By Adele Di Paola MY DAD Ralph Di Paola was my father and my hero. My admiration for him knows no bounds. I can genuinely say that during my lifetime he wore many hats with ease. He was my best friend, my guide, my protector, my biggest champion, my financial advisor, my therapist… but […]
By Sara Meredith My name is Sara and unfortunately due to this crazy thing we call life I have become an expert on grief and child loss, both I had no desire to know so well. On November 7, 2008, I walked into my daughters bedroom at 4:00 a.m. to find her not breathing. […]
By Michelle Ozanne The day my life changed forever forward was October 1, 2022. It was a Saturday. The night before I had a call from my dad telling me Mum wasn’t herself, he thought she was having a breakdown. I told him I would be straight there, but he assured me she was […]
By Leo Donnell My name is Leo Donnell, and I am the founder of One Happy Widow. I help widowed people pivot from grief to growth in their life after loss. In 2017, I was married and raising four children with my husband Dewey. He was only 42, but had already been discharged from […]
By Jo Goodwin-Worton I was married to Jay for nearly 12 years when, in 2018, life as we knew it took a very different pathway. Twenty-four days after moving into our first house together in June 2018, Jay was diagnosed with Stage 4 gastro-oesophageal cancer. His cancer was aggressive and from the start, we […]
By Alannah Pardy The story starts 19 years ago when my auntie Michelle was diagnosed with cancer. Although I was just five years old at the time, I saw every piece of heartbreak this horrendous disease caused for my family. Every year since, my whole family travels up to Co. Donegal for her birthdays […]
By Lisa Pahl “If my dad really loved me, why did he leave me such a mess when he died?” As a hospice social worker, I accompany patients and their families through the dying process. I, along with colleagues, also provide thirteen months of bereavement aftercare support that is provided by hospices to the […]
By Duncan F. In 2016, my small family’s life was turned upside down. After a series of tests over the start of the year, in March my wife of 13 years, and mother to my two children aged 11 and five, was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer. Her bloated and painful […]
By Allie Kilpatrick I am Allie Kilpatrick, and I am here to share with you my truth. My story is one that’s raw, real, and empowering. Growing up, I was taught the value of honesty, the strength of authenticity, and the impact of standing up for what you believe in. My journey with grief […]
By Pam Lundell My husband John Lundell and I were married in 1994 and had some wonderful plans for our future, but as Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps.” After a three-year struggle with poor health and various addictions, my husband died suddenly in 2005, and […]
