Episode 168: Katie's Mom

Meeting today's guest, Lisa, for the first time on Zoom felt like meeting an old friend. When I was thinking about what to write for this episode, the word that first came into my mind was 'community.' That's what Lisa creates - she creates connections between people and a sense of community. Now, that certainly isn't what Lisa thought would happen when her daughter, Katie was killed in a car accident 7 years ago, but that is exactly what she has done. Within two weeks of Katie's tragic death, Lisa went to her first support group for bereaved moms. She made a decision that night. She looked at several of the women in the group - two, in particular, grabbed her attention. These two women were grieving and talked about their late daughters, but they also laughed and talked about the future. She decided that she would continue living her life with her now smaller family of three. Grief would always be a part of her life, but she did not want it to be her whole life. Lisa first decided to write a book, Journey to Healing: A Mother's Guide to Navigating Child Loss. She then realized that moms needed more than a book so she wrote a curriculum to help grieving moms after they read the book. Even that, however, did not seem like enough, so Lisa started something more - a community for grieving mothers. She called her online community, the Angel Mom VIP Community. (find it at griefsupportformoms.com) This community is truly amazing. The moms meet virtually to support each other weekly. Lisa has resources available to watch online, videos on different topics, and even guest speakers. I love what she has written on her webpage:  What if there was a way…  - to live with grief and the heaviness of child loss?  - to move beyond the pain, beyond the fear, and beyond the anger and guilt?  - to heal in a way that allows you to remain connected to your child?  - to cope in a way that helps you balance grief with peace and maybe even joy? Join me as we explore child loss grief support in traditional and alternative ways to find peace after child loss. Thank you, Lisa, for providing grieving moms with a place to find support and encouragement, a community where we can feel connected.