A Talk in the Woods Counseling

08/06/2025

08/06/2025

Losing a loved one feels so unfair because it is. Talk about them. Share their memories. Speak their names.

07/11/2025

06/25/2025

You are loved, and your purpose is to love.

06/22/2025

"the antidote"

06/22/2025

I remember so clearly what it felt like—not being able to explain the pain I was in. I was scared that no one would truly understand the depth of what I was going through. I worried that I looked fine on the outside when I wasn’t, but at the same time, I feared looking too broken—because in many ways, I was.

So I stayed quiet. Saying nothing often felt easier than trying to explain the mess inside. But that silence became a kind of isolation, a way of hiding from the world just to avoid the discomfort of being misunderstood.

Looking back, I wish I had been more honest—messy, imperfect, raw. Even if I didn’t say it perfectly, that would’ve been okay. And if someone else felt awkward, that was theirs to carry, not mine—just like I’ve sat with others in their own difficult moments.

So if you’re feeling like this, please know: it’s okay to show up exactly as you are. Let yourself be real. Messy. Heartbroken. Honest. You don’t have to carry it alone.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

If you need support following loss please head to: www.SayingGoodbye.org -

3 questions I get asked daily:

1, ‘Which book should I get as I’ve just lost my baby?’

I would advise reading ‘Saying Goodbye’ & ‘The Baby Loss Guide’ - together these two books will give you 150 days of practical support. The Baby Loss Guide also includes advice & support tips for those trying to help support someone through the journey of loss.

2, ‘Which book should I read if I’ve lost another family member or a friend?’ (Ie partner, parent, adult child, sibling, grandparent/ grandchild, friend)

The book for you is ‘Beyond Goodbye’, this is my grief guide covering all loss. It also has a 60-day guide to help you navigate loss. Beyond Goodbye also includes advice & support tips for those trying to help support someone through the journey of loss.

3, ‘Which book should I get if I want support through a pregnancy?’

You need ‘Pregnancy After loss’
will guide you through your pregnancy from the moment you discover you are expecting until you have a baby in your arms.

All of my books are available worldwide. If you are in the UK you can purchase them from all good bookstores.

06/19/2025

This is a perspective we don't often think of. Someone has to die first.

Someone Has To Go First

I was doing a grief coaching session this week with a woman who had just lost her husband after being together for 57 years.

She was very raw in her grief and asked, “How will I ever survive this and go on without him?”

I explained to her that I had no easy answer and nothing I could say to her would change the circumstances of her loss.

What I did try to explain to her was sometimes a shift in perspective could make a difference in helping us move forward.

I asked, “What do you think would have happened if you died first?”

She replied, “Oh, it would have been terrible for him. He would have been so lost. I took care of everything, and he never would have survived without me.”

I asked her, “So now that you’re the one suffering and he doesn’t have to, how does that make you feel?”

She replied, “I’m glad that he doesn’t have to be the one experiencing this, I wouldn’t want that for him. I wouldn’t want him to suffer anymore.”

Here’s the thing...in an ideal world there would be nobody that dies, and nobody that suffers.

But once she changed her perspective, she then went on to tell me all the happy memories she had of their life together. We talked about how very few couples (very few people in general) die on the same exact day at the same exact time. Someone has to go first.

The one thing in life we can be sure of is death. It will come for each of us someday. But once we accept that, we can then view our loss as having saved our loved one from suffering.

I asked, “Do you think you loved your husband enough to find the strength and pride to carry this grief with you for the rest of your life?”

She replied, “I never thought of it that way, but yes, I loved him so much I would do anything for him.”

There is really no right or wrong answer…but sometimes we need something to turn to, and I hope that this thought will help you today.

Gary Sturgis - Surviving Grief

06/19/2025

When you survive…

If you need support following loss please head to: www.SayingGoodbye.org -

3 questions I get asked daily:

1, ‘Which book should I get as I’ve just lost my baby?’

I would advise reading ‘Saying Goodbye’ & ‘The Baby Loss Guide’ - together these two books will give you 150 days of practical support. The Baby Loss Guide also includes advice & support tips for those trying to help support someone through the journey of loss.

2, ‘Which book should I read if I’ve lost another family member or a friend?’ (Ie partner, parent, adult child, sibling, grandparent/ grandchild, friend)

The book for you is ‘Beyond Goodbye’, this is my grief guide covering all loss. It also has a 60-day guide to help you navigate loss. Beyond Goodbye also includes advice & support tips for those trying to help support someone through the journey of loss.

3, ‘Which book should I get if I want support through a pregnancy?’

You need ‘Pregnancy After loss’
will guide you through your pregnancy from the moment you discover you are expecting until you have a baby in your arms.

All of my books are available worldwide. If you are in the UK you can purchase them from all good bookstores.

06/05/2025

We grieve as fiercely as we love.

06/04/2025

Every heart
You encounter
Is in a cycle
Of hurting and healing:
Some are freshly broken,
Some are feeling
The ache of old wounds,
But every heart
Has known pain.
Remember this.

-Liz Newman