We recently connected with Rosanne Norris and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rosanne, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Merriam-Webster defines purpose as “something set up as an object or end to be attained,” in other words, an objective or intention. For me, purpose became my intention, a lifeline, and reason to survive.
On a bitter cold January day, in 2018, my husband and I found our 30-year-old son, Lee, dead on his couch after he hadn’t shown up to work for two days. He had succumbed to an accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, in his home, after foolishly stowing away his detector deep in a closet most likely because it was warning him of impending danger.
That was the day my world imploded. The pain was beyond anything I had ever felt, a pain I wasn’t sure I could survive or even wanted to.
After spending months in the abyss of pain, I found an organization called Helping Parents Heal, a world-wide, non-profit with a mission to offer resources to parents whose children have passed. This organization is not a traditional grief group, but rather one that focuses on healing. I wasn’t sure if I could heal, but I knew I could not carry this pain around like a ball and chain. And yet, despite the blinding pain, a small part of me knew Lee still existed, and it was up to me to find him.
Because Helping Parents Heal is open to the discussion of spiritual experiences and afterlife evidence, I started to read the recommended books and watch podcasts. Additionally, I attended the on-line meetings they offered hosting speakers on various topics. Other parents that were farther along on this journey were especially helpful. They gave me hope. If they had survived the worst thing a parent could face, then maybe I could to.
I committed to a healing journey and did the work that led me to a new purpose. I became a reiki master, a grief educator, an author, and most importantly, an affiliate leader of the organization that gave me my life back.
There is more to this life than we realize. I have had signs and synchronicities that have given me the biggest truth. We don’t die. Knowing my son exists allows me to live in peace with love and joy. I am a resilient survivor who now has the honor of helping other parents understand that they too can survive.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
In 2020, I wrote a book called, “beLEEve, A Journey of Loss, Healing, and Hope. I wrote this book from the journals I kept after my son passed. It was written in a journal format so parents could relate to the day to day roller coaster ride of feelings. What was surprising to me was how many people said it helped them to understand the feelings of the friends or family members who were struggling with child loss. Since then, I have contributed chapters to seven anthologies with an eighth forthcoming. And I plan to continue to write.
It is a privilege and an honor to put these words out into the world with the hope of helping people. And doing so has fulfilled me and helped me as well.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think one of my strongest qualities are that I am resilient although I didn’t feel so when I lost my son. This resilience eventually saw me through my darkest days. I have always dabbled at writing but never had the confidence. I allowed fear to rule even though I have a BA in English. Then two years after my son passed, I knew I had to tell my story. It was both difficult and cathartic at the same time. I knew nothing about publishing a book, but the universe synchronistically connected me with my publisher, As You Wish Publishing.
The only advice I have would be not to let fear hold you back from what you want to do. Trust your intuition to guide you and just go for it.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I want to write a historical novel and I am once again, finding myself questioning whether I am good enough to do so. I am working with my fear by meditating and writing in my journal. I also tell people of my plans because if I put it our there, then I am more likely to follow through.
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