Special Events for Bereaved Parents in Salt Lake City
If you are a Salt Lake City resident, are grieving and need support, here are two FREE events for you. Creativity to Heal and Empower With artist/author Alexis Marie Chute RSVP on Eventbrite by clicking here. Join us for a community art-based support workshop for people looking to begin their journey through grief. Join us for a ground-breaking community art-based support workshop for people looking to begin their journey through grief. This day-long workshop includes creative writing, collage, painting, and sculpture to work aid the healing process. All adults looking to uncover a unique healing vocabulary through art are welcome. Participants are welcomed into a judgement-free space to express and discuss their experiences of loss. The group will use...
Read MoreInternational Bereaved Mother’s Day
Today is International Bereaved Mother’s Day. It is a hard day for me. I am joyful, because I have this amazing opportunity to celebrate my son Zachary, who died eight years ago, BUT I am also bulldozed by sadness. I miss him. The day he was born feels like yesterday – and also a lifetime ago. I wish he was here. I doubt I will ever stop wishing this. Over spring break a few months ago, my family visited Disneyland for a couple days. As we drove to LA, we chatted as a family about our excitement. Then I said, “I wish Zachary was with us to have this fun experience.” Then the waterworks erupted. My husband, Aaron, put a loving hand on my knee as he drove. I cried big fat tears. International Bereaved Mother’s Day is another...
Read MoreHappy Easter & Book Birthday
Happy Easter! I hope that you are having a restful long weekend. This time of year is special to me for another reason as well… Expecting Sunshine turns 2! I’m a proud book mama to my book baby! Two years ago I published Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss. It was a big heart-job to write, and an adventure to publish, but the book has made a big difference ever since. I am grateful! On May 21st the second edition of Expecting Sunshine will be released! Here’s what readers have in store: What’s new in the Second Edition of Expecting Sunshine: Bonus chapter co-written by the author, Alexis Marie Chute, and her husband, Aaron Chute, through his perspective. A truly valuable reflection on the...
Read MoreResource Round-Up 4: Loving Your Baby Book
There are so many amazing and compassionate resources out there for bereaved families after their losses and as they become pregnant again. In this resource round-up, I will share some of the books, retreats, organizations and other supports that I feel are doing amazing work. Loving Your Baby: A Gentle and Practical Guide to Parenting Through Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Death, 2nd Edition (Sajola Press), by Shari Morash The heartache of miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death touches thousands of families each year. Designed to help parents and professionals navigate the first moments surrounding a baby’s death, Loving Your Baby… authenticates the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of parents and their baby when death tragically comes at the...
Read MoreFive Lessons: Expecting Sunshine 1st Birthday
One thing I have noticed since losing my son, Zachary, is how I appreciate milestones more deeply. I love celebrating the birthdays, and other special days, of my two rainbow babies and my daughter, who was one-year-old when Zach passed away. So too am I grateful to wish my “book baby” a very happy birthday. One year ago today, I published my memoir, called Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss (She Writes Press, April 18, 2017). When I look back on this past year, I realize there are many important lessons that I have learned. These revelations grew out of my challenging season of grief, the newness of slow-earned healing, and the process of writing, editing, and publishing my story. Five Lessons on the Birthday of...
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