Reads:  “Love Came First You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster, you first thought her to be. She is love. And she will walk with you now, stay with you now, if you let her. And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came, remember who she represents. Grief came to you my friend because love came first. Love came first.” Donna Ashworth

From the book Wild Hope: Healing Words to Find Light on Dark Days

Reads:  “Love Came First You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster, you first thought her to be. She is love. And she will walk with you now, stay with you now, if you let her. And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came, remember who she represents. Grief came to you my friend because love came first. Love came first.” Donna Ashworth

Reads “Dear Daughter I hope with all my heart that I showed you the real me. That I didn’t pretend I had it all together, or that life was not hard. I hope I gave you the belief of you, in your core. That I loved you enough, albeit messily, to code a blueprint for life, to show you what love should look like. And I hope I let you see me break, so you could understand, it is not an ending, rather a step. And it’s vital. Dear Daughter, I could not possibly have gotten everything right, and perhaps, thats the best thing I have given you. That knowledge, no one gets it right. We are not here to be perfect. We are here to love, to grow stronger and more bright with every generation. Grow brighter my love, brighter than me. As it very much should be. And when I can no longer be with you, remember, my cells live within you. You cannot, ever, lose me. Not really. We are a deal, a two for one. A team. For life. And everything after that.” Donna Ashworth

From the book WILD HOPE Healing words to find light on dark days

Reads: ” When I go  When I go, don’t learn to live without me, just learn to live with my love, in a different way.  And if you need to see me, close your eyes, or look in your shadow, when the sun shines, I’m there. Sit with me in the quiet and you will know, that I did not leave. There is no leaving when a soul is blended with another. When I go, don’t learn to live without me, just learn to look for me in the moments. I will be there.” Donna Ashworth

From the book Loss: Poems to better weather the many waves of grief

Reads: “I said your hair looked amazing but what I really wanted to say was
Your energy sparks a little bit of something in mine, your smile warms my heart, and when you laugh, I just have to laugh too, it’s like a bubbling stream of fresh water running through my soul. I feel like the sun is shining on me when you’re near and when I leave you, sad as it is, I feel like I’ve been charged, plugged into the mains for an infusion of fizz and life. But I said I love your shoes, instead. I hope you heard, what I really meant” Donna Ashworth

From the book I Wish I Knew: Poems to Soothe the Soul & Strengthen Your Spirit

Reads: “Youier. Imagine if the sun refused to shine because the moon was shinier if streams ceased to flow
because the rivers were flowier if snow didn’t dare to fall because rain was fallier if stars did not glow
because planets were glowier what a world it would be if nature compared if flowers didn’t flower
because their neighbours were flowerier you, my friend, must stop all that folly no one can be more you you are youier” Donna Ashworth

From the book WILD HOPE Healing words to find light on dark days

Reads: “To My Boy The love a mother has for her son, is like a beautiful black-hole. It is all-consuming, never-ending and mightier than us. Women know one another by instinct, you see, but when a woman creates a boy, something else, something quite magical, happens. I hope I showed you that power, that  I hope I taught you what it is to respect a woman, to respect humans, and to never lose yourself in the process. I pray you see how strong you are, by letting yourself be weak. That is the key. And most of all, I hope you check your heart when you cannot pick up the phone to me. Check the little chasms of your heart, my love, thats where I stored the things you need. The love you need. My boy, my beautiful beautiful boy, you had me at first sight, and you have me forevermore.” Donna Ashworth

From the book WILD HOPE: Healing words to find light on dark days

Reads: “Take Them With You If someone you love did not make it on that trip you can take it for them with them. If someone you love did not witness that milestone you can show them anytime you like. If someone you love did not get to do their living you can finish those dreams on their behalf. The beautiful thing about love you see is that death need not stop life. If you carry someone in your heart you can take them with you anywhere you like.” Donna Ashworth

From the book Loss: Poems to better weather the waves of grief

Reads: “Most people are good. Most people kiss their pets goodbye and read just one more bedtime story to their children. Most people visit their grandparents even when they have no time and stop by to check on quiet friends, after a day too long and draining. Most people return their shopping trolleys, despite being already late and let someone with only one item, jump to the front of a queue. Most people give money when money is scarce and most people worry about people they don’t even know, day in and day out. When the world seems bad, remember, most people are good.”  Donna Ashworth

From the book Wild Hope