Welcome to Hand in Hand!
This is a community space for people who …
Are grieving the death of a loved one
Are supporting — or want to support — a bereaved person (psychologists call them “grief adjacent,” we call them “family and friends” ☺️ )
Are seeking hope and gentle guidance after a life crisis or loss (divorce, estrangement, illness, diagnosis, etc.)
Are exploring end-of-life issues and opening to conversations about death and dying
Are curious about post-loss growth and how to flourish in the midst of hard things
If this is sounds like you, I hope you’ll subscribe for regular encouragement, practical guidance and honest hope. (Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.)
Hi, I’m Clarissa, and I’m a widow.
Rob, my beloved husband of 17 years, died in a hiking accident in July 2019. I never expected my life would look like this — widowed with four children to raise alone. I can tell you all of the things I was before my husband’s death — a homeschool mom, a storyteller and fundraiser for nonprofits, a teacher. But grief is a powerful force, and it’s swiftly changing the contours of my entire life.
The old landscape is eroding, but I don’t believe all is lost. I trust that, in God’s hands, grief can create something beautiful, even if its beauty is forever a stark reminder of what is absent. God is present even in life’s darkest hours. As we walk with grief, Jesus walks beside us. We are not alone. We are loved beyond measure. That’s why I’m here — writing, speaking, podcasting, building this community with you.
Today, I’m a remarried widow with a blended family of nine. I understand childhood and adolescent grief (I’ve parented with grief through almost all of the developmental stages!), the complexities of love after loss, and the ways that grief continues to shape a life as we grow forward through the years. All of my work is birthed from this rich, painful constellation of experience.
These days, I am an award-winning writer and podcaster who helps bereaved people find flourishing after loss. My writing appears in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, RELEVANT, Modern Loss, Grief Digest and more. I cohosted Christianity Today’s “Surprised by Grief” podcast and am a frequent guest at events, on podcasts and radio shows. Every week, I hang out behind the microphone as the producer and moderator of Christianity Today’s flagship news podcast, “The Bulletin.“
My debut book, Beyond the Darkness: A Gentle Guide for Living with Grief and Thriving After Loss, was a best-selling new release in 2022. I’ve since published the Beyond the Darkness Devotional, Hurt Help Hope: A Real Conversation about Teen Grief and Life after Loss with my daughter Fiona, and Hope Comes to Stay, a children’s picture book that releases May 8, 2025.
Follow me on Instagram at @mollclarissa
