Faith Grief & Loss
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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Stories about everything from motherhood, faith, and grief, to classical-Christian education, current events, and the writing life.
Grief & Loss
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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Talking to Preschoolers About Death
I knew the question was coming, but not this soon. At bedtime my 4-year-old asked where my mommy was — and gave me a glimpse into the profound depth of his little soul.
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I Don't Want to Have it All. I Just Want Variety.
I don't want to have it all. I just want variety — and the wisdom to find happiness in that way station between too little and too much.
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A Marathon Walk, Plus Half
I walked 39.3 miles through Chicago in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer — pushing back, for the first time physically, against the disease that stole my mom.
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Going Back to Preschool
My first-born's last day of preschool reminded me that the tiny years are fleeting — and that thanks to Noah, I'm going back to school too.
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Inducing Labor for Convenience? Just Say No.
I induced labor for convenience and paid dearly for it. Childbirth isn't something you schedule into a tidy life-list — and my second, natural delivery proved how much better it can be.
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Faith Over Fear
The Boston Marathon bombing carried me back to 9/11 and the fear that followed. Christ died to free us from fear — and in an increasingly terrifying world, faith is the only promise of sanity.
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When a Mom Dies Young
Hearing the story of a young mother dying from breast cancer stirred my deepest fear: that my motherless history could repeat itself, and my babies would navigate this world without me.
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Clover's Toys
My 4-year-old discovered how functional his pants are — and used them to smuggle a puppy's chew toys out of the pet store.
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