Amanda Reyes

About

If this work has shown me anything, it is that people carrying a loss are usually far stronger than they feel and far more alone than they will admit. They keep functioning. They reassure everyone. And they privately wonder whether something is wrong with them for still hurting this much. Take the newly widowed person who tells me they are doing fine, then describes setting two coffee cups out of habit each morning. That gap between the fine and the coffee cups is where we work. A widow, a bereaved parent, a grown child without a mother now, each grief is particular, and I refuse to hand you a one-size lesson about any of it. I found my way to this profession from the other chair, as a client sorting through my own loss, and I have never forgotten what helped and what only sounded wise. So I keep it plain and unhurried. If you are tired of being told how well you are coping, come tell me the truth instead.