Bilingual Grief Counseling and Grief Support for Hispanic Families

Bilingual Grief Counseling and Grief Support for Hispanic Families

Bilingual grief counseling and grief support for hispanic families

Grief speaks the language of the heart.

For many Hispanic families, that language may be Spanish, English, or both. A memory may come in one language. A prayer may come in another. A word like mamá, abuela, mi amor, or te extraño may carry a depth that cannot be translated.

When someone is grieving, language matters. Culture matters. Family history matters.

This is why bilingual grief counseling and grief support can be so important for Hispanic families.

Why bilingual grief support matters

When grief is difficult to express, language can either open the heart or close it.

Some people feel more comfortable speaking about pain in Spanish. Others express themselves more easily in English. Many move naturally between both because grief does not follow one language.

Bilingual grief support allows the whole person to be present. It allows memories, traditions, prayers, and emotions to be expressed in the language that feels true.

For families in Miami and beyond, this can make grief support feel more personal, more respectful, and more human.

Grief in hispanic families

In many Hispanic families, grief is deeply connected to family, faith, tradition, and community.

There may be wakes, prayers, novenas, anniversaries, shared meals, visits, and many ways of honoring the person who died. These traditions can bring comfort and connection.

At the same time, some people may feel pressure to be strong, to take care of everyone else, or to hide emotions that feel too heavy.

A person may hear: “You have to move on.” “Be strong.” “Do not cry so much.” “Your family needs you.”

These words may come from love, but they can make grief feel lonely.

When families grieve differently

Grief support can help you understand your emotions and create space for your pain without letting it define your entire life.

Through grief coaching, I help people explore questions such as:

  • What do I do with all this love now?
  • How do I live when life feels changed forever?
  • How can I honor my loved one without staying frozen in pain?
  • How do I release guilt, regret, or unfinished words?
  • How can I find meaning again?

These questions require tenderness. They require time. They require a space where your grief can be honored, not judged.

Give yourself permission to grieve

One person may want to talk. Another may stay quiet. One may cry openly. Another may keep working. One may turn to faith. Another may feel angry or confused.

Different grieving styles do not mean different levels of love.

Through culturally sensitive grief support, families can begin to understand that grief has many expressions. The goal is not to make everyone grieve the same way. The goal is to help each person feel seen and respected.

Bilingual grief coaching and the search for grief counseling

Many Hispanic families search for Spanish grief counseling or bilingual grief counseling because they want support that understands both the emotional pain of loss and the cultural context of the family.

Some may need clinical counseling. Others may benefit from grief coaching, books, group support, or a self-paced program.

As a bilingual grief specialist and life transitions coach, I accompany people through grief with compassion, meaning, and respect for their story. My work is grounded in helping people transform grief from the inside out.

Resources in english and spanish

Books can become beautiful companions for the grieving heart, especially when a person is not ready to speak openly.

Allow Me to Live My Grief…and Heal from the Inside Out can help individuals give themselves permission to grieve and heal with compassion.

Transform Your Loss – Your Guide to Strength and Hope offers a path for those who want to understand grief as part of a journey toward meaning and growth.

These resources can be used individually, within families, or alongside grief coaching and structured support.

The 11 Principles of Transformation® for hispanic families

The 11 Principles of Transformation® was created to help people move from grief to growth. It offers a compassionate structure that can support individuals and families as they process loss, reflect on meaning, and reconnect with life.

Because the program is available online and self-paced, it can also support people who want to begin privately, from home, and at their own rhythm.

For Hispanic families, this kind of guided path can provide language for feelings that are often kept inside.

You do not have to be strong all the time

Strength does not mean hiding your pain.

Strength can mean asking for support. Strength can mean crying. Strength can mean saying, “Today, I am not okay.” Strength can mean honoring your loved one while also caring for yourself.

If you or your family are grieving, I invite you to seek support that honors your language, your culture, your memories, and your heart.

Your grief is valid. Your story matters. And healing can begin in the language of the heart.

Frequently asked questions

What is bilingual grief counseling?

Bilingual grief counseling or grief support allows people to receive guidance in English, Spanish, or both, depending on the language that feels most natural.

Why is grief support important for Hispanic families?

Culture, faith, family roles, and traditions can shape the grieving process. Culturally sensitive support helps honor these experiences.

Is bilingual grief support available in Miami?

