When a child dies, the focus is often on the individual grief of each parent. But what’s frequently left out is how that grief affects the relationship between them.  You’re both in pain, but how you cope might look completely different. One person might want to talk. The other might shut down. One might need distractions, while the other sits in the pain.  Even in the same house, grief can feel isolating.  It’s not easy to stay connected when you’re both hurting. But underst

Parenting after losing a child is something you can’t possibly prepare for. The first days feel like you’re moving through fog. Even breathing feels heavy. And yet, life doesn’t stop. Another child still needs breakfast, still tugs at you for attention, still asks the kinds of questions that are difficult to answer.   Your world has fallen apart, but you’re still a parent. You don’t stop being mom or dad to the child who’s here, even while grieving the one who isn’t.   What f

Advocating for a Medically Complex Child  When Blair Young’s son Bubba was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, she wasn’t handed a guidebook. There were no clear next steps, no roadmap; just a phone call that ended with the words, “It’s worse than we thought.”   She was left to figure it out on her own. “It felt like being dropped into the middle of the ocean with your arms and legs tied behind your back,” she said, “and being told, ‘Good luck. You’d better swim.’” 

Coping with Child Loss Costs When a child dies, time fractures. You’re heartbroken, disoriented, and suddenly asked to make decisions you never imagined. In those first few days, the world seems to stop making sense.  There’s no handbook for this kind of loss. But there are things you can know; small bits of preparation and comfort that might help you survive the impossible. This post walks through five things grieving parents often face, and what can help when everything fee

Grief doesn’t wait for death. Sometimes, it shows up early, unexpectedly, well before the goodbye. It creeps into conversations,...

In a time before grief therapists, hospice care, and funeral homes, Americans were turning to something a little more… spectral. Picture...

We don’t like to talk about death.  Most people avoid the subject entirely until life forces them to face it. But here’s the truth:...

Grief is a universal human experience, but when it comes to children, many adults feel at a loss for words. We want to protect them. We...

A Quiet Conversation About MAiD  Medical Assistance in Dying—MAiD—isn’t something most expect to face. It can feel abstract until someone...

When Sandy Chen Stokes visited her father in Taiwan, he was already in the ICU—hooked up to machines, unresponsive, and unable to speak...

Grief is one of life’s most challenging journeys, and yet, so many of us feel like we have to walk it alone. The world keeps moving, but...

Death with Dignity in Switzerland What would you do if your loved one told you, long before illness, that they didn’t want to suffer...

Losing a child is an unimaginable heartbreak. It’s a grief that changes everything—the way you see the world, your relationships, even...

Grief is a journey without a map. It affects us all differently, but there’s one universal truth: we need a way to process it. At The...

Helping Children Heal Through Play Therapy Grief is never easy, especially for children. They experience loss in deeply personal ways and...

In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula , I had the privilege of sitting down with Jessica Fein, the...

This episode discusses suicide and its impact on those left behind. If you find this topic distressing, please take care of yourself and...

Grief is a deeply personal journey that often feels overwhelming. Many of us search for ways to cope, and one powerful method is through...

In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula , I’m joined by Gabrielle Gatto, manager of public programs from...

In our latest episode of "Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula," we discuss the ways history has shaped our practices...