Healing Hearts: Reflections of love, loss, and light

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year, I’m opening up space on the blog for something really special — a guest series filled with stories, honesty, and heart. Throughout the month, I’ll be featuring guest bloggers who are willing to open up and share pieces of their mental health journeys. Some will write about personal experiences with anxiety, depression, grief, or burnout. Others might offer practical tools or talk about how things like therapy, faith, movement, or creativity have helped them find steady ground. No two stories will look the same — and that’s the point. Mental health is deeply personal, and healing isn’t one-size-fits-all. But what I’ve learned over and over again is this: when we share, we give others permission to do the same. We remind each other we’re not alone. And sometimes, that reminder can be life-changing. So whether you’re reading along this month or thinking about writing something yourself, I hope this space feels safe and supportive — ...

This Sunday, May 4th, is Bereaved Mother’s Day — a day to remember and honor the mothers who have experienced the pain of losing a child. For many of us, it’s not a day that the world recognizes, but for those who’ve walked this heartbreaking path, it’s a day to pause and reflect on the love and grief we continue to carry. Yesterday, I recorded a panel for the Healing Hearts Podcast with four incredible mothers who also know what it’s like to lose a child. We spoke about the hard stuff — the real questions that so many bereaved mothers ask themselves, even years later. Questions that don’t always have easy answers but are always deeply felt. One question that really stopped me in my tracks was: What part of your loss still haunts you? The answer came to me quickly: The silence. The silence I still feel. The silence of never hearing Alivia cry. I had a healthy pregnancy. Everything seemed fine. I was ready to hold my baby. But when she was born, there was no cry. Just silence. A...

Lately, I’ve found myself revisiting certain moments in my grief—moments that feel like they’ve never really left me. One of those is sitting in the glider in Alivia’s nursery, hands on my belly, dreaming of the life we were about to have together. I think about that girl often—the one who had no idea what was coming. Writing has always helped me process what’s too big to say out loud, and recently I wrote something that felt deeply personal. It came out of a place of stillness, reflection, and love. I wasn’t sure if I’d share it at first, but I know I’m not alone in these kinds of memories. So I’m sharing this for anyone who’s lost a version of themselves they once knew, for anyone who’s sat in a room full of dreams and later had to learn how to breathe in that same space with empty arms. This piece is for her. And maybe, it’s for you, too. If I Could Go Back to That Girl Sitting in the Glider If I could go back to that girl sitting in the glider… The one who sat quietly, with ...

Grief and joy. Love and loss. It’s easy to think of them as opposites—forces that cannot coexist. But the truth is, they don’t cancel each other out. They don’t take turns. Instead, they live side by side. Sometimes, they are present in the same breath. Sometimes, in the same moment. Learning to hold both grief and joy is one of the hardest lessons we face, but it’s also one of the most important. I’ve lived this duality every day since losing my daughter, Alivia. Since losing my parents. Since realizing that grief isn’t something that fades—it’s something that integrates into who we are, something we learn to live with. I think about how I can laugh with my children, soak in their joy, and still feel the ache of the ones who are missing. I think about how a song can bring me comfort and devastation all at once, how a simple, everyday moment—watching a mother and daughter shopping together—can bring me to my knees because I will never have that again. That’s the thing about grief—it...

 One year ago, I sat down, took a deep breath, and hit record. I wasn’t sure what would come of it—if anyone would listen, if my voice would shake, if this space would become what I hoped it could be. But I knew one thing: grief needed a place to exist without apology. I started Healing Hearts Podcast because I know what it feels like to grieve in a world that moves too fast, that doesn’t always know what to do with loss. I know what it’s like to hold a love so big for someone who isn’t here. To feel the weight of an empty space at the table, the ache of unspoken memories, the way time keeps moving forward when your heart is still stuck in a moment that changed everything. I didn’t want to create a podcast full of answers—because the truth is, grief doesn’t have them. I just wanted a space where we could be honest about it. Where we could say their names, share their stories, and admit that healing is messy, non-linear, and sometimes, just really, really hard. And now, a year l...

There are certain songs that just seem to weave themselves into your life, whether you expect them to or not. It Is Well with My Soul is one of those songs for me. It's a hymn that's followed me through grief, heartache, and those moments where the pain of loss feels overwhelming, yet somehow, there's a quiet peace alongside it. The first time I heard this hymn was at my nephew’s funeral. The day was already impossible to process, but when the music started, I felt something in the air shift. The words weren’t just being sung; they were wrapping around me, like a blanket of comfort in the middle of the storm. But I’ll be honest, I also felt conflicted. How could my soul ever be well again? How could I sing those words when everything in my heart was aching? "When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul." At the time, I had no idea about the backsto...

This simple question has always carried so much weight for me. It’s a question that most parents answer easily, without hesitation. But for those of us who have lost a child, it’s never quite that simple. The first time I was asked, it was shortly after Alivia was born and died. In that moment, grief and fear collided, and I denied her existence. I told the person asking that I had no children. The second those words left my mouth, my heart shattered. I returned to my car and sobbed, feeling like I had failed my sweet girl. That day, I made a vow—I would never deny Alivia again. She is my daughter. She made me a mother. Over the years, answering this question has become easier, though I’ve learned to navigate it differently depending on who is asking and the situation I am in. Some people can hold space for grief, while others are unsure how to respond. Sometimes, I share openly. Other times, I keep it brief. There’s no perfect way to answer, just the way that feels right in the mome...