If you’ve been reading these pages for any length of time, you know that I tend to take cues from the Universe about topics to write about. This week is no different, though it is a topic I wrote about a few months ago. It’s about sharing our stories and the healing power within. This week, I had several conversations about storytelling, and I was reminded by my personal social media that six years ago this week, I recorded and told my story to someone for the first time. Perhaps that was the incubator for writing Life After Losses.

When I recently released Grief Recovery for Adults, I introduced something called the PURPOSE framework. If you haven’t read the book yet, the PURPOSE framework stands for:

Perceive Reality
Unload Your Emotional Baggage
Reach out for Support
Probe for Personal Significance
Open a New Chapter
Save Cherished Memories
Embrace Personal Growth

In the context of this framework, I thought it might be a good idea to spend the next several weeks talking about each of these subjects and why I found them so important to include in the book and the journal.

Since storytelling is at the top of my mind, I’m going to take a deeper dive into one of the topics in the framework under Embracing Personal Growth. And just like any other framework, the healing part of grieving is not linear, so taking this a bit out of order isn’t an issue.

Here’s what is so important about storytelling: We’re not just recounting what happened; we’re extending our hand to help others know they are not alone. That’s why I tell my story — you are not alone in your grief. You can learn from me, you can learn from others, and you can learn from yourself.

Telling our stories helps us process our emotions (this ties into the Perceive Reality topic, too) and find meaning in our loss—it wasn’t until I nearly finished writing Life After Losses that I found some clarity and understanding, not to mention gratitude for the lessons learned from both of my losses.

Telling our stories allows us to see the growth we make in our healing journey. We share our strength and vulnerability, which fosters connection, empathy, and understanding with others.

For some of us, our stories are powerful tools for advocacy; MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is an example of advocacy from loss and telling a story. Black Lives Matter, The Compassionate Friends, The Sandy Hook Promise, The Lullaby Trust, Fight Colorectal Cancer, The Jed Foundation, ACT UP, and countless other advocacy organizations were borne from loss and grief and the telling of stories. Our stories can change the world on a global scale, or we can change the world one person at a time.

Our stories inspire others. Over the last three years, I’ve shared my story with thousands of people. Many remain subscribers and get this entry every week, some have decided it’s not for them, but in sharing my story, I believe I’m inspiring others to live again. I share what worked for me, what didn’t work, and various other options in all three books (to date). Someone will find some nugget to work on in their own life.

Sharing our stories helps build community—a shared bond of loss that brings understanding and empathy to each other. While I’d love to see more interaction and community posting on the Facebook Page, I know there’s a community within the thousands of subscribers. I’d like to invite you to go over to the Facebook page, introduce yourself, and share your story.

There are so many options nowadays to be able to share your story. Between social media, personal blogs or websites (like this), books, podcasts, YouTube videos, there’s no shortage of places to share. And if social media isn’t your thing, find opportunities to share with groups, go to workshops or conferences, or make a community event for people to share their stories. Or you can simply email me by hitting that reply button.

Next week, we’ll start discussing the PURPOSE framework starting at the beginning with P and Perceive Reality. It’s a fundamental truth and foundation to healing.