Helping Others Help You Through Loss

By: Molly Hickey Sipping coffee and sitting across from a long time friend, we talked about the weather, her kids, our jobs, and husbands. With each break in the conversation, I hoped she would ask about Joseph and Grace. I hoped she’d ask about how I am navigating the grieving process, ask how it felt to be back at work when I was…

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The Gift of Perspective

By: Sharon Schumack I recently read a magazine article about aging constructively that asked its readers the following questions: What were some of the most challenging experiences in your life? How did you get through them? What pushed you forward? I didn’t have to think very hard. The answers popped into my head immediately. The…

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Facing Grief Together

By: Ann-Marie Ferry In the days following Kuyper’s stillbirth I grieved visibly through tears and sobs. My husband, Jon, remained stoic, emotionally detached from the reality which we faced. We went on this way for several weeks following delivery. After a long day at work, he walked through our front door, outraged, talking about a…

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Grief, Hope, and YOGA

By: Brooke Taylor Duckworth Before my daughter died, I didn’t understand that grief was a physical sensation. I knew what it meant to “feel sad,” but I had never grieved like this before. This was a whole-body experience. This was a constant headache, chronic tension from clenching my teeth and tightening my jaw. My body…

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Kindness is Good for the Soul

By: Rose Carlson Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.  ~Anne Herbert It is quite possible that one simple little sentence scrawled on a paper placemat in a restaurant in Sausalito, CA in the early 1980s, sparked the concept of “paying it forward.” Random Acts of Kindness, or RAKs, such as paying for coffee…

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How To Show Up For A Grieving Mother

By: Autumn Purdy Gifts come in many forms and any kind offering can make a world of difference to a woman who has experienced pregnancy loss. Gentle words and time spent sharing, handmade presents, a simple meal, a letter scrawled in imperfect handwriting, even a litany of text messages stating “I’m here for you,” will…

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Thankful For The Unexpected

By: Kayla Leibner The holidays are a time that I find myself especially compelled to reflect on the things for which I am most thankful.  Before our life-changing losses, these reflections usually included things like family, friends, and faith. While I am still grateful for these things (and so much more) each day, it is…

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Milestones

By: Rebecca Stockwell A close friend had a baby a few weeks before my son was born. We live a few hours from each other, so I wasn’t around for most of her milestones. When she was seven months old, we were invited to her baptism and to spend the night at her house. We don’t…

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