ABSTRACT
Bella, author's partner of six years, died of cancer. Neither of them had very long or very successful relationships before they found each other and expected and hoped that their relationship would last forever. The author believes that they suffer lifelong pain with the death of any beloved person; and their task is to learn how to manage the pain, how to integrate the loss into their psyche and soul. The biggest barrier to the author recovery was always his judgmental mind. Bella might be an old friend, a new friend, a therapist, a grief counselor, a neighbor, a minister, a rabbi anyone with an open heart and time to truly listen to their story. The most help the author has received in the area of death and dying comes from reading and attending workshops by Stephen and Ondrea Levine. The author believes that the loss of homosexual partners is a uniquely devastating experience.
