In the world of grief, it’s nice to get good news.

A few weeks ago, I received some surprisingly good news. My book Aftermath: Picking Up the Pieces After a Suicide had been selected from thousands of titles as a Best Book Awards Winner.

A few days after that honor, I received word that Aftermath had also been named one of the best books available on suicide and suicide grief by Choose Therapy.

I was stunned.

I was also humbled and grateful.

I can remember sitting down to begin to write Aftermath. I trembled. I remembered my mom’s suicide attempt when I was a teen. I thought back over all the suicide deaths I had encountered personally and professionally. I doubted my ability to write anything that could possibly make a difference.

Knowing I had to do something about this terrible epidemic, however, I started to write.

I prayed for guidance and wisdom.

I asked for tons of compassion and love.

I hoped that the words on the pages would touch hearts, meet readers in their grief, and bring some comfort, hope, and healing.

When the printed proof of Aftermath arrived, I paged through it and then laid it gingerly in front of me. I prayed again that God would somehow use the book to not only comfort broken hearts, but also save lives.

Have you had a time when you felt you were facing an impossible task but you somehow got through it?

Have you felt led to do something that you knew was beyond you, but you took the risk and leapt forward?

Are you feeling strongly about something at present, but when you think about doing something about it you begin to tremble?

I have found over the years that almost every major positive step I have taken in life was hard and scary at the time. We want to be comfortable, but the reality is that our comfort zones don’t lead to healing and growth. Over time, comfort zones tend to anesthetize our hearts and keep us stuck.

Grief can paralyze us. Healing and growth take great courage. One day at a time, one step at a time. We need humility and a long-haul mentality.

Thank you for reading this email. Though all our losses are different, I’m so glad we can travel this grief-life road together.

Please be patient with yourself today. Take good care of you. You are more important than you know.

Do any of the questions in this post resonate with you? Share with us about it. Leave a comment below.