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Understanding grief through Mary Todd Lincoln’s life and experience

Also on the program: Cannabis laws in neighboring states apply to out-of-state purchasers

Vintage illustration features President Abraham Lincoln as he lay dying on his deathbed on April 15, 1865, the morning after he was shot in the head by a Confederate sympathizer while watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 am, aged 56.

 iStock

Vintage illustration features President Abraham Lincoln as he lay dying on his deathbed on April 15, 1865, the morning after he was shot in the head by a Confederate sympathizer while watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 am, aged 56.

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Airdate: Wednesday, May 12, 2021

The pain of losing a loved one can be overwhelming. The grief is often centered on the person’s emotional response, but loss has other dimensions, too, that can affect the physical, social, and spiritual facets of a person.

“Reflections on grief and child loss” through the lens of Mary Todd Lincoln, is an exhibit at President Lincoln’s Cottage, a museum and historic site in Washington D.C.  The exhibit posits that the first lady, who is often thought to have suffered from mental illness, may have actually been living with grief and doing so in a way that was not customary at that time. In any case, it is clear that Mary Todd Lincoln suffered greatly following the murder of her husband and deaths of three of her four children.

Callie Hawkins is the interim Executive Director and Director of Programming at President Lincoln’s Cottage and her own grief journey has given her insight into Mary Todd Lincoln’s experience. She appears on Smart Talk Wednesday, along with Julia Dunn, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Program Director at Olivia’s House, a grief and loss center for children.

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln

 

photo by Chris Ferenzi Photography

“Reflections on Grief and Child Loss,” an exhibit at President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington D.C.

 

Cannabis laws and Pennsylvania purchasers

Using marijuana for medical purposes is legal in Pennsylvania and in 32 other states. There are now 16 states where recreational weed is legal, with a growing movement to decriminalize cannabis here, as well as approve it for recreational use.

On the federal level, though, all marijuana remains illegal. So, with laws changing and differing state by state, how do they apply to Pennsylvanians?

Melissa Chapaska, Esq., is with Cannabis Law PA and a Legal Committee member of NORML and she joins Smart Talk Wednesday with what would-be purchasers need to know.

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