In your grief journey allow hope to travel with you

Tools for finding hope along the journey: traveling with hope


Hope can be very elusive when we are grieving. It is not as if we can wake up one day and think that today will be the day we will find hope. What we can do is allow the smiles and laughter to come back in our lives without the guilt. We love and were loved by those who have died that love shines through us as we continue to live. Smiles and laughter remind the world that our loved ones brought joy to our lives. We will miss them every day but when the smiles start coming back so does hope. What did you smile about today?

Artwork by Tanya Lord
About the Artist

Tanya Lord was a special education teacher when Noah died. After his death she read The Institute of Medicine’s report To Err Is Human and realized that the errors responsible for her son’s death were not unique. This created a desire and determination to better understand and work towards improving health care. Currently she has completed a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in clinical and population health research and is completing a post-doctoral fellowship. Lord shares her personal and professional experiences in presentations and workshops for medical staff and students focusing on the importance of effective communication with patients before and after an error. She also is a co-founder of The Grief Toolbox (www.thegrieftoolbox.com), which offers tools to help those along the grief journey. Lord may be contacted at [email protected]