Why I created this website:

 

Once you have experienced the devastating trauma of having a child pass before you, you are entered into a club that no one else ever wants to be a part of. The sorrow and pain that consumes your life following such an experience is something you don't want anyone else to ever have to go through.  But the sad reality is, this club continues to expand. Over the years I have met and or been connected to, countless other families that have been faced with the same horrific tragedy. As a survivor, all I wanted to do was try to help these families struggling to make it through the next day and to help them find a way through the horrible reality of living a life without their child.  This is why I created this site. Everyone has different ways to deal with their pain, if something I did could ease someone else's misery than I would like to help as much as I can. 

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There are books I found useful, others that didn't resonate with me at all. Some therapies worked wonders for me while I found others a waste of time. You need to find what works for you. Trust yourself. You can find ways to heal. For me, the more information - the better. When Claudia passed I needed information. What happens when someone actually dies? Where do they go? What does that place look like? What happens next? Can I go there to? Can we connect with our loved ones? How do we connect? Are they still with us? Can they communicate with us? Do they try to connect? My list of questions never ended. At that time the internet wasn't as useful as it is now and there weren't enough books for me. I read anything I could find and sometimes I was reading 5 or 6 books at a time. What I read I shared with my family; no matter their age at the time. I was confident each of them would absorb what they needed at the time. ​That's what I'm trying to do with this site. I just want to provide as much information as I can about how we survived as a family through the most painful ordeal one would ever be forced to face. If any part of it helps you, I'm thankful. If it doesn't, don't stop here. Keep looking for your answers. You can get through this tragedy inch by inch. Just keep breathing and moving forward. One step at a time.  

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- Julie Smith

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