Hello
My name's Alex, and I'm an adult orphan.
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I'm now 11 years on from losing my mum, my only parent. I think or dream about her every day, and I miss her terribly. Yet I have found sharing my experiences in The Adult Orphan blog (and upcoming book!) both cathartic and purposeful, knowing I am not alone. And if you have lost a parent or someone you love, you are not alone either. I believe that although all of our losses are unique to us, we stand together.
My story
In 2012 my mum died suddenly, right in the middle of an already heavily traumatic time for me. I was staying with her and it was such a shock. I'd say I'm still working through it; we were very close. With no other siblings to share the load with me, I felt like despite the support of friends and family, I was left alone in the world. I barely scraped by every day for quite some time, both mentally and physically. Being her next of kin, I did everything from informing everyone that she had died, to arranging the funeral, to clearing our family home, to chasing a cause of death for a year... the list goes on.
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I have so many things I want to share with you. The practicalities of how I dealt with all of the death admin... The evolving raw emotions I have felt through my 'stages of grief', from day one to today... The tips that might help you or those around you deal with things a little easier... Take my hand and come with me on a journey. I've got you.