About Emily
In the years that followed, I learned a harsh truth that every bereaved parent eventually uncovers: the world does not know what to do with the sheer reality of child loss.
Society wants a redemption narrative. It wants us to "heal," to find "closure," or to neatly process our pain until we look familiar to them again.
But child loss isn't something you just get over, and it isn't just a heavy sadness in your heart. It is a permanent reshaping of your entire existence that leaves you completely overwhelmed.
For a long time, I thought "healing" meant just learning to coexist with a chaotic, agonizing mess.
Nothing about this experience was what I expected it to be.
From Survival to Purpose
It took me years of searching, stumbling, and trial-and-error to find things that actually worked to bring moments of calm and acceptance. For a long time, I didn't think those things existed.
But as I slowly discovered intentional practices that brought genuine relief to my overwhelmed system, I found unexpected healing. As I did, my purpose shifted.
I wanted to bring the exact things that helped me directly to other parents, so they wouldn't have to wander in the dark for as long as I did.
In 2021, I founded After Child Loss, where I run a digital Living With Grief community dedicated to helping parents navigate and re-enter life after child loss. I also wrote my book, Confessions of Child Loss.
Sharing our story online and across social media has created more connection than anything else I've ever experienced.
This grief can feel so isolating and suffocating that we need to find others who get it.
But I quickly realized that digital connection is only one piece of the puzzle.
Why Snail Mail?
We live in a world dominated by screens, quick scrolls, and digital noise. But grief isn't digital. It lives in our bodies. It is heavy, tactile, and physical.
When you are navigating life after child loss, opening an app, looking at a screen, and seeing everyone else's perfectly intact lives in your face can often feel exhausting and completely overwhelming.
Sometimes, the digital world just adds to the noise when what your nervous system actually needs is to unplug and slow down.
I realized we needed something we could actually hold in our hands.
DearGrief was born to bridge that gap. It is a quiet, screen-free experience delivered straight to your physical mailbox each month.
No pressure to post, no comments to read... just gentle activities, rituals, tools, encouragement, and radically honest words designed to let you step away from the noise and find a moment of peace.
What I Believe
Grief is a physical experience. We acknowledge the toll child loss takes on your mind and body, and we provide gentle, tangible ways to help you find your footing.
- Our children are still here. They aren't just gone. They are still with us, just in a different way. A huge part of this journey is learning how to tune into them as they are now, and that connection is the best way to bring them forward with us into our lives.
Healing isn't what you expect. It isn't a straight line or a return to who you used to be. It's a practice of learning how to grieve and safely inhabit your life again, one breath at a time.
Radical honesty over forced positivity. We do not skip past the dark. We sit in it together, acknowledging the pain so that we can genuinely learn to breathe through it.