance of caring concern for those they serve. Their work is sometimes intimate and intense with the unique challenge of coping with death and loss on a regular basis. This summer, hospice volunteers from our agency came together to attend facilitated explorations of grief, loss and resilience with Ira Baumgarten, author of “A Night on Buddy’s Bench – An End of Life Story”. We were delighted that he chose to make our volunteers the beneficiaries of his important work and thankful for his creation of such a loving and supportive “space” for all.” 

- Connie Jones, Hospice Volunteer and Bereavement Services Coordinator, MaineHealth
Care at Home

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“As a bereavement counselor at Saratoga Hospice, my role is to facilitate meaningful conversations around the subject of grief and loss. A Night on Buddy’s Bench provided a springboard for discussion of various overarching themes: the idea of a "safe space" (the bench) from which the bereaved can find a source of strength and centering following a loss, the need for those grieving to keep their loved ones alive through narrative, the integration of the loss by the bereaved through memories, sensory experiences, and visual images, as well as the fleetingness of life itself. My goal for the session was to allow the volunteers to ponder their own personal losses in relation to the book. The group reported that they could relate to many of the themes presented. In fact, many individuals reported that reading the book allowed them to look at their losses through a very different lens. It seems to me that in our society, which appears to be quite grief-adverse, that a book such as this serves as an important catalyst for discussion. Volunteers stated that they could envision using the book as a tool in the homes of the patients they serve.”

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- Meg Parobeck, Saratoga Community Hospice, Bereavement, Counselor

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“The talk went very well and there was so much interest afterwards too! It was so unique with having the recording playing...a really wonderful experience. I’d love to repeat the event again. I appreciate your generosity in making it a fundraiser for the Library too.”

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- Mia Boynton, Monhegan Library, Director

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“A Pilgrim’s Way through Grief – evening of remembrance … was such a moving gathering, so alive with all energies and hearts in the room... I am really touched by the whole story with all of its layers of lives and deaths, lights and leaves, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, trees, lights and benches!”

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- David Gersten, Founder and Executive Director of Arts, Letters and Numbers