At my grandmother’s funeral last month, the priest shared a story that has really stuck with me this Fall season. The story is The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscalgia. It’s a special metaphor about life and death that gave me some peace in the grieving process. Basically Freddie and his friend Daniel are large and vibrant leaves on a tree who provide shade as part of their purpose. Freddie asks Daniel to explain a purpose. "’A reason for being,’ Daniel had answered. ’To

Last week I had the pleasure of being video-interviewed by my dear friend and colleague, Laura Jack. Laura is an incredible coach who specializes in the area of grief. I have contacted her a few times when I needed advice around people grieving. I reached out to her last month when my own grandmother passed away and she knew exactly what to say. Awhile back Laura asked to interview me about the difference between grief and anxiety/depression and how I deal with it all myself.

You may have seen that my amazing maternal grandmother passed away in September. You may even remember when I wrote about her here back in February on our birthday. (Yes, I was lucky enough to share this special day with her for the past 29 years!) What I didn't realize was that would be the last time we spent our birthday together. She was diagnosed with cancer early this summer after surviving it three other times in her life. We didn't know how long she had but we didn't w