A common theme in life is death. Those who lose someone to death must find a way to continue living. Grief was not something for me to understand or even question. Grief was something I had to experience.

For a long time after Ricky’s death, I woke up unable to see the morning sun. Two questions overwhelmed my mind: Why did Ricky die? What am I supposed to do now? One day, the morning sun found me. Like the reassuring touch of my mother’s tender hand, the sun’s warmth landed on my face and gave me peace.

It was important for me to remember my soulmate and to grieve. Our life was not always perfect, but we were in it together. At times, we did not have to make things work, they just did. I realized that because love was at the core of our relationship, it should also be at the core of my grief and that pure love sustains all.

Over time, love flowed back into my heart like a stream that grows into a river and powered my recovery. From my heart, I could hear the melody and see the radiant colors of life all around me. Familiar with how love sounds and what love looks like, I was alive again. Then, I came across a Crow Indian legend. It was as if someone placed a story in front of me and pleaded to give it life. I surrendered my heart and started to write. Guided by the sound of my spirit and breath of my soul, I revived the Crow Indian legend by weaving threads of my life into the story.

When someone dies their voice and their stories are gone, but the essence of their love remains forever in someone else’s story. Somos 4-Life is my story.