Yes. Ligia Houben offers grief coaching and grief support connected to Miami, with resources for English- and Spanish-speaking individuals and families.

Can The 11 Principles of Transformation® help Hispanic families?

Yes. The program offers a structured path for processing grief, reflecting on meaning, and moving from grief to growth at a gentle pace.
From my heart to yours,

Ligia M. Houben

How to Heal After Losing Someone You Love

How to Heal After Losing Someone You Love

How to heal after losing someone you love

Losing someone you love changes the way life feels.

The house may be the same, but it feels different. The calendar may continue, but time feels divided into before and after. Ordinary moments may suddenly carry memories.

When someone you love is no longer physically present, your heart may ask: How do I continue? How do I live with this love now? How do I heal without forgetting?

I want you to know that healing does not mean leaving your loved one behind. Healing means learning to carry love differently.

Grief after the death of a loved one

The death of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences a person can face. It can affect the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit.

You may feel sadness, anger, guilt, numbness, confusion, or fear. You may feel all of these in one day. You may also feel moments of gratitude or peace, and then feel guilty for feeling them.

All of this can be part of grief.

Many people search for grief counseling after death because they need help understanding these emotions. Others seek grief coaching because they want to find meaning, reconnect with life, and honor the person they lost in a healthy way.

Healing does not mean forgetting

One of the fears I often see in grieving people is the fear that moving forward means betraying the person they love.

But love does not end. The relationship changes, but the love remains.

You can continue to remember. You can continue to speak their name. You can continue to honor their values, their lessons, and the ways they shaped your life.

Healing is not about erasing love. It is about allowing love to become part of the life you continue to live.

How grief support can help you live with loss

Grief support can help you understand your emotions and create space for your pain without letting it define your entire life.

Through grief coaching, I help people explore questions such as:

  • What do I do with all this love now?
  • How do I live when life feels changed forever?
  • How can I honor my loved one without staying frozen in pain?
  • How do I release guilt, regret, or unfinished words?
  • How can I find meaning again?

These questions require tenderness. They require time. They require a space where your grief can be honored, not judged.

Give yourself permission to grieve

Many people feel pressure to be strong after a loss. They may support everyone else while quietly ignoring their own pain.

But grief needs permission.

You are allowed to cry. You are allowed to miss them. You are allowed to have difficult days. You are allowed to need support. You are allowed to heal slowly.

This is why I wrote Allow Me to Live My Grief…and Heal from the Inside Out. Many people need to hear that their grief has a place, and that healing begins from within.

Transforming loss into meaning

There comes a time in the grief journey when some people begin to ask a new question: What now?

This question does not mean the pain is gone. It means the heart is beginning to look for meaning.

In Transform Your Loss – Your Guide to Strength and Hope, I share guidance for those who are ready to see how loss can become part of a deeper transformation. Not because the loss was good, but because life can still hold purpose after pain.

The 11 Principles of Transformation® as a path forward

When grief feels too large to understand, a guided path can help.

The 11 Principles of Transformation® is a grief transformation program designed to help you move from grief to growth. It offers structure, reflection, guided meditations, affirmations, and practical activities that support healing from the inside out.

It is available online as a self-paced program, which allows you to move gently and privately through the process.

This program is not about forgetting. It is about embracing life after loss with meaning, hope, and love.

You can carry love forward

Ask yourself:

  • What did this person teach me?
  • What part of their love still lives in me?
  • What values do I want to carry forward?
  • How can I honor them through the way I live?
  • What meaning can grow from this pain?

These questions can become part of healing. They help the heart understand that love can continue, even when life has changed.

You do not have to heal alone. Support is available, and your grief can become part of a journey toward meaning and transformation.

Frequently asked questions

How do you heal after losing someone you love?

Healing begins by allowing yourself to grieve, honoring your loved one, seeking support, and taking small steps toward life while continuing to carry love.

Can grief counseling help after death?

Yes. Grief counseling or grief coaching can help you understand your emotions, process the loss, and find a compassionate way to live with grief.

Does healing mean forgetting the person?

No. Healing does not mean forgetting. It means learning to carry love and loss together in a new way.

How can The 11 Principles of Transformation® help after loss?

The program offers a structured path to help people move from grief to growth through reflection, guided practices, and meaning-making.
From my heart to yours,

Ligia M. Houben

How to Cope With Grief When You Feel Stuck

How to Cope With Grief When You Feel Stuck

How to cope with grief when you feel stuck

Sometimes grief does not look like crying every day.

