Seeing a splendid horizon with potential of new beginnings is refreshing. Stepping into activities, venturing places you’ve never gone, giving yourself permission to smile and “just do it” is such a restorative transformation from being down and out.

These are real questions and real challenges. What many widows don't realize is that countless others are asking these same questions. Yet widows often don't know where to turn. They fear judgment from well-meaning family and friends who, despite caring deeply, simply don't "get it." They may feel embarrassed or uncomfortable asking, and there seems to be nowhere to find answers.

This New Year’s Eve, 2024, I want to reach out and acknowledge those of you who are early in grief and for whom this holiday may hit heavy and hard. We see you, and we understand. And we want to offer you some insight from some of us who have been on the same path.

As I started to shift my thoughts from loss to life, things started to change. Something in me was different and I started to believe that it was possible to be happy again.  After all, I had been through the unimaginable. I survived the worst and made it to the other
side. Once I gave myself permission to have a new life, gradually I felt different, stronger and wiser. I let go of the need to figure everything out and instead let my intuition, heart and soul guide me.

Engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years.

I always leave the retreats feeling uplifted and like I made another “shift” in my journey as a widow.

The most wonderful part of the retreats is how loved and cared for I feel.

—Suzanne Milani

Next time when the hours loom long and large, see if any of these books become friends.

And if you are the supporter of a widow, volunteer to read them with her.

Whether it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the woods, or simply spending time in a garden, the healing power of nature is a valuable resource for enhancing well-being.

All of this has been more meaningful and impactful than I could have ever imagined.  I would never have wished for the accident that widowed my sister and took away a father from her four children. I would never have wished widowhood on any of the amazing women I’ve come to know and love.

But I am grateful nevertheless.  Because the past ten years have brought us here, to this place where we finally have the confidence to know that what we do makes a difference.

In a world where grief is often a hush-hush topic, we vowed to change the narrative. . . . Our road was full of twists and turns, mixed with moments of trial and error. Looking back, I zig-zagged my way through the L.I.V.E. process, crafting my very own journey.

Know this: love endures beyond absence. Missing someone doesn’t diminish your capacity to heal or thrive.

[T]here is something for you and you are something for others . . . it could be your silence or your words; it could be your tears or your laughter; it could be your heart and soul and spirit; it could be your hands that help or hug or create or stay folded; it could be what you have never thought about; it could be what stirred in you before now awakened out of dormancy; it could be a springboard to who knows where…