Faith Grief & Loss
The Upside of Early Loss
Losing my mom as a teenager gave me coping skills I never expected to need again — until my brother took his life.
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Thoughts on faith, motherhood, grief, writing, and the stories that shape us.
Grief & Loss
I'll Bring You Flowers
For 24 years Jim tended our mother's grave. Now my sister and I repay him, adorning his headstone beneath a big, old tree.
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My Brother's Keeper
My brother was my protector, my surrogate mom, my best friend. In his dying words, he entrusted me with the story of his broken heart.
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Finding God in the Depths
Losing my brother to suicide tested my faith in ways I never imagined, but God is drawing glory from the mire — even when I can't see how.
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Beating Breast Cancer, Step by Step
Walking 39 miles against breast cancer reminded me that we're not powerless in this fight — and that stress, the quiet killer, deserves far more attention.
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What 40 Feels Like
Turning 40 was supposed to be a milestone I shared with my brother. Instead it's a bittersweet passage through deep sorrow and muted joy.
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Forgiveness After a Suicide: What Does it Mean?
Forgiveness after a suicide isn't forgetting — it's releasing the hurt to God, who can build something lovely from the ashes.
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Identity Theft
My brother lost himself in a marriage that defined him, and the lies of worthlessness overwhelmed a man who never stopped extending grace.
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Not Enough: When Guilt Follows a Suicide
The guilt that stalks after a loved one's suicide is relentless — but in the space between sadness and hope, I'm learning to let light return.
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Sorrow, Strangely Sweet
Postpartum depression, mother loss, my brother's suicide — life's most tragic stories aren't without beauty. Somehow, hardship makes joy sweeter, and redemption lurks in the mire.
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Why Suicide Isn't a Selfish Act
Calling suicide selfish is ignorant and hurtful. My brother was in extreme pain, and he believed his children would suffer less without him. That is not cowardice — it is a desperate, human response to unbearable agony.
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Gifts My Brother Gave Me
Since Jim died, I've been unwrapping 39 years of memories like gifts without a shelf life. Losing my mom was an unusual gift too — the space she left was filled by the siblings I came to know and love more deeply.
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