Finding peace after life’s hardest chapters
Honest, faith-centered guidance for those navigating divorce, grief, and difficult seasons — from two people who have been there.
Where would you like to begin?
Not sure where to start? Begin with the first post — it’s the one we wrote first because we believe it first.
If you are here because something in your life is breaking, or has already broken, or if this is true for someone you love — we want you to know: we have been there. And we want you to know that healing is more possible than it may seem right now.
This site exists for you. Everything here was written from the inside of that experience — not from a distance.
Latest Articles
Sometimes you have to sell the farm
The same discipline that keeps you going through hard times can become the thing that keeps you from the decision that needs to be made.
The cows still have to be milked
Self-reliance is not grit for its own sake. It is the quiet confidence of someone who knows they can show up — even when it costs them.
Good efforts, wrong target
Most spouses genuinely want to make each other happy. The problem is rarely bad intentions — it’s almost always a failure to understand what your partner actually needs.
The journey ahead
See what’s coming
We’re building something substantial here — 30+ posts across four phases covering every aspect of this journey. See the full roadmap and tell us what you’re most looking forward to.
“Language is our portal to meaning-making, connection, healing, learning, and self-awareness. Having access to the right words can open up entire universes. When we don’t have the language to talk about what we’re experiencing, our ability to make sense of what’s happening and share it with others is severely limited. Without accurate language, we struggle to get the help we need, we don’t always regulate or manage our emotions and experiences in a way that allows us to move through them productively, and our self-awareness is diminished. Language shows us that naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding and meaning.”
Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart
About Val & Bruce
About the authors
Val
Co-author
Val grew up on a farm in a close-knit faith community. She followed the “straight and narrow path” that was supposed to guarantee a happy life – marrying the right person, at the right time, in the right place. She was married for nearly thirty years. Her journey through her marriage and divorce was full of so much good, but also included shock, grief, anguish, and then eventually a freedom she hadn’t known she was missing. She writes with honesty, grace, and no ill will toward anyone.
Bruce
Co-author
Bruce grew up in a rural pioneer community, served a mission, and built his life around his faith. He did everything he was supposed to do. Going through a divorce was not in the plan. It was not even supposed to be a possibility. In the end, he did it because he felt it was the only way he could help his former spouse and his children. Later, he came to see that he also had to do it for his own mental health. He was married for more than thirty years. After his divorce, he found healing by turning to the Savior, working with a counselor, and learning to have compassion for himself and love himself the way God does.
A little more about us
If you’d like to know more about who we are and what we believe before going further — we think that’s a reasonable thing to want. We’ve tried to be honest about both.
Community
You are not alone
We want this to be a space for honest conversation — thoughtful, authentic, kind, and judgment-free. Please help us make this true.
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Discussion board
Ongoing conversations on topics that matter most in your journey.