After the stillbirth of her son and the birth of her daughter a year later, a mother reflects on parenting after loss. She shares the truths she hopes to teach her daughter about grief: it isn’t a lesson, a burden to fix, or something that simply disappears. Instead, love and grief can coexist, and families can remember those they’ve lost while growing together.

After the stillbirth of her daughter, Dr. Lynn Farrales searched for a way to live with her grief. Years later, she found it, unexpectedly, through rock climbing. What began as a whim became a path to rebuilding trust in her body, processing loss, and finding strength, community, and moments of joy alongside the pain.

After losing her daughter Scarlett moments before birth, Lynn Farrales describes how grief shifted from an abstract idea to a full-body, life-altering experience. The loss shattered her identity and reshaped how she holds joy, sorrow, relationships, and healing. Through rituals, symbols like snowdrops, and rejecting forced positivity, she honours grief as an essential part of being wholly human.

Thank you to Courtney Hiller, bereaved Mama to Luca for sharing their story.