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loss

Helping my son grieve the loss of a friend

Blue dragonfly on a green leaf
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How exactly could I break this news to a kid who already went to bed every night scared of death to the point of tears? By Tanya Mozias Slavin

October 10, 2019 Obstacles

First day of school, first miscarriage

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Hearing “nonviable” is heartbreaking. Having to ignore that in front of 32 smiling second graders is even harder. By Caitlin Cherry

September 10, 2019 Obstacles

What my frozen embryos mean to me

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They are part of my life’s topography. Tiny specks on my map of choices, loves and losses, hurts and heartbreak. By Jordan Namerow

July 31, 2019 Obstacles

How to find resilience after losing your mom

Close up of a white weathered weather vane with an arrow on top with blue sky and clouds in the background
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Losing my mother, especially at a young age, was like losing my compass. By Gina Luongo

July 23, 2019 Obstacles, Persistence

The day I helped my mother pick out a wig

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My mom took off her scarf and revealed her bald head. We all braced ourselves, but the woman at the shop didn’t flinch. By Kandace Chapple

July 16, 2019 Obstacles, Persistence

How to live happily when there are no happy endings

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On carrying grief forward, not getting over it. A Motherwell interview with Nora McInerny.

July 2, 2019 Culture

Motherwell talks to bestselling author and therapist Lori Gottlieb

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So much of who we are has to do with how we think about our own parents and our own childhood.

June 19, 2019 Books, Culture

Seeing my complete family in the night sky

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Next to Orion’s Belt are two dimmer stars. These are the babies I lost, one before each of my sons. By Julia Pelly

March 28, 2019 Obstacles

On Prince, David Bowie, and losing Baby A

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Our daughter asked good questions—what about the other baby? Were we sad? Why did it happen? By Cynthia Nuara

February 27, 2019 Family, Obstacles

On the anniversary of my friend’s son’s death

Close up on shiny black stones with a green leafy sprout coming from the ground beneath
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I sent you a bowl of black stones because of the hardness of loving a child for exactly who he is. By Brianne DeRosa

January 24, 2019 Obstacles

I had a miscarriage. This is my story.

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If my belly was round and full of baby, would I hate my body less? This body that betrayed me. By Brittany Wren

December 3, 2018 Obstacles

Can my 70-year-old mother find love after loss?

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It had been a long time since I’d heard her laugh. It felt like clouds parting. By Stewart Lewis

November 15, 2018 Obstacles

Before and after my mother’s accident

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Time heals so much of what goes wrong in life, but the memory of what happened to Mum on that day still makes my body react. By Clover Stroud

November 12, 2018 Obstacles

The little moments when we are hit by grief

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You will be in your slippers, making waffles, and suddenly remember that your mother is dead. By Brianne DeRosa

October 17, 2018 Obstacles

Helping my mother clean out her closet, the year before she died

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After we gave it all to Goodwill, I lived in fear every day that I would see somebody else wearing my mom’s clothes. By Kandace Chapple

October 9, 2018 Obstacles, Persistence

How to explain blame and divorce to my son

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“Momma was crying last night,” my seven-year-old said. “She was crying because you left our family.” By Erik Raschke

May 30, 2018 Obstacles

After divorce, when a fish is not just a fish

single goldfish in glass bowl in front of ominous purple background
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Perhaps the fish were feeble replacements for all that we had lost, but they were also hopeful things. By Samantha Shanley

March 29, 2018 Family, Obstacles

My war against squirrels, bullets and grief

white flower petals and weathered wood
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Fourteen teenagers and three teachers are dead who were not dead a few of weeks ago, and my house is falling apart, and my children are at school. By Brianne DeRosa

March 6, 2018 Culture, Family, Persistence

What to expect when you are unexpecting

thin tree branches in front orange and pink sunset
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Nobody will send flowers. You don’t even have a face to conjure when you think of this child. By Maggie Downs

February 28, 2018 Obstacles, Persistence

When three steps on the crosswalk saved my daughter’s life

grayscale young girl running across a crosswalk
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For what seems like a single frame of the video, I see my child silhouetted in the lights of the oncoming car. By Ian Smith

January 25, 2018 Family, Obstacles

Motherhood and Waiting: anticipatory preparation

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I wait for sleep, for the fever to break, the tooth to fall out, the rash to go away.
By Zsofia McMullin

April 14, 2017 Family

Motherhood and Waiting: from boys to men

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All the years of doing and hoping, praying and sculpting—you wait to see if it worked.
By Lisa Romeo

April 11, 2017 Family, Obstacles

Mourning how quickly my tween is growing up

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The swings she used to ride are still moving, but she’s long gone, and I realize it’s only the wind.
By Robin L. Flanigan

March 20, 2017 Family

In the moment of miscarriage

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I can’t imagine spreading my legs and letting doctors make quick work of this loss.
By Nicole Piasecki

January 12, 2017 Family, Obstacles

The boring tragedies of parenthood

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I am shocked still by the parenting moments that break my heart.
By Catherine Newman

October 27, 2016 Family, Obstacles

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