Tag: loss
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The dichotomies of grief
This year’s theme for World Suicide Prevention Day was “changing the narrative around suicide”. How can we do this, when there’s no way to sugarcoat suicide bereavement? It’s not a thing you survive; this kind of grief accompanies you for life. I’ve attempted to challenge “the narrative around suicide” by…
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New Book: A Counter of Moons
Kia ora friends, whānau and writerly colleagues. Today’s news is that my new book A Counter of Moons has been printed and published with Steele Roberts Aotearoa. A Counter of Moons shares my initial grief experiences, after my son Reuben Winter took his life in 2020. Each chapter explores a…
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Q&A with Elixir & Star Press (aka me)
I’ve had a few people ask, ‘Where did the name Elixir & Star Press come from?’ ‘Elixir’ was Reuben’s 2015 Totems album, and ‘Star’ was his first word. The other question has been, ‘How come you’re doing this?’ After researching (a lot) about grief whilst writing A Counter of Moons, I…
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Rejections and openings
I’ve come to loathe the 17th each month, being the counter of moons that I am these days. 21 months last week since Reuben took his life, and despite meandering through the day fully aware of it, it wasn’t until I checked messages from him, in the weeks before he…
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The abyss of deafening silence
(CW: suicide bereavement) Five months today, since Reuben died — I have become the mother who counts weeks, moons and months. On days like this, where I’ve had very little sleep, and there are demands upon me that feel irrelevant and unimportant in the face of my grief, I want…
Iona Winter 