What is the name of your child who died? Clint Urban Later (aka CU Later, we had no idea the significance this would have when we named him). How did he die? Clint was diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma (liver cancer) on January 25, 2017. Chemotherapy was not his friend and wreaked …
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I met Linda in a recent grief group. She’s clearly a helper and a deep thinker. I rarely interview parents whose loss is so recent, but her candid style and commitment to the process made me eager to sit down with her. I’m glad I did! What is the name …
Born and raised in Venezuela, Ruthie was my boys’ Spanish teacher during their middle school years. My older son and her stepson are very close friends. She’s a wonderful mom, neighbor, and active member of our community — a reminder that a death by suicide can happen in any family-she …
I’ve known Dot for almost two decades and cherish her as a friend and role model, but until this interview, I’d never heard her talk about her son’s death so intimately. The hour we spent together seemed unusually heavy (this was December, just after the election), and at the same …
Therese joined our parents group and quickly impressed me with her ability to be with intense content and emotions, bridging compassion with healthy detachment, which is not easy. It didn’t surprise me to find out she is a medical massage therapist with extensive training in trauma recovery. I know Wyatt …
I first met Adam not long after his son Eric died, when he was in a grief group I co-facilitated. Adam and I later became board members at WinterSpring, and continue to see each other fairly often at meetings and events. When he agreed to be interviewed for this series, …
Someone told me that grief requires being able to feel more than one thing at a time. I thought about that a lot hearing Ixchel’s striking story. Her son died in a war she didn’t believe in. She got the news while attending the birth of her grandchild. Talk about …
Kim’s aunt read one of these interviews and connected me with Kim, who instantly agreed to share her family’s story. I love Kim’s genuine and unapologetic enthusiasm for talking about her son’s life and death. Though she doesn’t shy away from the depth of her pain, I come away from …
I met Denai through Victoria Markham, the first person I interviewed for this series. What really struck me in Denai’s story is how she answered the question about what has helped her the most: watching the Markhams grieve their son. It highlights to me how incredibly powerful it is to …
I always appreciate sitting down with Trish Dorr. She is one of the rare people I’ve met who doesn’t constantly second guess her way of grieving. She reminds me that it’s never helpful to make any assumptions about what grief looks like from the outside. Not every grieving parent cries …