Dr. Livingston, psychiatrist: "Stick to these two things and your heart will fight to the end of life."

Dr. Gordon Livingston, a psychiatrist with over three decades of experience, has transformed the most devastating suffering into a powerful reflection on life, love and loss , according to an article in FiftyPlus . After facing the death of his two children in a span of just thirteen months, one by suicide and the other by leukemia, he captured his learning in the book 30 Things You Need to Know in This Life , where he shares a moving and lucid vision of grief, resilience and the meaning of existence.

Far from finding answers in the "why," Livingston learned to formulate new questions that allowed him to move forward. "Things have already happened, and there's no point in asking those questions. It's ridiculous to pursue justice," he states bluntly. The experience of profound pain made him shatter the fantasy of absolute control over life and taught him that emotional survival lies in accepting that a part of our heart is buried with those we love , and yet we must continue walking.

Memory and dedication

At his daughter's wedding , the psychiatrist shared a message that summarizes the core of his thinking in two words: "As long as there are memories and dedication, your heart will be full even if it's broken." With these words, he emphasizes that the memory of loved ones and the devotion to preserving their legacy are the vital driving force that allows us to move forward . Loss, although irreversible, can awaken a capacity for love we didn't know existed.

Livingston rejects the idea that grief ever ends . Grief changes shape over time, but it never goes away. Her experience, shared honestly and without artifice, becomes a guide for those traversing the darkness. Her message is not one of superficial comfort, but of profound truth: we will never be the same again, but we can still live with meaning .

With the serenity that only experience brings, he affirms that love conquers death through memory and surrender . This isn't a comforting phrase, but rather a way of honoring those who are no longer with us. Throughout his life, Dr. Livingston has turned his grief into a luminous testimony, capable of sustaining others in their own nights.