Author Mary Lee Robinson Launches Community Initiative 'Set an Extra Plate'

By: Christina Mancuso Nov. 02, 2015

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Nov. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ The concept is really very simple. As we all begin to make our plans for holiday meals, please consider "setting an extra plate" for someone or some family who has recently experienced the loss of a spouse, a parent, a loved one.

Holidays can be brutal for grievers, and they are fraught with old memories and traditions that ring hollow when a member of the family is missing. At the same time, one of the significant losses that accompany a death is the sense of normal family life.

Mary Lee was inspired to create this easy-to-do initiative, when in the year following the loss of her own husband, she found herself completely alone on nearly every holiday. According to Mary Lee, she felt "shunned" and it made her deep loss even deeper. She hopes that not only will other grievers not be so deserted, but that one day, they will be so overwhelmed with invitations that they don't know what to do with all of them.

Friends, neighbors, co-workers can all help by fostering an environment for creating new memories, and easing the transitions. Look around you in your community, your work place, your church. Who do you know that lost a family member this year?

Consider asking them to join you for a holiday dinner at your home. Your guests will love you for it, and your own holidays will be enriched. You may even find that you want to establish a new tradition!

With the help of the good folks at The Grief Toolbox, Grief Diaries, Mary Lee hopes to spread this initiative all over the country. Won't you please spread the word?

Set an Extra Plate this year, and every year!

Mary Lee Robinson is the author & editor of The Widow or Widower Next Door as well as co-author of the soon to be released Grief Diaries: Loss of a Spouse and Grief Diaries: Help for the Newly Bereaved. She is also a grief coach, owner of "Rings of Remembrance" an elegant retail offering of mourning rings, and the founder and organizer of social clubs for widows and widowers in Myrtle Beach, SC. Mary Lee is a frequent contributor to The Grief Toolbox website. She can be reached at her website, mary-lee-robinson.myshopify.com or maryleerobinson.com, or by email.

Media Contact:
Mary Lee Robinson
843-421-5338

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151030/282329

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151030/282328

SOURCE Mary Lee Robinson