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    • Mission, Vision & Values
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  • Get Involved
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    • Grant
    • Events & Programs
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  • Blog
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On August 13, 2017, I lost the love of my life. Rick Palmer and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary one month before he died at age 63 of complications from treatments for small cell lung cancer. He was my partner and soulmate, the love I had been looking for and finally found at age 40.

Rick was a talented writer and web designer and, in 2002, we began our own web and print design business. We worked together building the business and enjoyed traveling, writing, and playing together. Our dream was to spend our golden years together doing more of the same, but in the ten months from diagnosis to death, that dream shattered.

After Rick’s death, I quickly realized that the enormity of his loss was too much for me to handle on my own, so I began grief therapy. I also began writing through my grief in a journal of feelings, thoughts, memories, and poetry. As I navigate my new life alone, I share my journey and my efforts towards creating my “new normal” on my personal blog: The Writing Widow. I’m also on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

I recently published two books about my grief journey: my poetry book, I Wanted to Grow Old With You: A Widow's First Year of Grief in Poetry, and compilation of my blog posts A Widow's Words: Grief, Reflection, Prose, and Poetry - The First Year." Both books are available in print and Kindle versions on Amazon.com.

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Recent Posts by this Author

Author Katherine Billings-Palmer

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The “L” Word

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Hope and Healing, Relationships and Dating, Widowhood Journey
July 13, 2021
Yesterday, Rick and I would have celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. It was the third one since he’s been gone. I made it through the fog of the first one. By the second one, I had adapted to life alone, ...
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grief-happiness

A Widow in Pursuit of Happiness

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Hope and Healing, Relationships and Dating, Widowhood Journey
May 26, 2021May 26, 2021
I was at a four-day writers’ conference this past weekend. It was supposed to be on a lake in northern Michigan, but due to COVID, it was on Zoom. That’s a lot of screen time, but it was worth it. ...
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grief journey

The Heartbreak of a New Beginning

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Hope and Healing, Widowhood Journey
May 6, 2021May 6, 2021
I met a man. I like him a lot. He’s intelligent, funny, kind, interesting, and philosophical - all traits I desire in a partner. He says he likes me a lot, too - and he shows it in many ways. ...
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grief journey

Fifty Things – Thoughts from a Grief Survivor

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Coping Mechanisms, Grief, Hope and Healing
March 27, 2021March 28, 2021
Every morning I read a list of fifty things I have to be thankful for. I started doing this a few months ago; it was something my grief therapist suggested to help me get through the uncertainty and loneliness of ...
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grief journey

Flowers For No Reason

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Widowhood Journey
February 14, 2021February 14, 2021
I thought today would be a difficult one to handle because it was Valentine's Day - the day for lovers - and mine is gone. It's my fourth year without Rick here, and after all this time, I'm used to ...
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grief

To Heal, You Must Remember

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Coping Mechanisms, Grief, Hope and Healing, Widowhood Journey
January 21, 2021January 21, 2021
I was sitting alone in my car near a lake in the park when I heard some powerful words about grief and healing. Every afternoon when I get off work, I leave my home office and drive to this semi-secluded ...
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peace instead of pain

Peace Instead of Pain

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Hope and Healing, Widowhood Journey
December 5, 2020December 6, 2020
I’m not sure if every widow does this, but I tend to gravitate towards watching any TV show or movie where the main character is a widow. It’s always interesting to me to see how the plot treats widowhood. Is ...
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the new normal

The Myth of the New Normal

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Grief, Hope and Healing, Widowhood Journey
November 12, 2020November 13, 2020
My husband has been gone for more than three years. I should be used to living as a widow and existing in my “new normal.” But today I realized, no matter how long I exist without him, I’m not sure ...
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grief journey

Advice from a Seasoned Widow

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Coping Mechanisms, Grief, Hope and Healing, Hope for Widows Foundation, Widowhood Journey
October 1, 2020October 2, 2020
Everyone experiences the loss of a loved one, and the losses compound as we age. In my 63-year span on earth, I’ve lost my father and mother, and all my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The entire older generation is gone ...
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processing grief

The Many Rooms of Grief

by Katherine Billings-Palmer in Coping Mechanisms, Grief, Hope and Healing
July 17, 2020
It’s Friday and I’m sitting on my deck in my sunny backyard making a grocery shopping list. The Shipt shopper will take care of the shopping that Rick used to do as his most favorite task in the world (man, ...
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