Living Memories | Inspiring stories about moving beyond loss and keeping memories alive

The Living Memories Project

By remembering the lives and legacies of loved ones, we can take concrete steps to heal ourselves.

By remembering and celebrating how they lived, rather than how they died, we can enhance our resilience, compassion, and creativity.

During the promotional tour for her first book, The Living Memories Project: Legacies that Last, Dr. Meryl Ain saw that people grieving for loved ones, as well as professionals who work with the bereaved, needed a new approach and additional tools to help in the process of moving forward.

This determination to support others in coming to terms with the loss of a loved one led Dr. Ain to bring together resources, stories and to help professionals individuals, and bereavement groups transform grief into positive action and living legacies.

Learn More

Your Living Memories

The Three Kiddush Cups: In Living Memory of Virginia Leffel and Irving Leffel

21 Feb 2017

Submitted by Linda Landow My mom, Virginia Leffel, passed away 51 years ago. My dad, Irving Leffel, continued to live in our house in Rockville Center until his passing 19 years later. When my brothers and I were going through the house, I found a set of 12 sterling silver kiddush...

Your Living Memories

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: In Living Memory of Bernard Scherel and Rena Scherel

21 Dec 2016

Submitted by Ann Heller When my father, Bernard Scherel, passed away at the age of 98 in July of 2010, my daughter Lisa Heller, who lives in Park Slope, decided to memorialize her grandparents in a very special way. Here are her words: “I called Prospect Park Alliance about planting...

A Special Hanukkah Family Memory: Uncle Joe’s Menorah

13 Dec 2017

This living memory was submitted by Linda Landow, who discovered that a menorah sitting on a shelf held a treasured family legacy. This menorah had been on my top shelf for many years. As it is not the menorah I light for Chanukah, I paid little attention to it. Last...

Musings on Mortality in the Produce Aisle

21 Feb 2017

Reprinted from HuffingtonPost.com, February 19, 2017, by Meryl Ain, Ed.D. It was just another day in what has become my routine in the seventh week following my husband’s open-heart surgery. I was in a hurry, having left him at home with his fifth bout of atrial fibrillation since the surgery. I had to pick up yet another medication from CVS, where I am sorry to say they are all too familiar with my husband’s medications, and they know who I am. With the $7 off “extra bucks” coupon I had garnered on my last trip, I decided to buy myself...

Articles by Dr. Ain

On 9/11 Remember and Celebrate Lives of Victims With Community Service

20 Dec 2016

This Sunday, September 11th, marks the 15th Anniversary of the day that 3,000 innocent souls lost their lives in an unspeakable, horrific conflagration that was witnessed by millions on live TV. On Sunday, all New York television stations have canceled their regular programming to remember and replay the recorded events of that day. This year as it does every year one network – MSNBC — will devote 3 ½ hours to the “unedited, uninterrupted, untouched live footage of NBC’s Today Show coverage of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,” an article in Slate Magazine reminds us. The piece by Jeremy Samuel Faust goes...

Reviews

The stories in this book are inspiring for their ability to embrace loss and grieving in ways that facilitate human development. They are not only a testament to the rewards of deep love and friendship, but also a confirmation that life and death are inextricably intertwined.

Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD, Developmental Psychologist

The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last

13 Dec 2016

Reprinted from Shiva.com Preserving Memories By Story Telling There are many ways to remember loved ones and celebrate their lives. The passing down of family recipes, stories and history in modern times remains important for both cultural and legacy reasons, along with helping to cope with loss. Finding appropriate tools and resources for organizing, documenting and sharing is important. The Living Memories Project is devoted to teaching fundamentals. The Living Memories Project features more than 30 interviews with celebrities and others who tell how they transformed their grief into constructive and creative action. This upbeat and uplifting book demonstrates that...

The 2nd Annual Living Memories Project Conference – Jan 12, 2018

05 Jan 2018

New Trends and Clinical Intervention in Grief and Bereavement Counseling Friday January 12, 2018 8:30am to 1:45pm Mid-Island Y JCC Plainview, NY Click here to download the full event information. JASA Partners In Dignity, Mid-Island Y JCC and Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services are pleased to offer “The 2nd Annual Living Memories Project” Conference New Trends and Clinical Interventions in Grief and Bereavement Counseling on Long Island. The conference will be held on Friday, January 12, 2018 from 8:30am to 1:45pm at the Mid-Island Y JCC. EXHIBITOR SPONSOR REGISTRATION FORM

Dr. Ain Featured on “In The Arena” 710 WOR AM Radio – 1/1/17 8am

01 Jan 2017

Sunday, January 1, 2017, 8:00 a.m. Dr. Ain was featured on 710 WOR AM Radio Sunday 1/1/17 on “In The Arena” with host Msgr. Kieran Harrington. The program also aired Sunday evening (1/1/17) at 8:00 p.m. on NET TV (which can be found on Fios, Direct, Dish, Time Warner). You can also pick up the interview online at: http://netny.tv/shows/in-the-arena/ See the video here: