My passion for helping bereaved families heal after the loss of a child began almost immediately after my 21-year-old son, Brent, died following a motorcycle accident in 2002.  This sudden and tragic death of my adult child rocked my world, and forced me also to revisit and grieve the deaths of my two other children–one through a miscarriage and another, Robbie, at stillbirth.

My way of moving through intense grief was both to find and give support.  For, as I share in my book, A Butterfly’s Journey…Healing Grief After the Loss of a Child, one way out to lessen pain is to help others.  I did so by starting the local Greater Newburyport chapter of the international non-profit, The Compassionate Friends (TCF), supporting family after a child dies. I have been the chapter leader since 2003, gaining more than 10 years of insights from listening to and consoling others.

It is my hope that through this blog I can engage interactively, online with bereaved families, health care professionals, funeral directors and all those touched by grief–sharing helpful excerpts from my book, valuable resources, stories of other families and heartfelt inspirations that may uplift you just in the moment when you may need a few words of comfort.

New articles will be posted at least weekly, and there will be space at the end of each for you to comment and share your own thoughts.

I invite you to embark on a journey of hope, happiness and love with me as I continue–like the butterfly and our children–to transform.

With Love,