Let me begin by warmly welcoming you here and then swiftly apologizing that life required you to seek out a community like this. If you are here, you have likely lost a child or love someone who has, and my heart aches for you. This pain is deep and lifelong, and I am always saddened when I learn that another person has been inducted into this club that no one asks to join. Though you would never choose this, here you are, and no matter where you are in your grief journey, I assure you that you are not alone. Whatever emotion you are feeling in this very moment, another loss parent has been there and can empathize in a way no one else is able.

Why The Rising? I have been collecting quotes, song lyrics, book excerpts, and the like since we learned that our daughter was very sick. Over time, I began to realize that many of the pieces to which I am drawn reference the idea of rising. I feel these in my soul. Something inside of me cracks open and I feel warmth radiating from within. I am overcome with the sensation of being vulnerable, inspired, hopeful, soulful. And though I will stumble many, many times upon this path, I am reminded that if I can only hold on, if I can only unearth the strength that still resides within me, the rising awaits.

Early in the after, I learned that there is a unique connection to be found among loss parents. This community has suffered the unimaginable, has survived incredible pain. And yet, despite the hell through which they have trudged, they have an incredible amount of love to give. The Rising provides a space to speak the names of our precious children, to discover kindred spirits, to unite our broken souls. With love and light, we welcome you.