Episode 57 - Mary Anne Ruddis
Mending Families is hosted by Melissa Pemberton and she brings you weekly content that is a mix of trauma aware interviews, parenting tips for those caring for kids from adversity, and stories from people just like you as they share their beautiful messy moments. Melissa hopes that when you listen each week, you will feel encouraged, inspired and take a little something away to help you and your family move from broken to mended.
On today’s episode, Mary Anne shares about the ways that cancer has affected her family and what helped her make it through. She shares about not healing from grief but from growing through grief. Mary Anne also talks about how grief is not always related to death. This is a heavy conversation, but a good one.
Mary Anne Ruddis is the executive director of Elevations A Children’s Therapy Resource Foundation, a nonprofit in Spokane Valley, Washington that helps families of children with special needs thrive. Mary Anne is also a certified grief educator and author of "Dear Bereaved Parent Journal, a Place for Self-Healing after the loss of a Child". You can find more about Mary Anne at maryanneruddis.com or on Facebook.
Topics Mary Anne mentions:
*You can learn more about the Childhood Cancer Coalition by listening to my interview with the Director of the organization HERE
*Victor Frankls books were helpful to Mary Anne on her journey
*Dear Bereaved Parent on Facebook which then became “Dear Bereaved Parent Journal”
*David Kesslers grief educator course and his online resource called Tender Hearts are for anyone experiencing grief
*Lion’s Heart is a resource for children who are grieving
*Elevations - A Child’s Therapy Resource Foundation can help kids who need therapy services where finances might be a barrier to them receiving their services.
**As an Amazon affiliate, I do receive a small commission when you purchase any of the products I have linked in this post**
Where to find Mending Families:
Instagram - @mendingfamilieswa
TikTok - @mendingfamilieswa
Facebook - @mendingfamilieswa
YouTube - @mendingfamilies1594