Bereaved Parents
How Showing Empathy Can Help You Support Others
By: Elizabeth Lowder When a friend or loved one has experienced a loss like a miscarriage, failed IVF or even a negative pregnancy test, we want to do something to help. To take the pain and sadness away and to help them feel better. Common responses couples hear when they’re going through infertility might be…
Read MoreI Am 1 In 8.
By: Cassandra Ludwig My name is Cassandra and I am 1 of the 7.4 million women who has fertility issues. My husband and I have been married for 11 years and have struggled with infertility for 8 of those years. When we decided to start a family, we had no idea the struggles we would…
Read MoreThe Soul-Sucking (Or Soul-Saving) Space of Social Media
By: Brooke Taylor Duckworth When my daughter died, I dropped off of Facebook. For me, Facebook had been a breezy, easy way to interact with people without getting into any of the harsh realities of life. I definitely used it to present the highlight reel—funny moments, the occasional witty observation, and photos to record the…
Read MoreThe Life of Grief on Social Media
By: Sabrina Ivy There is something cathartic about telling your story. Something healing about sharing your grief. I have a difficult time verbalizing my feelings, but when my fingers touch the keyboard or I pick up a pen it becomes the release for me that I so desperately need. It’s like opening a valve and…
Read MoreThe Other “Me Too” Movement: How Social Media Can Be Healing
By: Nora LaFata My daughter died on February 22, 2014. She was born the next day. My fingers still balk at the sequence of those two sentences. My daughter, who weighed five pounds and three ounces. My daughter, who had a head of dark hair and bright, pursed lips and skinny toes. My daughter, the…
Read MoreWhy I Deleted My Social Media Accounts After My Loss
By: Jaclyn Pieris “In my grief, I find myself crying and updating my status on Facebook as tears fall on the keys of my laptop. ‘I will be closing my Facebook account tomorrow. If you’d like to keep in touch, you can email me at the following personal email account…” What I really want to write…
Read MoreBeware the Highlight Reel: Navigating Social Media After Loss
By: Leslie Steele While loss of a loved one is a struggle impacting every generation, grappling with loss in the age of social media is a very new issue. And truly, as a blogger, who is a self-professed over-sharer, it’s something I never ever thought about. Until I had to. There are wonderful things about…
Read MoreA Community Of Support
By: Patti Budnik and Cindy Swain When my husband and I (Cindy) lost our baby, our whole world turned upside down. Although family and friends were a great support in the early days, they soon seemed to move on with their lives and expected us to do the same. They did not know how to…
Read MoreThere Are No Words
By: Kathy Gardner I spot her at the grocery store Her son was killed in 9/11 She is tenderly picking out apples And I am scowling at green bananas I wonder if she has heard my news She answers me Simply by looking over her shoulder She must sense a familiar desperation She turns deliberately…
Read MorePartners On The Journey
By: Robyn Busekrus Grief is messy and complicated. There are the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. For myself, they did not go in that sequential order. Depending on the day, sometimes it was anger and at other times I experienced another emotion on the list. Sometimes it was a combination of…
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