No matter how much I heal or move forward in life, this will never go away. Chris and I shared great love and in turn, his death leaves...

When you have been traumatized, it seems like you’re always expected more of the same. Being in a good place in your life can be scary...

It’s been seven years since I got the worst news a wife could receive. Life was in slow motion as they told me they couldn’t save him...

(photo by Joanna Samples/Jenn Fortune Photography 2012) When you get married at 20, it’s easy to calculate how many years you’ve been...

Tonight was Abigale and Aurora’s first ever fancy daddy daughter date night. This was a day I thought would never come... but God. He...

(Written a few years back) She was in labor and she was hitting transition: the stage when even the toughest women feel like giving up....

When Chris and I started dating, we were both in high school. I was going into my junior year at Carbondale; he was going into his Senior...

In August our family adopted a puppy from St Francis Care. She weighed 3 lbs at the time and was just 9 weeks old. She'd been separated...

I was having a relatively routine day. I was on lunch break from clinicals and driving to Panera to pick up food. I passed a vehicle with...

~~~~~This story is hard for me to write because while it ends with a glorious rainbow baby, it begins with an intensely bad storm....

Where do I begin? Six years ago I woke up a wife and when I finally dropped into bed 23 hours later, it was as a widow. I was 28,...

Did you know that trauma can leave a physical mark on your body? Did you know it could manifest in such a way that your body wears it...

(Don with the girls, 2020) As a new widow with a toddler and a baby on the way, I grieved particularly hard for my babies in the loss of...

Our words matter. They have power. They can harm or they can heal. They can show ignorance or understanding. We should be mindful of...

(Photo by Jenn Fortune Photography) Tonight my six-year-old cried herself to sleep because Daddy wasn't home to kiss and hug her...

For most of my adult life, I’ve had a husband. I moved out at 20 on my wedding day and lived with my husband Chris until he died… eight...

***The following is the speech I made to my new husband on October 5th, 2019. The photos were taken by my dear friend and fellow widow...

Nineteen months ago, neither one of us was interested in this. The thought of a relationship conjured up the idea of being vulnerable to...

At the beginning of widowhood, I stayed up too late each night because going to bed meant facing his absence head-on. Getting into our...

I was driving my youngest, Aurora, to pre-k this morning when she said, “Mama, I know why there are traffic lights.” “You do?” I asked. ...