It’s hard to write about grief when you find there are a million other things you could be writing about. And that’s why this blog has been quiet for two months.

I felt the transition begin several years ago. There was a jolt inside me one day reminding me of the writer I always wanted to be. Life was telling me not to forget who I was at my core, that I didn’t want to stray too far from my original journey and wake up one day and realize what I missed out on. And despite what many people believe, Denise’s suicide doesn’t define me my career path or me. I still have many goals that I want to achieve that have nothing to do with grief or loss.

But that wasn’t the only part of the journey that was changing. I felt funny talking about my sister’s death, something that happened almost twenty years ago. There have been changes in my personal life that have reminded me that the journey is about moving forward. In the midst of this, I felt that I didn’t want to devote my time to talking about grief and loss.

I have been lucky to walk with people as they seek hope in the midst of the immense pain of losing a loved one to suicide. There are a million other reasons why I’m lucky.

At this point, however, it’s time for me to make that movement forward. I’m not exactly sure all that’s ahead of me. I have several projects I’m working on and I have a sense that life is forcing me to think about who I am at the core. I learned many lessons early about coping with grief, although at the time I had no idea they were related to loss.

From here forward, my blog will focus on letting go and allowing new directions to come into view and new doors to open. The best example I can set is to go forward and show the great life a person can have even after loss.

Michelle Linn-Gust, Ph.D., is an international author and speaker about finding hope after loss and change. She is the author of several books including Rocky Roads: The Journeys of Families through Suicide Grief and Ginger's Gift: Hope and Healing Through Dog Companionship. Her first book, based on the suicide of her younger sister Denise, Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven? Surviving the Suicide Loss of a Si..., inspired siblings around the world in their survival after a loved one’s suicide. She is the President of the American Association of Suicidology and lives in Albuquerque, N.M. Read more about Michelle at www.michellelinngust.com.

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