When a child dies, we tend to speak about grief.
But in my experience, grief after child loss is only part of what unfolds.
There is also a disruption of identity—something more foundational that often goes unnamed.
For most parents, being a mother or a father is not simply a role.
It is a way of being.
It shapes how you move through the world, how you relate, and how you make meaning.
And when a child dies, that structure doesn’t return in the way we expect.
You may still be a parent,
and yet the experience of parenting has changed in ways that are difficult to describe.
This is part of what I often refer to as life after child loss—
not only the grief, but the quiet reorganization of identity that continues over time.
In this episode of Beyond the Loss: Life and Identity After a Child Dies, I begin to explore what I call the loss beneath the loss—
the space where many parents find themselves living between who they were and who they are becoming.
If you’ve felt that sense of disorientation…
or found yourself without language for what has shifted…
you may recognize something of yourself here.
There is nothing you need to resolve.
And nothing you need to rush.
Listen & Connect
Podcast: https://sharonspano.com/podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SharonSpano-BeyondtheLoss-Host
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Website: https://sharonspano.com
For inquiries or to connect directly: sharon@sharonspano.com
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