by Jamie Stewart It’s hard to believe one moment can change your life — that one moment can shatter your world. I was uneasy sitting in my chair, waiting to get called into the ultrasound room. I always got a little anxious prior to our appointments. The nervousness was definitely trumped by excitement, considering […]
by Lydia Alvidrez This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Nicholas (Nick) Ruiz, my only child; was 16-years-old when he took his own life. He was a junior in high school and a good student. He loved […]
by Naomi Matthams My name is Naomi, and I lost my mum to ovarian cancer in January 2014, five years after being diagnosed with the cruel disease. My mum was only 64 when she died and left behind my dad, brother, and me, as well as a wider family and lots of very good […]
by Isabelle Sharman In the summer of 2020, I met the love of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was about to become my best friend, my safe place, and my guiding light. My perpetually single and independent self would have scoffed at those words a few years prior, […]
by Paula Griffith I miss seeing Chanell at the door, waiting for me to come home. She had the most magnetic smile and was the glue that held us together. She was very petite but had the heart of gold. Chanell was fearless and was willing to try anything. She wanted to play basketball; she […]
by Katja Faber When my eldest son was brutally killed in December 2014, the emotional pain was indescribable. I was overwhelmed and couldn’t take it in. There was no respite from the anguish, and each breath tore into me like a knife. There are gaps in my memory regarding those times. Perhaps the blackouts […]
by Brooke Carlock I’m not sure exactly when I became a resilient person. My mother described me as a whip-smart, confident and headstrong toddler. But something shifted in my elementary-school years. My parents dragged my four siblings and I through a particularly messy divorce that took years to finalize. My mother, scorned by my […]
by Autumn Toelle-Jackson I was blessed growing up; I had very little experience with grief. When I faced my first real grief experience as an adult, I didn’t even recognize it. After having a healthy child, my husband and I experienced one miscarriage and then another. I knew I was sad, but I didn’t […]
by Leanne Friesen When I was thirty-five years old, I held my oldest sister’s hand as she took her last breath and her body grew cold. I had spent eight years knowing this moment would come. Roxanne had been diagnosed with Stage Four Melanoma nearly a decade before, and the prognosis had never been […]
by Michal Baitz November 7th, 2021. My father passed away in Cornell Hospital while I was running on the sidewalks alongside the NYC marathon. People blew horns and cheered wildly as we got the call that he passed. They clapped and smiled and shouted as my father’s soul departed from his body. We were […]
