Beth Marshall

Beth Marshall is a freelance journalist, conference speaker, and author of Uncrushed: real steps for healing your grief and restoring your joy; and Grief Survivor. She has also created a grief and loss masterclass for Nothing is Wasted Ministries, as well as several grief/trauma-related plans for YouVersion (the Bible app). After losing several close family members Marshall began to journal through the difficult days of grief. As she wrote about her loved ones and started to connect with other people, she realized a joy-filled life after loss really is possible!

Articles:

Communicating Your Needs When Grieving

“Call if you need anything.” You may have heard this well-intended offer, but chances are you never called back. Here’s a straightforward way to communicate your needs when grieving. As you think of something you’d appreciate help with, write it on a list, and post it on the fridge. Your list might include: watching the kids for a couple hours raking the leaves technical assistance driving carpool setting up auto pay for bills Whenever something comes to mind, add it to the list. The next time someone asks how they can help, snap a photo of your list, and send it […]

Writing When Life Hurts

After losing three close family members in five years, I remember feeling overwhelmed as waves of unanticipated emotions would roll in like a storm. How long would this intense sorrow last? Would life ever feel normal again? What if I forget about the people I’m missing? And why do well-intentioned people say crazy things when they’re trying to be helpful? I searched volumes of grief-related books, envisioning a clear, concise manual to lead me down the well-lit path to healing. As you might imagine, there was no such book available. Nothing on the market was touching the deep sadness in […]

‘Reply All’: Celebrating Mother’s Day on Email

This Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about not only my mom, Beazy, but also about my one-in-a-million grand mom, Nana! Both will be celebrating the day in Heaven. I hope — since we know there will be no sadness, carb-counting or keto-craziness in heaven — they will celebrate the day with one of Nana’s killer six-layer chocolate cakes! Is that cake making your mouth water right now, too? One of my family’s favorite traditions is to stir up an email conversation among the whole family on special days. On Mother’s Day, for example, Cousin Drew might start the day with a […]

On Your First Father’s Day Without Dad

This year might be your first Father’s Day since losing your dad. Father’s Day can be tough when a piece of your heart’s puzzle is missing. Here are three tips I hope might help. Say What You Need to Say As the weather starts to sizzle, you may be tempted to turn the AC to full blast and settle in for a little summer hibernation. While time alone is important, it’s easy to slip from healthy alone time to full-on isolation. After losing my mom, and then my dad a few short years later, my comfy safe place definitely became home, […]

Feelin’ Groovy: Connecting with Mom’s Legacy on Mother’s Day

Ever had a song, a fragrance or box of cereal stir you to tears? It’s been 19 years since my mom’s sudden graduation to heaven. So, how could Mother’s Day week and a song be the catalyst for tears in my grilled chicken tenderloin salad? Sounds like a country music song. This week a classic Simon and Garfunkel tune came to mind, and took me right back to my mom’s living room, playing her rustic upright piano. It was “59th Street Bridge Song” better know as “Feelin’ Groovy.” If you were born after 1970, Google it. This whimsical melody will […]

Is it Still OK to Cry?

It was Mother’s Day weekend, and life was especially good. With our kids scattered across the country, the idea of traveling to Colorado to spend a couple days with our daughter, Amy, seemed like the perfect way to celebrate. I stopped in an airport restaurant for breakfast and crossed paths with one of the friendliest waiters I’ve ever met. Lamar obviously loves people and loves his work. As he delivered my coffee and spinach omelet, we started to talk about Mother’s Day. Lamar’s face lit up as he described his amazing mom. He referred to himself unashamedly as a “mama’s […]

When the Happy Season is not Happy

What do you do when the happiest season of all doesn’t seem happy at all? Whether it’s a scary medical diagnosis, the loss of a relationship, or death of someone you love, a traumatic season of life can make the holidays feel overwhelming. Decorating, shopping, and house guests might be more than you can handle this year. Before you decide to pull the covers over your head and wake up in January or start your day with eggnog—stop! You are not alone. 3 Steps To Survive The Holidays Without Losing Your Mind 1. Say what you need to say. It’s a […]

Surviving Grief without Losing Your Mind

Losing someone you love is like having part of your heart ripped out. Whether death came through sudden catastrophe or a drawn-out disease where there was time to prepare, grief often leaves us with more questions than answers. •What do I do with all the regrets? •Why do people say crazy things when they’re trying to help? •Shouldn’t I be able to power through the sorrow on my own? Grief is a process and there are three challenges almost everyone goes through: 1. Rehashing regrets is like riding a stationary bicycle. You’ll go round and round to the point of […]

Grief After Suicide is Particularly Complicated

One person dies by suicide every 13.7 minutes in the United States, according to the American Suicide Prevention Foundation. You never think your family will become part of such a heartbreaking statistic. From the outside, my uncle’s life seemed perfect — lots of friends, a terrific job and a family who adored him. My mom’s fun-loving, talented brother had everything to live for. How could he have taken his own life? Mental illness was not a subject anyone discussed back then. People were expected to be OK or at least pretend they were. As family members tried to make sense […]

Getting Help During Bereavement

“Call if you need anything!“ How many times have you heard those five familiar words after a crisis or loss of a loved one? Friends want to reach out to you, but aren’t sure exactly what you need. And, if you’re trying to find your equilibrium after a traumatic event, it might be more than you can handle just to make the call for help. Think about this insightful idea. At a grief seminar, the question came up, ”What do you do with all the people who say, ‘call if you need anything?’ “ A woman in the audience raised her […]

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