by orla blackburn | Apr 5, 2026 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
The Question No One Tells You the Truth About Can I ask you something? Have you found yourself wondering — maybe at 2am, maybe mid-cry, maybe just staring out the window trying not to think — when you’re going to feel okay again? When the missing is going to...
by orla blackburn | Mar 22, 2026 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
Even Though... There’s a voice in my head that has been with me for a very long time. It was there long before Andy died. Long before grief rearranged every single thing about my life. It was there when I was a child who felt unseen and was too scared to open...
by orla blackburn | Feb 15, 2026 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
When my husband died, I thought my heart had broken.What I didn’t realise was that my nervous system had shattered too. No one talks about the grieving nervous system. About how your body goes into survival mode after loss. About why you feel wired and exhausted at...
by orla blackburn | Jan 18, 2026 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
Another Year, Another Layer This week marks my eighth birthday without Andy. I was 48 when he died—just a couple of months shy of 49—and this year, I’ll turn 56. For eight birthdays now, there’s been no “Happy Birthday, Orls” from the other side of the bed. No card...
by orla blackburn | Dec 29, 2025 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
I thought Christmas Day would be the hardest. So I planned. I filled the day. I made sure it was loud and bright and full of people. I threw myself into the performance of “everything’s fine” because I couldn’t bear the thought of my little boy missing out on the...
by orla blackburn | Dec 2, 2025 | blog, Grief Support, Personal Stories
Last week, I went to my mother-in-law’s funeral. Audrey. Fierce, vibrant, funny Audrey. Except she hadn’t really been Audrey for some time. Alzheimer’s had softened her edges, dulled her spark. The woman who once took charge of everything from dinner to job...
