Daughters Without Moms

Janet's mom Cass died from breast cancer the day Janet graduated from high-school. It was 1995 and she was 18, right at the start of my adult life. Her entire world shattered the day her mom died. In 2020 she started the Motherlove Project to honour the 25th anniversary of her mom's death and give other motherless daughters a space to tell their stories. Since launching the Project, almost...

Katie's mom was diagnosed with cancer when she was thirteen and passed when she was sixteen. Katie then helped raise her brother and watched her dad grieve while trying to get back to normal life. Katie put her own grief on the backburner to make sure everyone else was ok. She has finally found the space to allow herself to grieve, almost a decade later. Katie's Take-Away: Give yourself so...

Sakshi's mom was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in April, 2020. The doctors predicted a full recovery with the right treatment. Unfortunately, the cancer came back in October, 2021. She started the treatment without delay, but this time the cancer had metastasized. Due to the intensity of the treatment, her body contracted a virus and Sakshi's mom died in December 2021. Sakshi's Take-Away: Y...

Kasey's mother was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer when she was a sophomore in high school. There is a very long family history of breast cancer on her mom's side of the family. She was in remission for one year but then the cancer came back on the other breast. Eventually it spread to her brain and bones. Kasey is an only child and has been on her own ever since. Kasey understands that no on...

Monique lost her mom unexpectedly to pancreatic cancer in 2020. Monique was a workaholic and was upset when quarantine happened, but she's now grateful for the four months of quality time with her mom that she wouldn’t have had otherwise.  Since Monique's mom has passed, she’s found ways to let Monique know she’s still with her. Every time she's facing a difficult decision, her mom visits her...

Shatakshi lost her mom to Covid in 2021 when she was a high school senior. She had the best relationship with her mom and it has been very hard for Shatakshi. For a long time she lived in the past, unable to accept the reality that her mom was gone. She is now slowly coping with her loss. Shatakshi's Take-Away: If you are dealing with the pain of loss, make that your power and not your weakness. M...

Lauren's mom died when Lauren was 12, and then her dad died when she was 28. She hit a breaking point with depression and anxiety. She realized she was at war with her mind and body and had isolated herself in her grief.  Thanks to therapy, she finally realized life doesn’t have to be this way.  Lauren is a Grief Empowerment Coach! You can find her on Instagram: @griefstrength. You can l...

Leidy's back to finish her story. Only 2 days have passed since her mom's death, and she is filing for legal guardianship of her 2 younger sisters. And she still has to finish high school! In the almost 6 years since then, Leidy is learning how to be both sister, and guardian, to her 2 siblings. She has reached a place where she is finally able to allow herself to grieve, and has a lot of wis...

Leidy's mom immigrated to the US with Leidy and her two siblings in 2011. In 2017 Leidy's mom was killed outside a restaurant. Leidy ended up getting full custody of both of her little sisters and becoming a parent at 18 years old, while still a senior in high school.  In today's episode, Leidy shares her story to the point of her mom's death. Next week, she will come back and share about wha...

Martika's mom struggled with substance abuse her whole life, and it affected their relationship. In 2020, Martika lost her mom. They were in a healing place when she passed. Since then, Martika has learned a lot navigating through her grief. Martika's Take-Away: Grief is a process. There is no timeframe, and no right or wrong way to do it. Give yourself grace to feel it. There is vulnerability in...

Chiomah lost her mum suddenly in 2009, a couple of years after losing her Dad. She thought her Dad's loss was hard (she was a daddy's girl) but nothing prepared her for the loss of her Mum. She was shattered and for the first time understood what depression was. Since losing both of her parents, Chiomah is determined to use her gifts to help humanity and share with others. She is a multi-talented...

To kick off Season 3, I wanted to share an update to my journey. I recently met my mom's cousin, who found boxes of my mom's things and wanted to share them with me. It's been almost 40 years since I've had contact with anyone from my mom's family , and this was such a blessing. During that trip, I also got to see the friends that took us in when my mom was dying. I'm so grateful to have people wh...

Rachelle's mom died from cystic fibrosis when she was two. Her dad remarried and she also died from cystic fibrosis when Rachelle was 6. Rachelle didn't understand what she'd lost until she became a mom herself. When she became a mom, she couldn't understand why her daughter always called for her. She realized that she needed help with processing her early loss and what it meant to be a mother.&nb...

