A soft place to set it down

Grief Stories

Real life, in real words. Ambiguous grief. Caregiver grief. The grief nobody else seems to see. Bring it as it comes — messy, holy, funny, aching. We are not here to fix you. We are here to sit with you.

"Grief needs a container, not a lid."

— Briana, on what we were never taught about loss

A word from Briana

And then I cry, and then I laugh — because it's reality. Oh my God, it is reality. There's nothing I can do to change it. I cannot change this. But what I can do is focus today on everything God has given me — this opportunity to move forward, to walk in strength, to have this home I call the Cat Nap Inn, to walk with Him in truth, which is fortitude.

Fortitude is one of the hardest things you'll ever do. And one of the greatest. Walking in fortitude with God has been the greatest thing I've ever done. He has been molding me. Growing me. He has been my mother and my father. Through the eight dimensions of wellness — and spiritual wellness most of all — I know that everything the enemy has stolen from me will be added back. I know I will see my children again.

The thing about grief is — you cannot suppress it. You have to walk through it. With ambiguous grief, you walk through it or you make friends with it. You cannot avoid it. Others won't always understand, and it is lonely. It will push some people away. You can still be functioning through it — like a functioning anything — and it is hard, but it is doable. I've been doing it three or four years now. Through traumatization and re-traumatization, and coming out of it through coping skills and the eight dimensions of wellness.

If you're in it too — you are not alone. Tell it here. ✿

Stories from the porch

The porch is quiet right now.

Yours could be the first story to land here.

Share your grief story

With your name, or anonymously. Briana reads every one. Nothing is published without your permission.

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Briana reads every story personally. Nothing is published without your permission.