#054. What’s it like grieving the loss of your child’s child? How does the grief of a grandparent differ from that of a parent? 

This is The Silent Why, a podcast on a mission to open up conversations around loss and grief and to see if hope can be found in 101 different types of loss.

Loss #36 of 101 - Loss of a young granddaughter

Meet Greg Williams from Cayuga, Indiana, where he lives with his wife, Marsha. Greg has been an English Teacher for 40 years, and he and his wife have five children and twelve grandchildren. Sadly, their first grandchild, Reagan, died in 2006 at the age of just two years old, and in this episode Greg shares his grief journey with us.

Reagan’s death was diagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome, also known as Abusive Head Trauma or Shaken Impact Syndrome, and her death was the result of being shaken violently by her mother’s boyfriend.

We've spoken to several parents who have faced the grief of losing a child, but this is the first time we've spoken to a grandparent about what the grief feels like from their perspective.

Greg openly and honestly talks to us about the grief of losing a granddaughter he was very close to, the frustrations with the DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) system, the complexities of grief when the death is at the hands of someone else, the feelings of guilt, the challenges of trying to help in the area of preventative abuse, and setting up their charity Reagan’s Rescue.

For more about Greg and Reagan’s Rescue visit: www.reagansrescuefund.com

And you can buy Greg’s book, which includes his equally beautiful and heart-breaking journal entries, on Amazon:
https://amz.run/62NC (UK)
https://amz.run/62NE (US)

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