Mother’s Grief
Love Bears All Things
By: Kayla Leibner The journey of a bereaved parent is full of misconceptions, false impressions, and understatements. It’s uncomfortable and unthinkable. There’s no possible way to help someone to understand unless they, too, are walking in our shoes. At some point, we were all on the misunderstanding end of this scenario. I know I once…
Read MoreWhat Now?
Life after loss. You are not alone.
Read MoreThe Deep Roots of Legacy
By: Ann-Marie Ferry “Tough it out.” “Don’t cry.” Don’t be a girl.” We have been told for years that to show pain, or to speak of it, is weakness. We are the children of stoicism. The American roots run deep into this ancient philosophy. At the heart we know something is wrong with it but…
Read MoreMissing More Than Milestones
By: Kayla Leibner I often find myself wondering what life would be like if I wasn’t a bereaved mother. I wonder how different I would be if I wasn’t on this path. The truth is, this is my reality, and I’ll never again know life the way it was before this journey of grief began. …
Read MoreMilestones
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…
Read MoreLonging for the Hyphen
My son’s short life reminds me to use my hyphen well, to live life to the fullest.
Read MoreSailing
By: Ann-Marie Ferry Twenty-five feet of crystal-clear water rolled between the pier where I stood and the smooth, colorful boulders on the lake floor. I was enchanted by this simmering window into aquatic life, mesmerized, in my own world. “Ann-Marie, the line is moving,” a voice called out. My parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,…
Read MoreAn Artistic Walk Through Grief
By: Ann-Marie Ferry The suddenness of grief is disorienting. It leaves us grappling for a way, a path to walk. We as bereaved parents had no choice. Grief came and we did our best. We kept waking up. We kept on. Our paths all look a little different, but the emotions often feel so familiar.…
Read MoreListening To the Voices of Bereaved Fathers
By: Ann-Marie Ferry Fathers often get the short end of the stick when it comes to grief support. It should not be. However, for a variety of reasons it often remains the case. When I was asked to write an article for newly bereaved fathers, I was apprehensive. I am a bereaved mother. How do…
Read MoreFull and Broken
By: Ann-Marie Ferry My heart is full and broken. I am sitting in my quiet living room as a sweet little 11-week-old girl sleeps on my chest. The time since her birth has been a peaceful one. We have experienced all the crazy sleeplessness and the insanity of transitioning to be a family of four.…
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