Canterbury Mornings

When Christchurch woman Julie Zarifeh lost her husband to pancreatic cancer she never imagined that 16 days later she would also lose her son in a tragic rafting accident.Paul Zarifeh, died on November 23, 2017, and his 27-year-old son Sam drowned while on a rafting trip with workmates on December 9.The family's grief was immense and at the time Julie Zarifeh told the Herald she felt she would not "ever truly be happy again"."To experience both ends of the grief spectrum in a two-week period – the very sad but anticipated bereavement of Paul, but then the acute, tragic, shock loss of eldest son Sam – is truly indescribable," she said.Just over three years have passed since the double blow rocked the family and Zarifeh has published a book about how she coped with the loss and moved her life forward.A clinical psychologist, Zarifeh embarked on a journey of "active grieving' and said once she had adjusted to the initial shock, she started setting herself goals.The first was a 450km cycle tour around Sri Lanka t