Why I am Passionate about Breaking the Taboo around Loss

Right now I am in Amsterdam presenting at The 2014 International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Baby Survival. My topic: Healing through the Creative Arts. I feel wildly shy presenting to international medical professionals, but I hope my workshop will be a spark of insight for the professional practice of these individuals that interact with heart wrenching loss of young lives on a daily basis. I will be discussing ways that both visual and literary arts can help a bereaved person heal after tragedy.

I was asked the other day if it is challenging to speak at conferences and constantly retell Zachary’s story. Yes and no.

Yes, it is wearying some days to always put myself back in a vulnerable place of pain. At the same time, I love talking about my baby that means so much to me and I hope I keep him alive in the world, even to a small degree, through this storytelling.

I am also passionate about helping other people. To be honest, I do not know where this impetus came from. I am not a deeply empathetic person at my core (I wish I was), yet I care about dispelling the taboo around the death of a child and creating supportive community. I am also passionate about the amazing capacity for art to express the sometimes abstract parts of our struggles.

I will post more about the conference when it has concluded and I have had a chance to absorb it all.

Until then, love and hugs.

Alexis Marie