On the 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Self-care for me includes writing through the feelings - grief, anger, fear, shame. As we come closer to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, as I am exhausted by how long the pandemic has gone on, I took to my words for healing and wrote these poems. It doesn't matter if...
Finding Solid Ground While Grieving
Finding Solid Ground After Your World Is Shaken Up by Heartbreaking Grief Grief is not something we talk about publicly although every person on the planet has or will experience it in their lifetime. That turns a universal experience into a solitary and often lonely...
3 Secrets to Asking Like a Ninja
3 Ninja Secrets to Ask For and Get More Yeses How you ask determines whether or not the answer to your request will be 'Yes'. Asking like a ninja can be scary because it requires not settling for less than everything you truly want. It's an 'all-in' inside game with...
Practical DOs and DON’Ts for Handling Loss of a Loved One
What Does and Doesn't Work by Resilience Consultant & Bad Widow, Alison Pena. Discover how to effectively support someone who's lost a spouse or significant other. Easier to get it wrong than get it right. What I discovered after David died is that nobody actually...
Pivot vs. Hot Mess: The Time Value of Decisions
Learning how to make decisions quickly and effectively, after researching the options, is essential to thriving in all areas of our lives. Why does speed matter? And why is speedy decision making even more important after a loss?The question comes down to...
Taking Up Space Again After a Loss or Transition
David Beynon Pena, my husband, was a professional artist, who sold his first painting at the age of 11. When we went to Maine, to Leadbetter Island or North Haven, David would paint from early morning into the night, 3 to 4 paintings a day, so after 10 days, we came...
If You Are a Reluctant Caregiver During the Pandemic, Read On
Last weekend, I wrote an article for Thrive Global about being a caregiver for my mother-in-law. I was also primary caregiver for my husband, David as he battled Stage 4 pancreatic cancer from October 2015 to September 2016. During this pandemic and social distancing...
Going It Alone Only Works for Cowboys
Social distancing did not seem like such a hardship in the beginning. As an introvert, I welcomed having a chance to pause and take a breath, plan, create and dream. My energy for reaching out to potential new consulting clients flagged after my husband,...
Time Is a Slippery Beast
After my husband, David Beynon Pena, died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, my experience of time became very fluid. I had little energy so I was not going out very much, connecting with fewer people and doing less activities. My life felt like an endless...
What advice would you give your younger self?
This week's Thrive Global prompt was about, if you could go back in time, what life lessons would you share with your younger self so they don't make the same mistakes? The story is called Potential is the Booby Prize because it's always in the future and...