Hi, I'm Emily 

Flashback to that moment when it feels like your life is over...

I went from one day ordering matching shirts for our upcoming 20th wedding anniversary party to the next day telling our four kids that their dad had died. 

My daughter's 11th birthday was the day after his funeral.

How was this even possible?

Everything felt like a slap-in-the-face reminder that he was no longer here.

Didn't the universe know I had big plans?

We had dreams for our future and were on our way there.

This couldn't be real...

But it was.

My dreams and goals, now vanished.  What was the point?

I felt like I died with him, but I was forced to stay alive.

How is this possible?  How is this my life?

Those questions haunted me.

Being the boss babe get-it-done type of woman I am, I immediately did all the things...

Ordered the books, signed everyone up for counseling, talked and learned from other widows...

I wanted to fast track through this crazy grief thing.

As if there was some imaginary finish line I could cross and yell victoriously, "I'm done now!"

There was a lot of information online, but it was all over the place.

Recommendations conflicted with other sources, and nothing really seemed to be compiled into an all-in-one community or solution for widows.

It was frustrating and overwhelming.

I learned furiously everything I could about grief, even completing certification through the Grief Recovery Institute and life coaching certification from the Faith-Based Coaching Academy.

And those programs changed my life.

I realized how much misinformation is out there about grief and the healing process...

And how we're not taught how to process loss and grief from a young age.

There was so much I had learned that could help other widows, and I felt compelled to get the word out!

I started an online community called Brave Widow and set my goal as helping widows:

1. Find hope

2. Heal their heart

3. Dream again for the future

This reserved introvert even started a video podcast where I share what I've learned and interview others about their story to help encourage and inspire other widows!

I wanted to believe that I could build a life I loved and was excited about again.

I had no idea how that would be possible, but I believed that some way, somehow, it could be.

And today, I'm proud to share that I have found that again...

A life with dreams, goals, joy, and love.

One where the milestones and events make me feel full of love and gratitude, not soured by the pangs of sadness.

I know that if I can get to this point, you can, too.