Sometimes grief looks like going through the motions. Answering emails. Taking care of others. Smiling when people ask how you are. Continuing with life while a part of your heart still feels frozen in the moment of the loss.

If you feel stuck in grief, I want you to know that you it is a common feeling. You are grieving and at times we may feel that way.

There is a part of you that is trying to understand a reality that changed. That part needs compassion, not pressure.

What it means to feel stuck in grief

Feeling stuck in grief may mean you keep returning to the same questions, memories, or emotions. It may mean that time has passed, but your inner world still feels heavy.

You may feel stuck if you:

  • Replay the loss over and over
  • Feel guilty when you laugh or experience joy
  • Avoid memories because they hurt too much
  • Feel disconnected from people around you
  • Keep asking why without finding peace
  • Feel pressure to move on but do not know how
  • Are afraid healing means forgetting

This is one of the moments when grief counseling, grief coaching, or a structured grief program can help. Not because someone can take your grief away, but because support can help you understand what your grief is asking for.

How grief counseling or grief coaching can help

When people search for how to cope with grief, they are often looking for something deeper than a list of tips. They are looking for relief. They are looking for meaning. They are looking for a way to breathe again.

A grief counselor or grief coach can help you name what you are feeling, recognize the patterns of grief, and begin to relate to your loss with more compassion.

In my work as a grief coach, I guide people to understand that grief is not something to “get over.” It is something to live, honor, and transform.

Begin by validating what you feel

One of the first steps in healing is validation.

You may need to say to yourself:

  • This loss matters.
  • My pain is real.
  • I am allowed to grieve.
  • I do not have to heal on someone else’s timeline.
  • Feeling stuck does not mean I am broken.

Validation is powerful because it stops the inner fight. Instead of judging your grief, you begin to listen to it.

Why the stages of grief may not explain everything

Many people wonder if they are moving through the stages of grief correctly. But grief is not a straight line. You may feel acceptance one day and anger the next. You may feel peace in the morning and sadness at night. You may not experience all the stages as our grief is unique.

Experiencing different emotions at once is natural in grief.

Rather than asking, “What stage am I in?” try asking, “What does my grief need today?”

That question opens the heart to care instead of judgment.

A Book can be a private first step

If talking about your grief feels difficult, a book can be a gentle place to begin.

Allow Me to Live My Grief…and Heal from the Inside Out was written for those who need permission to feel their grief, honor their emotions, and begin healing from within. This book was inspired by the loss of my beloved mother and I share what helped me in my grieving process and what can also help you.

If you are ready to explore how pain can eventually become part of a deeper transformation, Transform Your Loss – Your Guide to Strength and Hope can also accompany your journey as it is there where I introduced my methodology The 11 Principles of Transformation®

When structure helps the grieving heart

When grief feels overwhelming, structure can help the heart find a path.

The 11 Principles of Transformation® was created as a step-by-step program to help people move from grief to growth. It offers reflection, guided practices, and a meaningful process for those who want to transform pain without denying it.

The purpose is not to rush you. The purpose is to accompany you.

A gentle way forward

If you feel stuck, begin with one compassionate step.

Write one sentence. Say the name of the person you miss. Take a walk. Read a page. Ask for support. Let yourself cry. Let yourself rest.

Healing does not happen all at once. It begins when you stop fighting your grief and begin caring for the heart that carries it.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I feel stuck in grief?

You may feel stuck because your heart and mind are still trying to understand the loss. Grief can affect your emotions, identity, relationships, and sense of meaning.

When should I seek grief counseling or grief coaching?

You may benefit from grief counseling or grief coaching if your grief feels overwhelming, isolating, repetitive, or difficult to process alone.

Do the stages of grief happen in order?

No. Grief is not always linear. You may move back and forth between emotions, and that does not mean you are grieving incorrectly. Keep in mind that not everybody experience the stages as grief is unique.

Can a self-paced grief program help if I feel stuck?

Yes. A self-paced grief program can give you structure and reflection while allowing you to move through grief at your own rhythm.
From my heart to yours,

Ligia M. Houben

Online Grief Support: Finding Compassionate Guidance From Home

Online Grief Support: Finding Compassionate Guidance From Home

Online grief support: finding compassionate guidance from home

There are moments when grief feels too heavy to take anywhere.

