Honor the life of a loved one
through collective storytelling
This month marks the anniversary of the passing of our dear friend Jacob Seilheimer. He’s the guy who deserves all the credit for introducing us to our next guest, Dana Frost.
Dana is the founder of the Forced Joy Project, an organization that provides support, community, and resources to those experiencing grief.
She is also the Creator of Book of Stories, memorial books that help capture the stories of loved ones from friends and family. She writes about the complexities of grief on her Substack, I’m Fine (& Other Lies).
When Jacob passed away, he left behind his wife, my bestie Megan.
Under 40 at the time, she found herself as a young widow who needed resources to process her tremendous grief.
Insert the Forced Joy Project and the Memorial Book of Stories.
At the time of Jacob’s passing, she was able to collect dozens of stories from his loved ones and bound them in a printed book that could be shared for generations to come.
I submitted a story and ordered myself a copy of this book and it was such an incredible gift to be able to receive. Stories flowed about the incredible man that Jacob was. I read through laughter and tears and cherish what was captured.
In this episode, I share an excerpt from the stories I shared about Jacob inside his Book of Stories and we dive way deeper into Dana and her incredible line of offerings supporting those grieving- from retreats, to support groups and books of stories.
You can hear Jacob say these words in our wedding video – one of my most cherished investments. I am so glad we captured his advice that I turn to often, in his own words and voice.
Today, shortly after I recorded reading the stories about Jacob, I ran out to pick up my kids from school. When I got there, I heard kids yelling that they saw a rainbow in the sky. This wasn’t expected because it was a sunny, and mostly cloud free day. But sure enough there was a tiny rainbow fleck in the sky.
I took it as a sign and special nod from Jacob that today was the perfect day to release this episode and stories to the world.
We sure do miss this big guy!
I’m working on a Workshop to support this Intentional Memories Workbook. I hope to share it with the crew inside Dana’s support groups this Winter. If you’re looking for support in helping go through and curate the memories you have inherited from a loved one, or want to get your photos & stories in order in a more meaningful way – feel free to download this Workbook and get started!
It was truly an honor getting to know Dana more and I hope you found some new perspectives for living and grieving within this episode.
Oh… and for goodness sake — if anyone knows Anderson Cooper – Tell him we say hi and would love to chat! 😘
Explore the Community:Â
Get connected to entrepreneurs and resources to help your business thrive with the Retail Playground powered by UpNext . Use our code FOL15 for 15% off your monthly subscription.
Get Connected with Dana!
Instagram: @forcedjoyproject @bookofstories
Website: www.forcedjoyproject.com | www.bookofstories.com
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment