Life After Loss
Beware 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…
Read MoreFrom Strangers To Forever Friends
By: Jennifer Haake I think the general perception of support groups is what we typically see in movies. A group of people sitting in a circle looking so sad. I remember walking into my very first support group meeting after we lost Charlie. It was about a month after he died. I was still in…
Read MoreBeyond the Scope of Practice
Having those wonderful, amazing, impactful caregivers like Dr. Jen and the other doctors and nurses who cared for us by our side during a very dark time made such a different for us.
Read MorePriceless Keepsakes
By: Julie Linck Memories are what exist after a loved one dies. For our precious babies, this is what we grieve the most. We are robbed of the opportunity to create memories and experiences together with our child. So how can we find ways to hold onto this sweet life that was taken much too…
Read MoreProof of Life
By: Brooke Taylor Duckworth In a cedar lined dresser drawer in my bedroom, I keep a purple box the closes with a ribbon tie. It contains an impossibly tiny nightie and a sweet little hat that looks like it would fit a doll. These are the clothes my daughter Eliza wore in the hospital, after…
Read MoreTis the season… for grief
By: Sabrina Ivy The stockings are hung. The presents are wrapped. The menu is planned. And your heart is a mess. Not just a little mess. A giant, sticky, crazy, out of control mess. Am I right? You’ve got plans with family. Despite the hell you have experienced you feel obligated to carry on and…
Read MoreBitter or Better
By: Julie Linck December 4, 2001 was a blessing for our family as we welcomed our 2nd child and first daughter, Mia Suzanne at 38 weeks. Little did we know how quickly our lives would change when she suddenly passed away five days later, to what we learned afterwards was meningitis along with a significant…
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