There must be something strangely sacred about salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.Kahlil Gibran

Those of us who’ve suffered one or more devastating losses often describe grief as being like the ocean with pain and longing breaking over us in waves. At times, the sadness is overwhelming, and we feel as though we’re drowning. But over time, we learn to float, to keep our head above water. We begin to recognize when the big waves are coming and become better able to deal with them. Although we never escape the sadness, we learn to navigate the waters of grief and move forward into the life we create in the wake of our loss.

a panoramic photo of Pismo Beach at sunset

During my darkest days, I found that the wisdom and experience of other grievers helped me to re-enter the world. They showed me that life after the death of a beloved was possible, that I could begin to see beauty, find grace and feel hope, even joy. They helped me realize that love was all around me, and all I had to do was lean in.

At Salt Water, our community can help you find your equilibrium and begin to heal after an unbearable loss. As Barbara Kingsolver put it so beautifully in High Tide in Tucson:

What a stroke of luck. What a singular brute feat of outrageous fortune: to be born into citizenship in the animal kingdom. We love and we lose, go back to the start and do it right over again. For every heavy forebrain solemnly cataloguing the facts of a harsh landscape, there’s a rush of intuition behind it crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is.

We invite you to become part of our community. Share your story, ask a question, make a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

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Cherry cabinet with two doors and stars in between the upper and lower panels of the doors.

The Cherry Wardrobe

Built to last, its vertical lines are plum.
The only ornamentation, a simple
crown moulding, the inward curve
of the cavetto.

The cover of the book Stay Through The Storm with two little girls huddled together under a red tent inside a house

Stay Through The Storm

A story to bring hope in times of trouble, Stay Through The Storm is a moving reminder that we’re never alone even when things seem darkest.

Mom wearing a teal one piece bathing suit, sitting at the edge of our pool with her right arm around me. I was about 2 and am wearing a light blue one piece bathing suit. There's a wire and wood fence behind us

All You Can Do Is Try

Your kind of love, once given, is never lost. You are alive and luminous in my head. Except when I fail to listen, you will speak through me when I face some crisis of feeling or sympathy or consideration for others. You are a curb on my natural impatience and competitiveness and arrogance. When I have been less than myself, you make me ashamed even as you forgive me. Wallace Stegner, Letter Much Too Late

Jimmy, Dan, Molly & Margo at Big Game. Jimmy and Dan are wearing Stanford Hawaiian shirts. Jimmy is wearing black shorts; Dan is wearing white khakis and a Stanford hat. Molly is wearing a Stanford football jersey with the number 5 on it and black shorts. Margo is wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt, white shorts and sunglasses and she has a red jacket tied around her waist.

When We Were Golden

We were golden … until we weren’t. Kevin Luby, A Life Short & Loud

Colorful textile with uneven squares of purples, blues and green

Weaving Our Lives

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
W.S. Merwin

Statue of a woman lying on her side facing the camera. Her knees are bent and her right hand is covering her face as she grieves

Welcome to the club you never wanted to be a member of

We regret to inform you that you are now a member of the club without a name …

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