Personal Essays

Being Heard

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There was something about my first days as a mother that reminded me of my final moments with my own mother. Neither my newborn nor my mother could talk back. But could they understand me?

The Writing Life

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My friend allowed me no excuses for unfinished work. When she died, I thought I’d never put pen to paper again.

Sleeping Through Grandma’s Death

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When I finally came to after a months-long coma, my beloved grandmother was gone.

Closure Is a Unicorn

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My father and I struggled to understand each other. His death was what made me realize I can both love him and being angry with him.

He’s Dead, But He’s No Saint

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My husband cheated on me again and again — but people give him a pass because he died in a tragic Thanksgiving Day scuba accident.

Giving Birth at the Age Mom Died

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I had my children young, keeping in mind that my own mother died 46. Now I’m 46, missing my mother, grieving my 12-year-old son, and also happily, unexpectedly pregnant.

The Stillbirth Status Updates I Really Wanted to Write

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Here's what I really wanted to write about my pregnancy loss: mother of two, one living.

Speak for Your Self

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My sister had a right to be stubborn in facing terminal cancer — even if the rest of us disagreed with her choices.

Scarlett O’Hara, Grief Counselor

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The "Gone with the Wind" character taught me a powerful coping mechanism for dealing with my mother's loss.

Timehopping My Way Through Life and Death

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How the tech tool keeps screwing with my emotions. And why I can't say I hate it.

Will I Still Be Funny?

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My family thrived on potty humor, but after my dad died I wondered if we'd ever again laugh with abandon.

A Cancer Battle, Then a Miscarriage

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After my mother died of cancer, the hope of bringing a new life into this world kept me afloat. Then I got some very bad news.

Two Truths and a Lie

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My daughter's class exercise reminded me that kids carry their loss everywhere, even to school.

Coming Out of the Grief Closet

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I'm a bereavement 'expert' who publicly hid my feelings after going from pregnant to grieving in a matter of hours. Until now.

Workshopping My Grief

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My classmates were poring over my essay about my grandmother’s murder. As a writer, I’ve never felt more vulnerable.

Cleaning a Home after Loss with Avoidance and Humor

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After my mother died, I could barely bring myself to go through her belongings. Here's how I got through it.

Lost, Not Found

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After entering foster care, I got used to losing physical things. But my mother's death isn't a loss -- it's an event, an experience that defies language.

Meet Patricia, Aunt Esther’s Amazon Alter Ego

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It was only after my aunt's death that I really got to know her -- through hundreds of Amazon.com product reviews.

Chicken Chow Found

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I've spent years attempting to rebuild my dad's favorite recipe. And with a simple wok, I've connected our family with him anew.

Signs Of Life

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I'm an EMT volunteer who knew the paramedics 'working my mother.' Finally reboarding an ambulance a year after her death, I discovered a new dimension to my service.

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