You may not feel ready to sit in a room with others.You may not know how to explain what you feel. You may simply want to begin quietly, privately, and at your own pace.

This is why online grief support can be meaningful. It gives the grieving heart a way to receive guidance without having to pretend to be stronger than it feels.

Over the years, I have learned that grief needs more than information. It needs validation. It needs presence. It needs a compassionate path that helps you understand what has changed and how to begin again.

What is online grief support?

Online grief support can include grief coaching, guided reflection, self-paced programs, books, meditations, videos, and tools that help you process loss from home.

Many people search for online grief counseling when they want support but do not know where to begin. Some may need a grief counselor. Others may need grief coaching, education, and a structured program to help them move from pain to meaning.

Online support can be especially helpful when grief feels private, when you live far from the right guide, or when you want to begin healing in the quiet of your own space.

Why a self-paced grief program can help

Grief does not follow a calendar. Some days you may feel ready to reflect. Other days, you may only have the strength to listen, breathe, or read one sentence that brings comfort.

A self-paced grief program gives you permission to move gently. You can pause. You can return. You can take one step and then rest.

This is one of the reasons I created The 11 Principles of Transformation® also as a self-paced program. It is a step-by-step path to help you move from grief to growth while honoring your own rhythm.

The online program includes videos, guided meditations and affirmations, a workbook, weekly activities, and a transformational pledge. It was created for people who need structure, but also compassion.

Online grief coaching and the need for human connection

Even when support happens online, it must still feel human.

Grief should never be treated like a task to complete. It is a sacred process of learning to live with a loss that matters.

Through grief coaching, I help people explore questions such as:

  • What am I feeling, and why does it come in waves?
  • How can I honor my loved one while continuing to live?
  • Why do I feel guilty when I experience peace or joy?
  • How can I move forward without feeling that I am leaving love behind?
  • What meaning can still be found after loss?

These questions do not always have quick answers. But when they are explored with compassion, healing can begin from the inside out.

Books as gentle companions in the healing process

Before beginning a program, some people prefer to start with a book. Reading can feel safe when speaking feels too difficult.

This is why I wrote Allow Me to Live My Grief…and Heal from the Inside Out. Many people need permission to grieve, to feel, to remember, and to heal without being rushed.

My book Transform Your Loss – Your Guide to Strength and Hope also offers guidance for those who are ready to see loss not as the end of life’s meaning, but as part of a deeper transformation.

Who can benefit from online grief support?

Online grief support may help you if you are facing:

  • The death of a loved one
  • Divorce or separation
  • Loss of identity
  • Retirement or life transition
  • Pet loss
  • Job loss
  • Caregiving changes
  • A painful change that has left you feeling lost

Grief is not only about death. Grief appears whenever something meaningful has changed and the heart needs time to understand the new reality.

A gentle step toward healing

If you are looking for online grief support, I invite you to begin gently. You do not need to know exactly what healing will look like. You only need to take the next step.

You can explore The 11 Principles of Transformation®, begin with one of my grief books, or learn more about my grief coaching approach.

You are not alone. Your grief can be honored. And your life can still be transformed from the inside out.

Frequently asked questions

What is online grief support?

Online grief support is guidance that helps people process loss from home through grief coaching, self-paced programs, books, videos, meditations, and reflection tools.

Is online grief support the same as online grief counseling?

Some people use the phrase online grief counseling when they are looking for emotional support after loss. Depending on their needs, they may benefit from clinical counseling, grief coaching, support groups, books, or a structured grief program.

Can The 11 Principles of Transformation® be done from home?

Yes. The 11 Principles of Transformation® is also available as an online self-paced program that can be accessed from home.

Can books help with grief?

Yes. Grief books can help you feel understood, reflect privately, and begin healing when you are not ready for a session or group setting.
From my heart to yours,

Ligia M. Houben

Grief Counseling and Grief Coaching in Miami: Finding Support After Loss

Grief Counseling and Grief Coaching in Miami: Finding Support After Loss

Grief counseling and grief coaching in Miami: finding support after loss

When someone is grieving, the first thing they often look for is not a perfect answer. They look for a safe place to be heard.

In my work with people facing loss, I have learned that grief needs presence. It needs understanding. It needs a compassionate space where the heart can begin to recognize what has changed.

Many people search for grief counseling in Miami because they do not want to carry their pain alone. Others search for a grief counselor, a grief coach, or a grief specialist because they need guidance after the death of a loved one, a divorce, a loss of identity, retirement, pet loss, or another life transition.

Whatever words brought you here, I want you to know this: your grief is valid, and you do not have to walk this journey alone.

What people often mean when they search for grief counseling

When someone searches for grief counseling, they may be looking for a professional who can help them understand their emotions, process a painful loss, and learn how to live with what has changed.

Some people need clinical counseling. Others need grief coaching, support, reflection, and a structured path to help them move from grief to growth. What matters most is that the person receives the kind of support that honors their loss and their unique process.

Through grief coaching, I accompany people as they navigate loss and life transitions. My intention is to guide them with compassion, meaning, and practical tools so they can begin to embrace life again.

Why grief support in Miami must be human and culturally sensitive

Miami is a city where many people live between languages, cultures, families, and traditions. Grief in a multicultural family can carry many layers: faith, memories, expectations, immigration stories, family roles, and the need to be strong for others.

This is why grief support in Miami should not feel cold or generic. It should honor the whole person.

A grieving person may need to speak in English, Spanish, or both. They may need to talk about a loved one in another country. They may need to understand why their family grieves differently. They may need permission to cry, to rest, to remember, and to heal without being rushed.

Grief coaching after the loss of a loved one

The death of a loved one changes the way life feels. Ordinary places can become reminders. Daily routines can feel heavy. Even moments of joy may feel complicated.

If you are grieving someone you love, support can help you understand that healing does not mean forgetting. Healing means learning to live with love and loss together.

I created resources for people who are grieving because I know how important it is to have guidance when the heart feels lost. My book Allow Me to Live My Grief…and Heal from the Inside Out can be a gentle companion when you need permission to feel and honor your grief.

A path from grief to growth

Grief can feel overwhelming when there is no path to follow. This is one of the reasons I created The 11 Principles of Transformation®.

The 11 Principles of Transformation® is a step-by-step program created to help people move from grief to growth. It is available as an online self-paced program, in groups and organizations, and in one-on-one sessions.

This program does not ask you to forget your loss. It helps you understand your emotions, validate your grief, connect with your inner self, and transform pain into meaning.

For those who are ready to explore transformation after loss, my book Transform Your Loss – Your Guide to Strength and Hope can also support the journey toward meaning, hope, and emotional growth.

When to seek support

You may benefit from grief counseling, grief coaching, or grief support if:

  • You feel stuck in your grief
  • You are having difficulty accepting the reality of the loss
  • You feel alone even when surrounded by people
  • You are carrying guilt, anger, sadness, or regret
  • You want to understand your grief instead of suppressing it
  • You need a private or self-paced way to begin healing
  • You are looking for support in Miami or online

You do not have to wait until everything feels unbearable. Seeking support is an act of love toward yourself.

A gentle invitation

If you are looking for grief counseling or grief coaching in Miami, I invite you to begin with one step. Learn about The 11 Principles of Transformation®, explore my books, or read more about my work as a grief specialist and life transitions coach.

Your grief deserves to be acknowledged. Your love deserves to be honored. And your life can still hold meaning.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between grief counseling and grief coaching?

Grief counseling is often used to describe professional emotional support after loss. It often explores emotions, relationships, and past experiences that are affecting the grieving process.

Grief coaching focuses on guidance, reflection, growth, and helping you move forward with meaning. It is more future-oriented and action-oriented. It assumes the loss has happened and focuses on helping clients move forward while honoring their grief.

Some people need clinical counseling; others benefit from grief coaching or a structured grief program.

Can grief coaching help after the death of a loved one?

Yes. Grief coaching can help you understand your emotions, honor your loved one, and begin learning how to live with the loss in a compassionate way.

Is grief support available in Miami and online?

Yes. Ligia Houben offers grief coaching and grief support resources connected to Miami, and The 11 Principles of Transformation® is available as an online self-paced program.

What is The 11 Principles of Transformation®?

The 11 Principles of Transformation® is a grief transformation program created by Ligia Houben to help people move from grief to growth through reflection, structure, and meaning.

From my heart to yours,

Ligia M. Houben

What My Mother Taught Me About Living After Loss

What My Mother Taught Me About Living After Loss

I was only 12 years old when my beloved father died suddenly.  My mother was 52.

In one moment, she lost the man she deeply loved, the father of her daughters, her life partner, and the future she thought they would continue building together.