Since this is episode 44, my nephew Chris and I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the reel he made. He created it as his mom’s diagnosis day was nearing, and he saw a trend on TikTok that tugged at his heart. I asked if I could share it on Daughters Without Moms. He said yes, and it went viral.  All of our stories are important! If you have a story to share, please send an email t...

A week before Rupa gave birth to her first child, her mother had emergency brain cancer surgery. After that moment she was sadly muted and passed away soon thereafter.   After a couple of years of grappling with that trauma - and the journey of motherhood without her mother - Rupa took that pain and wrote 100 poems about parenthood/childhood from both her and her daughter's perspectives. In t...

Shaelyn's mom passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in October of 2021, when Shaelyn was 25 years old. Her mom was her only parent, and Shaelyn was co-raised by her mom's parents (grandma and grandpa) for a long time. Shaelyn felt like she lost her mom twice. Shaelyn is a musician and you can find her on YouTube (youtube.com/c/ShaelynAvalon) or iTunes (music.apple.com/us/artist/shaelyn-aval...

Tiffany's mom died when she was 28 years old, and she felt like she had done a good bit of healing.  Then she became a mom herself and it really brought out a new sense of grief of needing and missing her mother. Tiffany co-hosts the Portraits of Grief Podcast , which can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find Tiffany and co-host Thera on Instagram: @portraits_of_grief an...

Amy feels like cancer has been in her life forever. Her mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer when Amy was 12. After successful chemo and radiation treatments, her mom was cancer-free for 20 years. Then she got sick again with a recurrence of breast cancer. This type of cancer was treatable by a hormone blocker and she recovered quickly. A third diagnosis of cancer had a much different outcom...

Note: This episode includes discussion about eating disorders. Skylar is a fatherless daughter. Her dad, Kenny, died of cancer when she was 11 years old. She found dieting as a way to numb her feelings, and now recognizes that her eating disorder was part of her grieving. Today, Skylar practices intuitive eating, which has helped her learn how to tolerate her feelings. Skylar is an anti-diet cultu...

Julia lost her mom very suddenly, six days after Mother’s Day, when she was 8 years old. It wasn't until her late 20s/early 30s that she actually began processing this immense loss, and coming to understand it as a trauma.    Julia is now a Grief Support Specialist and Certified Grief Educator. She launched her Instagram community, Girl Meets Grief, over Mother's Day weekend in 2021. Fin...

Content Note: This episode includes discussion about suicide. Please choose another story if these details may be unhelpful to you. Dallis' mom died from breast cancer when she was 17. Her mom was first diagnosed when Dallis was 2, so she had cancer most of Dallis' life. Dallis had a messy and complicated relationship with her grief and for a period of time she really wanted to die. Two years ago,...

Priya's grief journey started in 2014 when she herself almost died of septicaemia. While Priya was still in the hospital, her mother suffered a brain haemorrhage.  Her mum’s recovery was rocky, and when she finally got to a place where she was starting to feel more like herself again, she received a diagnosis of terminal ovarian cancer - on the same day that Priya's dad suffered a near fatal...

Jenni was adopted when she was very young, by an amazing mum and dad who showed her what unconditional love really was. Due to her early traumas, Jenni struggled while growing up, but finally got things turned round and had a couple of stable years of relationship with her parents. Then BOTH parents were diagnosed with terminal cancer and they died 9 months apart; first her dad and then her mum.&n...

Lindsay's mom died suddenly in 2011. Lindsay was 20 years old at the time and was completely destroyed by her death.  After being thrown into the world of grief, Lindsay experienced how little we as individuals and as a collective know about grief. Since 2019, she has dedicated herself to supporting others throughout their grief journey, as a Grief Educator & Bereavement Counselor. She is...

Rachel was 20 years old and in her 2nd week of college at a brand new school when her mom died. Her mother was her best friend, and when she died, Rachel fell apart.  Rachel's grief consumed her and she felt very isolated. She also searched desperately for books she could relate to, and found very few. She decided to write a book about her experience. Her book is called Losing Your Mom When Y...