People receive and process information differently, most especially when they have been smacked down by grief and the feeling that your world has collapsed. Every library or bookstore in the country is stocked with books about dealing with loss.

Being at a loss for words is a thing; especially when your spouse has passed away. Notice I use the phrase “passed away,” a soft and comforting term for describing someone’s death. New Chapters was inspired by so many issues that I experienced and discovered after losing my husband (another soft term), including how people speak to me. As a former journalist, I pay more attention than most to what and how words are used. And as I continue to write this new chapter of life without Brady – my constant companion for nearly 40 years --what people say to me has greater impact than ever before.

As my husband, Brady, languished in the hospital during the final days of his life, I looked for something - anything - that would perk up his spirits. He wasn’t communicating and was disconnected from me. We didn’t share the same taste in music, but when I turned one of my playlists, he immediately perked up, gently took my phone and held it to his chest, smiled and shifted to a state of calm.