Greetings From Ember & Bloom Your husband died. You're a professional. And the question won't stop screaming in your head: How much of my grief do I show and still be seen as competent? The answer might surprise you. I had to figure this out when the heat went out in my office and I faced a situation I wasn't ready for. What I learned about that conversation—and what I asked for instead of what I confessed—might change how you think about telling your boss you're a widow. This week I'm wrote...

Greetings From Ember & Bloom After my husband died, people crossed my lines because they did not know where those lines were. And honestly, sometimes I did not know either. Grief changed so much about me. What I could handle. What I wanted to talk about. How much energy I had. Even what I needed from the people who loved me. A boundary is simply knowing what is okay for you and what is not. Then you tell the other person. I had a friend who kept asking when I was going to get back to...

Greetings From Ember & Bloom Hi there, I've been thinking a lot about the widows I talk with who are leaders. Superintendents. Nurses. Accountants. The ones holding families together while their own world has shifted. And there's something they all say to me. Most of us believe we have to make a choice: either we show up for work, or we grieve. Either we're strong, or we're falling apart. Either we hold it together, or we break. But what if that's not the choice at all? What if grief isn't...