Writing Through Grief: Finding Peace in the Holidays
Last year, the holidays arrived like a storm I wasn’t prepared for. My brother’s absence wasn’t just a quiet gap at the dinner table—it...
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Olivia Harrell
Nov 52 min read
Did he know?
Did he know? That is often a thought that pops up in my mind when I think about Griffin's death. Did he know that baggie had fentanyl in...
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Olivia Harrell
Sep 221 min read
So here we are on the first anniversary without you..
This month marks one year without my brother, Griffin. There is not one day that has gone by that I haven’t been left wondering what...
158 views1 comment
Olivia Harrell
Aug 172 min read
Dread
Dread. That’s how I felt leading up to our first family vacation without my brother. Deep dread. I did not want to go. I would have...
89 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell
Jul 123 min read
Jealousy
We just returned from a family trip with my husband's side of the family and during the trip I found myself tripped up by an emotional...
132 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell & Kendall Welsh
Jun 132 min read
After the death of our brother
Olivia spoke with her sister, Kendall about her experience after losing their brother. “After the death of someone you love, it seems...
148 views0 comments
Kristin Seeberger
May 225 min read
Finding the Words in Grief
A few days after my son, James, died of accidental fentanyl poisoning in June 2020, I found myself putting together a makeshift memorial...
375 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell
May 13 min read
Waves
For the longest time, my adult life has felt like a bit of a roller coaster ride. I became a mom at 26, divorced at 30 and always managed...
316 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell
Apr 12 min read
Boundaries
Boundaries are a tough concept for someone that struggled with a people pleasing personality as I have for most of my life. I wanted to...
380 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell
Mar 44 min read
In Between
From a very young age I remember that “certain things” were to stay within the family. Period. I could never quite understand why we...
249 views0 comments
Olivia Harrell
Jan 304 min read
SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS
I’m sorry for your loss. It’s a phrase we say when someone we care about has lost someone they care about. It’s a phrase I’ve heard...
929 views27 comments
Kristin Seeberger
Aug 29, 20234 min read
Thoughts on the AIDS Epidemic as We Approach Overdose Awareness Day
On June 8, 2020, my twenty-year-old son, James, was one of 87,000 deaths that year from an opioid overdose. His autopsy read accidental...
157 views0 comments
noellechesser
Jan 10, 20231 min read
Baltimore Ravens 2022 Community Quarterback
The Baltimore Ravens honor Love in the Trenches’, Kelly Ryan, as a 2022 Community Quarterback award recipient. This award recognizes...
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Kristin Seeberger
Oct 25, 20223 min read
I Never Wanted to be a Grief Support Leader, but I am Glad I am
Grief rearranges your address book; Megan Devine says in her book It’s OK That You’re not OK. People I thought would be by my side aren’t...
379 views0 comments
Shawn Nocher
Apr 6, 20225 min read
The Painful Journey of a Parent whose Child Suffers From Substance Use Disorder
It is helpful to break down this journey into stages to remind ourselves that there is movement and forward propulsion in this illness.
335 views3 comments
Shawn Nocher
Mar 8, 20224 min read
Trauma and Addiction
"In the same way that addiction is a family disease, so is the trauma it brings." When we spin through our history with our child, we...
156 views0 comments
Shawn Nocher
Feb 13, 20223 min read
“Mom,” he said. “I need help. I don’t want to die.” My heart sank to my bowels. “But I don’t want...
Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday to some, but eight years ago it took on a new meaning for me. Love In The Trenches co-founder Shawn...
392 views2 comments
Kelly Gill
Nov 4, 20211 min read
"I don't think your son has as much time as he thinks he does. I actually think he's going to die."
After eight years of sobriety, a son relapses and a mother does all that she can to save his life. Love in the Trenches CoFounder Kelly...
322 views0 comments
Brandon Herman
Jun 28, 20214 min read
Queer Recovery :)
I spent so many hours of the day pretending to be someone else, I had no practice being my
true self; I didn’t even know who that was.
293 views0 comments
Rick Hoehn
Jun 18, 20212 min read
A Father’s Story of Loving an Addicted Child
Alex’s addiction grabbed him with all its might when he was 19 years old. He hated his addiction. He hated the grip it had over his life .
2,106 views1 comment
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