How Do You Cope with Shock, Debilitating Loss, or Fear?

How do you cope with shock or fear? Do you have the inner strength when you feel like there is none left? Faith Wilcox was able to find moments that were good – even when her daughter was near the end of her life and as a mother, she was shredded apart by the grief of losing her daughter, her marriage, and life as she knew it.

Faith Fuller Wilcox believes that self-expression through writing leads to healing. Her writing is reflective of a growing body of medical research about 'narrative identity,' which illuminates that how we make sense of what happens to us and the meaning we give to experiences beyond our control directly impacts our physical and psychological outcomes. 

Faith learned this firsthand when her 13-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with rare bone cancer that took her life. 

Faith also leads a journal writing program at a pediatric hospital for patients and their families designed to allow participants the opportunity to express themselves, alleviate stress, celebrate victories, and honor their grief. 

In her interview, Faith shares how she went from a mother in despair to a mother who had hope for the future. Through sharing her story, especially to those who have suffered a great loss, she wants you to know that life can continue after grieving and even be good. We can learn to live with sadness and joy side-by-side.  

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Hope Is a Bright Star is the story of a mother’s journey from shock and fear at her young daughter’s cancer diagnosis, to anguish and despair at her death just a year later and, finally, to peace and acceptance of her new life.

When 13-year-old Elizabeth is diagnosed with rare bone cancer, Faith is in awe of her courageous child, who faces her plight straight on and inspires all who meet her. Despite an army of medical professionals who provide innovative care for Elizabeth, she dies, and Faith and her surviving daughter, Olivia, are thrown into a maelstrom of grief. They find unexpected comfort in the arms of their family, friends, and community, but Faith faces another shock when she has her own cancer diagnosis while navigating the uncharted waters of a life she never expected. In time, Faith discovers moments and places of comfort and peace, and she slowly changes from a mother in despair to a woman with hope for the future. 

At turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, Hope Is a Bright Star reveals how abiding love can heal a family.

Hope Is a Bright Star made the ‘long list’ for the category Overcoming Adversity for the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards. 

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Facing Into the Wind - A Mother's Healing After the Death of her Child is a collection of poems written for parents and families who are coping with the death of a child. The poems are written about Elizabeth, her thirteen-year-old child, who battles a rare form of bone cancer, and her mother, Faith,  who struggles to survive after her daughter’s death.

Drawing upon metaphors with the natural world,  Faith remembers the transcending wisdom imparted by her dying daughter, healing Faith’s brokenness and awakening her strength to reach out and comfort others who are suffering.  

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