Category: Kathy’s Grief Reflections
-
The Things With Nowhere to Go
Note: This piece grew out of the conversation that followed when I first shared my thoughts about the things we keep after loss. So many people wrote with their own stories, and each one carried the same quiet ache — the longing for continuity, the wish that our love could keep unfolding through the hands…
-
Teach Your Community How to Remember With You
People often want to reach out when someone dies. They really do. But most of the time, they don’t know how. They don’t know what’s safe to say or if it will make you cry or if you’d rather not talk about it at all. So they wait. Or they stay quiet. And that silence…
-
Moving Into the Second Year Without Jess
I am moving into the second year without Jess, and grief feels different now. I suppose the shock has worn off. There is no longer that moment of sudden disbelief that she is gone. Instead, there’s a steady, familiar ache. I am no longer surprised by her absence. I am simply, regularly saddened by it.…
-
Do We Push People Away By Remembering Out Loud?
Since my daughter Jess died, I have been finding ways to keep her present. I tell stories. I make little #JessInspired games. I invite friends into playful or tender moments that carry her name. For me, these things feel restorative and even fun. They bring a spark of joy into a space that is often…
-
Then She Was Gone
I sat down to share a few thoughts and began searching for a photo, unsure if anything would be right. Then I found this previously unnoticed one, so fitting it felt almost prophetic. Leave it to Jess. If this little essay had a title, it might be “Then She Was Gone.” It’s been eleven months…
-
Back to School
All the back to school pics are definitely hard. Jess would be moving into her dorm this week. This pic is one from last year (She is in the middle). Senior year, so full of promise. She had strong armed the entire senior class to go for sunrise at the beach on that first day.…
Grief Heart Project 