And then, only one month later, my mother lost her own mother, my grandmother.

My mother was extremely close to her. They shared a very special bond, and losing her only one month after losing my father was another devastating loss. I understand the depth of that bond in a very personal way because I was also very close to my mother. She was not only my beloved mother; she was my friend and my confident.

So today, when I look back at everything my mother experienced in such a short period of time, I often wonder:

How did she do it?

How did she get up every morning after losing the man she adored and, only one month later, losing her mother, with whom she shared such a close and loving bond?

How did she continue?

At 12 years old, I did not have the words to understand what I was witnessing. I knew my mother was grieving. I saw her sadness. I saw her cry. She wore black for three years.

My mother did not hide her grief from us.

But I also watched her get up every morning and continue living.

My father had a successful automobile/dealership business, and when he died suddenly, someone needed to take over the leadership of the company.

My mother had never worked in the company before.

This was the early 1970s in Managua, Nicaragua.  Women were not commonly running automobile businesses. This was a world she did not know.

But suddenly, she was told that she needed to take over.

And she did.

My mother became the CEO of my father’s company.

Can you imagine?  While carrying all that pain in her heart, she stepped into a role she had never had before.

But there was something she would say that I have never forgotten.  Each morning as she was leaving the house, she would say:

“I am continuing your father’s legacy.”

That was her reason.

That was what gave meaning to what she was doing.

Of course, I did not understand any of this. I did not know about grief. I did not know about resilience. I did not know about finding meaning after loss.

I only knew that I was watching my mother while I was also grieving.

And what I saw stayed with me.

Many years later, when I studied thanatology and dedicated my life to understanding grief and loss, I finally understood what my mother had done.

She had found meaning.

Continuing my father’s legacy did not mean that she had stopped grieving. It did not mean that she had “moved on.”

She carried him with her.

She kept his name alive.

She talked about him.

She honored what he had built.

And she continued what he had built with so much effort. Her love for him became part of the reason she continued.

How powerful is that?

Sometimes we think that finding meaning after a loss has to be something extraordinary or something we deliberately go searching for.

But sometimes meaning is simply the answer to the question:

What can I carry forward because this person lived and because I loved them?

My mother carried forward my father’s legacy.

And without realizing it, she gave me a legacy too.

She taught me how to live after loss.

Not because she sat down with me and explained grief. She didn’t.

She taught me because I watched her.

I watched her cry.

I watched her miss my father.

I watched her honor him.

And I watched her continue.

This is something I often share with the people I accompany today, especially parents who are grieving.

Our children are watching us.

That does not mean we need to hide our tears.

Please, no.

Our children need to know that grief is part of love. They need to know that it is okay to cry, to miss, to hurt, and to speak the name of the person who died.

But they are also learning from us.

They are learning what it means to face loss.

They are learning that we can experience tremendous pain and still find a reason to get up in the morning.

They are learning that life can change forever and that, somehow, we can learn to live in that changed world.

I learned that from my mother.

Maybe that is why, all these years later, I have dedicated my life to helping others navigate grief and loss.

Maybe the seed was planted when I was that 12-year-old girl, watching a woman who had lost so much find a reason to continue.

I didn’t know then that one day I would become a thanatologist.

I didn’t know that I would create The 11 Principles of Transformation® being the concept of finding meaning so important to continue living with purpose.

I didn’t know that I would spend my life helping others find strength, meaning, and hope after loss.

But today, when I look at my life and my work, I can see the thread connecting it all.

My father left a legacy.

My mother continued his legacy.

And through the way she lived after losing him, she became part of mine.

Today, I continue carrying both of them with me.

Not only in my memories.

Not only in my heart.

But in the work I do.

Every time I sit with someone who is grieving…

Every time I remind someone that their pain and their love can coexist…

Every time I help someone discover that life can still have meaning…

There is a part of my story there too.

There is a 12-year-old girl who watched her mother grieve.

And there is a mother who, without knowing it, was teaching her daughter one of the most important lessons of her life:

We can grieve deeply and still continue living.

We can carry our loved ones with us.

We can honor their lives.

We can continue their legacy.

And sometimes, through the way we choose to live after loss, we create a legacy of our own.

Thank you, Mom.

I understand now what I could not understand as a child.

You taught me how to continue living after loss.

And I have carried that lesson with me all my life.

Ligia M. Houben