What happens when you experience the loss of a loved one by traumatic means? Do you lean on your faith? Do you surround yourself with a supportive community of people with similar lived experiences? Do you recognize how generational patterns and toxic family dynamics affect your grieving process?
Living Life in Color Again: Notes from a Homicide Survivor describes my grief journey following my brother's homicide. I recount my experiences stumbling through the months that followed and how an invitation nineteen years after my brother's death led to shifts in my perspectives on grief, healing, and more.
Journal prompts and blank pages are included. As you're reading, record your reactions to specific themes and capture thoughts and feelings that surface. May this grief memoir offer you language to describe your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. If you have lost a loved one to homicide, have a friend who has lost a loved one to homicide, or if your work puts you in close proximity to homicide survivors, I encourage you to read this.
Whether it's the first year of loss or the fifteenth, it is not too late to begin your healing journey. What worked for me may not work for you, and what was true for me may not be for you. My hope is that my words and these pages guide you in finding your truth, allowing you to live life in color again.