Life After Dad
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
My name is Roxanne and on Tuesday 1st September 2020, my lovely dad, Ian, passed away when I was just seventeen years old. It was the last week of the summer holidays before I started year 13 when we got a phone call that Dad was in the hospital with pneumonia. He was only 51 so he’d be fine I thought.
But, a week later, his family surrounded his bedside, holding his hands he passed away peacefully.
A few days later I went to school. Shellshocked, numb and alone I took the steps into the front gate and had no clue what was going to happen. Death was never something that had been spoken about at school, we’d never learnt about it or discussed how you might support someone who had been bereaved. I grappled my way through that next year with the help of some extraordinary teachers, friends, family, and most importantly my therapist. But it was lonely to be surrounded by my peers who had no idea how to react or how to help me, I felt alien in the place I had always felt so at home.
I first started public speaking about my experience with bereavement at my own high school after I had left. I found it so rewarding to spread awareness and information about this inescapable thing - grief. Sharing my story has been so fruitful to me and so many students, I’d love to be able to expand this and speak at your school too.
Let's Connect
Want to hear more about what I can offer at your school? Send me a message and we can discuss the options and what is the best fit for you.