When Chris Coulter found his daughter Maddie's ice skates in storage after 10 years, he asked others what they kept after losing someone. The responses reveal how we protect proof of love through objects: worn clothes, handwritten letters, quilts made from favorite shirts, and items kept for decades. These stories show that holding on isn't denial and letting go isn't betrayal—both can be acts of love.

After my daughter's suicide, hundreds showed up. Then they left. The texts stopped. Check-ins faded. That silence is the loneliest part of grief—and it's the same isolation parents face when their teen is struggling. MentorWell closes that gap before loss, providing community, mentorship, and fast access to care when families need it most.

Parents of teens with mental health struggles often hide in silence, isolated by shame and fear. After losing his daughter to suicide, Chris Coulter shares his journey through grief, medication, and crushing parental shame. He reveals why 1 in 4 working parents stay quiet and how community support replaces isolation with healing. Join the free When Something Feels Off parent community now open

On what would’ve been Maddie’s 25th birthday, her father reflects on grief, presence, and the lasting legacy she left behind. This deeply personal tribute shares the birth of MentorWell, a program inspired by her life, and calls attention to the invisible burden of presenteeism many grieving parents carry in today’s workplaces.

grieving father

• workplace presenteeism

• teen mentorship program

• legacy after loss

• MentorWell tribute

Ten years after losing his daughter, a father finds unexpected comfort in dreams where they still talk, tease, and sit together in silence. What once broke him now gives him strength—and a reason to build something meaningful in her name. A moving story of grief, memory, and the quiet miracles that come when we least expect them.

• grieving a child

• dreams of lost loved ones

• conversations with the dead

• parent child grief story

• healing after loss

• building purpose from grief

• teen mentorship story

• father daughter bond

• emotional healing through dreams

• MentorWell story

This heartfelt story shares a parent’s quiet battle with grief, burnout, and emotional exhaustion following the loss of her daughter. It reveals how the founding of MentorWell—a safe, non-clinical mentorship space for teens and families—emerged from heartbreak to offer healing, support, and belonging for those silently struggling.

Grief isn't a puzzle to solve or a battle to win — it's a journey through pain, survival, and slow, honest healing. This raw, compassionate guide offers 10 lived-through truths to help you carry the weight of heartbreak and rebuild a version of yourself that's wiser, real, and still standing.