Make Me Smile - Louise

10/02/2026

10/02/2026

I can now add a spiritual element to your counselling if required
Makemesmile-Louise.com

05/02/2026

My latest qualifications
Makemesmile-Louise.com

01/02/2026

To every su***de loss survivor who has heard “Did(n’t) you see the signs?” or questioned what you might have done differently: Your pain is valid. Your experience is real. You did not fail your loved one. Let’s shift from questions to support, from judgment to understanding. Every story is different. Every loss is unique. And every survivor deserves compassion, not stigma. At the Alliance of Hope, you are surrounded by a community of people who understand this.

👉 Join the conversation & find support: forum.allianceofhope.org

❤️‍🩹 Explore healing resources: allianceofhope.org/find-support

***de ***delosssupport su***degrief youareneveralone allianceofhope

22/01/2026

“My latest qualifications are now complete, and I’ll be welcoming new clients from the 17th of February — Josh’s angel day.
This work is deeply personal to me, and I’m here to offer steady, compassionate support to anyone who has been bereaved by su***de.
A website and app will follow soon, but for now you’re welcome to send me a private message if you feel I might be the right person to walk alongside you.
I also offer concessions for those who attend SOBS, Zephyrs, or who are on qualifying benefits. Xx

22/01/2026

“I’m honoured to share that I am now a qualified Su***de Survivors Bereavement Counsellor. This isn’t just a career for me — it’s a calling.
After losing my beloved son Josh to su***de in February 2025, I knew I had to turn my pain into something that could help others.
I am doing this in Josh’s name. I feel him with me in every step of this work, guiding me, strengthening me, and reminding me why this matters so deeply.
My hope is that through this path, fewer families will know the heartbreak that ours has faced.”

17/01/2026

This resonates so much with me xx

Don’t tell me they’re in a better place.
Their place was here. With me.

I don’t want to hear about peace or purpose
or how they’re still with me “in spirit.”

They’re not.
They’re gone.
And that’s the part no one wants to sit in.

Don’t tell me to be grateful for memories.
Memories are cold comfort when what I want is
their voice, their laugh, their arms around me.
Memories don’t hold you when everything goes quiet.

And stop calling me strong like it’s some kind of praise.
I didn’t sign up to be strong.
I’m surviving because there’s no other option.
Because life keeps moving whether I’m ready or not.

You think time fixes this? It doesn’t.

Time just teaches you how to wear the mask better.
How to smile when people expect you to.
How to keep walking when all you want to do is curl up and not move—
to sink into the couch, pull a blanket over your head,
and disappear for a while.
Because some days even standing feels like too much.

But somehow you still do.
Not because you’re healed,
but because you don’t have a choice.

I’m angry because love this deep shouldn’t end in emptiness.
Because no number of days, months, or years makes it fair.

And I’ll stop being bitter when it stops hurting this damn much.
Which, if I’m honest, might be never.
Written by: Aimee Suyko - In Their Footsteps

17/01/2026

Thinking of my son Josh today who died by su***de last February. Big hugs to my members xx

11/01/2026

People say, ‘I don’t know how you survived losing your child.’
The truth is, the person I was didn’t.

The person you were before your child died does not make it through untouched.
That version of you ends.

What happens instead is quieter, harder, and rarely acknowledged.

You become someone new.

Not by choice.
Not because you’re strong.
But because there is no other way to keep breathing.

Grieving parents don’t survive child loss.
They rebuild themselves around it.

A new nervous system.
A new way of loving.
A new relationship with time, joy, meaning, and pain.

You learn how to carry unbearable grief and still show up.
You learn how to exist in a world that kept spinning when yours stopped.
You learn how to live as someone forever changed.

So when people say, “I don’t know how you do it,”
the truth is… you don’t.

You become someone else who can.

If this resonates, don’t just scroll past it.

Leave a 🕯️ in the comments to honor the person you were before loss.
Share this so another grieving parent feels seen without having to explain themselves.
Save it for the days you forget how much you’ve already rebuilt.

You are not weak.
You are not broken.
You are becoming.