"Why Did You Abandon Me!!!" This heart-wrenching message was written by a child struggling with the grief after the death of a loved one. It was displayed on the wall of Ele’s Place alongside other devastating notes: * "I am still loveable even though death has touched me" * "I hate you 4 dying," * "Mom, out of everybody you chose me to die on," * "love is watching someone die." When I saw these notes, I knew that I had to join their Board. Ele's Place is a non-profit organization committed to ensuring that no child grieves alone. This outstanding organization serves an incredibly worthy cause and it operates with exceptional efficiency, directing the majority of its donations towards program implementation. This week, we hosted the "Healing Hearts Breakfast," an event in which board members invite seven friends to learn more about Ele's Place, with the hope of encouraging them to support our mission. More than 350 people attended this weeks breakfast! During the event, we listened to moving stories from three families who have benefited from the services provided by Ele's Place. It was an emotional rollercoaster. It is alarming to learn that roughly 10% of children experience the loss of a parent before they turn 16. Ele's Place offers a safe, nurturing environment for these children to share their experiences with skilled counselors and peers who have experienced similar losses. The breakfast was an incredibly poignant experience. Hearing the tragic and heart-wrenching stories of families who have lost loved ones deeply resonated with me. It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of loss and the accompanying grief that young children face during such challenging times. When hearing the stories from these amazing kids I feel guilty. Somehow, I had been fortunate enough to go 41 years without experiencing the unexpected loss of a loved one. Although I have lost dear family members, such as my Grandpa Mike Brady, these losses were not sudden or unforeseen. Reflecting on the stories shared during the Healing Hearts Breakfast, I realized how incredibly fortunate I had been to have avoided such a loss, particularly given the sobering statistics. I’ve been thinking a lot about grief this week because of that breakfast. One of the things therapists recommend is to write about your feelings and thoughts as a way to get them out of your head. That is one of the reasons I started this newsletter. To write and share as a form of therapy for myself in the small hope that maybe it would help one person out there. I’ve been avoiding this topic but now seems like the time to address it given this weeks breakfast. As I’ve said before, grief is what propelled me into a year of the opposite. In February of 2022 I lost a dear friend, Joe. A few months later, 2 more friends died. I was incapable of handling the grief and it sunk me into a depression. I’m embarrassed to admit this but I didn’t really understand depression before experiencing it myself. When it hit me, it hit hard. On February 21, 2022 I received a text from my good friend Mike saying: “Really, really crap day boys. Just talked to Joe's sister. He's in really bad shape. Had a heart attack yesterday. In the ICU on a ventilator in Pontiac right now. Trying to figure out my schedule this week. They're only allowing one visitor from 5 - 8 pm. He was supposed to go back to rehab on Thursday.” Within a few hours I had made the drive over to metro Detroit to be by Joe’s hospital bed. I had never seen anyone hooked up to so many medical devices. Machines were doing almost everything for his body. He was bloated and looked like he had significantly aged since I last saw him only a short 5 months before. I don't think anyone will benefit from hearing the excruciating details of Joe's passing. As you would expect, it was devastating and profoundly sad. But I do want to mention the aspects that I believe are crucial to understanding my specific grief as