When ‘Happy Father’s Day’ Has a New Meaning

By: Steven Lied Happy Father’s Day. These are three words that have taken on a new meaning since the loss of my son, Asher Ray Lied. As I reflect on Father’s Day in my life, I find myself remembering when I was a kid and all of the things that we did for my dad…

Read More

Back to Normal

By: Ann-Marie Ferry When normal seems on its way And tears have now ceased When all the thoughts in my head  Have settled in a calm place  The flood gates open  Destroying my glimpse of peace When my mosaic heart is crumbling  And I can’t take a breath  When tears start in my throat  Burning…

Read More

What Medical History Doesn’t Say: The Loss of Hopes and Dreams

By: Ann-Marie Ferry Jon pulls the car up to the door of the hospital. I know where to go and what to do. I’ve done this many times before. He drives off to find a parking spot and I waddle towards the elevators. As I wait with several other people for that “ding,” I feel…

Read More

The Bittersweet Song of a Wren

By: Shirley Brosius The trill of a jenny wren still sends a pang of sadness through me. Many years ago, 45 to be exact, my youngest child, my only daughter, died a few hours after her birth. It was a chilly spring, and as I hung out laundry, a jenny wren sang from a tree.…

Read More

Quiet Heroes

By: Jennifer Haake I spent many years in a clinical capacity in healthcare.  I don’t think anyone would ever disagree that nurses are the unsung heroes of medicine.  For a newly bereaved parent, they are often the ones to shape where the journey begins. In my case, I was laying on a stretcher getting my…

Read More

To Be A Mother, All You Must Do Is Love

By: Casey Zenner What makes someone a Mother? This is something we recently talked about in one of the Ending a Wanted Pregnancy support groups I belong to on Facebook. When you think of the word Mother, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It may be your own mom. It may…

Read More

Still a Mother’s Day: Honoring Motherhood During the Pandemic

By: Keisha Wells Thirteen years ago, I faced my first Mother’s Day without my sons—just 29 days after they took their first and last breaths. Although a bitter-sweet celebration, I was gently supported by family and received thoughtful gifts and love on this premiere day in my motherhood. The first of so many days I…

Read More

A Letter to the Newly Bereaved Mom on Mother’s Day

By: Kayla Leibner Dear Mom, I know you’re not the kind of mother you imagined you would be, but that doesn’t make you any less of a mother.  In fact, you are the strongest kind of mother.  Your baby lives in heaven instead of in your home.  You hold your baby in your heart instead…

Read More

Mothering Each Day

By: Robyn Busekrus The birds are singing and the sun is shining. When I turn the calendar to May, it brings sadness. I say to myself, “Here we go again.” This month, we honor mothers and for those of us who have been on this loss journey it is difficult. This May, my son would…

Read More