Saanich teen publishes book about grieving to help others after losing mom
Saanich teen publishes book about grieving to help others after losing mom
While Olivia Hahn is flipping through her family’s photo album, she needs no pictures to remind her how meaningful it was to share snacks, drink tea, and watch her favourite TV show with her mom Patricia.
“That was my special time with her,” Olivia smiles. “That’s what I cherish the most.”
Because they could talk, laugh, and be the best of friends.
“It just made you feel so happy,” Olivia says. “And full of love.”
Full of the best feelings. As opposed to when her mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, when Olivia was too in shock to feel anything at all.
“I couldn’t imagine that in a few months I wouldn’t have my mother anymore,” Olivia says.
Although they made the most of those months in hospital, Olivia also couldn’t imagine that when she told her mom, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye.
The then 15-year-old says she spent the next few months feeling lost, alone, and alienated from her peers.
“Not knowing anyone, except for adults who had lost someone, it made me feel like I was different or I was weird,” Olivia says.
While she searched for resources to help, Olivia was left feeling frustrated.
Her dad John Hahn says his daughter couldn’t find anything expressing grief from a teenager's perspective.
“I can’t find a counsellor to help you, I can’t help you,” John recalls saying. “If we can’t find a book, I guess you’re going to have to write one.”
While John admits he was being flippant, Olivia — despite having never written regularly before — started doing just that.
“I was pouring my pain into the pages,” Olivia says.
She began writing poetry to express the feelings she’d kept locked away, before embarking the bigger project.
Instead of writing from a clinical distance, Olivia found the courage to express being in the midst of mourning.
“I wanted to write something that would help me through it,” Olivia says. “But also help other people, as well.”
“She started finding this confidence,” John says of his daughter’s writing process. “And this personal power I didn’t even know she had.”
While proceeds from her book will support local palliative care, Olivia’s ultimate goal is to empower others like her to begin their own healing process.
“I want them to know they’re not alone in their grief and it’s OK to not be OK,” Olivia says. “Just know there’s another teenager who’s gone through the same thing or similar to you, and I’m there for you.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
There's a heightened risk of wildfires across the country during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, here's where the risk is highest.
New research from Penn State University found certain factors can contribute to reducing what’s known as the 'urban heat island' effect, and that climate knowledge can contribute to better city planning and design.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A Quebec driver who caused the death of another motorist when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a family of ducks on the road has been sentenced to eight months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
A Winnipeg family is asking for help to find their missing teenage son whom they haven't seen since he left for school in the Fort Richmond area last Wednesday morning.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
The rural Oxford County intersection where an OPP officer and a school bus driver were killed Monday was less than a month away from becoming a four-way stop when the deadly crash happened.
It was a night of indecision at Waterloo region's catholic school board as trustees went back and forth trying to find the best approach to fill a vacant seat.
The first twister of 2023 in the country touched down near Regina over the weekend, according to an analysis from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).
One person from Estevan, Sask. is dead and another is seriously injured following a collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle on May 28 near Fortuna, North Dakota.
In a province where there are vast distances between cities and towns, one local group is hoping to get public support for an idea to bridge those gaps with a rail line.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
