Betterleave Voices

Today we're sharing a story from Catherine Hinz , Founder of Beyond Words Co. , about how her experience with grief after a painful divorce and the support she found in the workplace inspired her to create the company. Read on to learn more about Catherine's journey with grief and her mission to ensure no one feels alone through life’s hardest times.

Before grief came for me, I thought I understood it well enough. Twenty years in healthcare and patient safety regularly exposed me to grief among patients, their families, and clinical teams. I learned how to lead through difficult and often sensitive times. As a professional, I was familiar with the avenues one could take to “get through it.”

Then grief came for me, when much of what I understood about and intended for my life came to an abrupt halt. In all my time witnessing other grieving individuals, I had never understood the weight of being on this side of grief.?

In the midst of a painful divorce with a six-month old baby, I needed to return to a full-time position. The opportunity to start work again was a welcome distraction, as hard as it was to return to the routine of early mornings and focused meetings inside a busy health system. I didn’t start my new leadership role with a “full cup” so-to-speak. I felt lack-luster, fatigued, and stress-ridden. There were many days that I wondered if I could manage a tumultuous divorce and custody process, fulfill a demanding role, and learn how to harmonize being a newly-single parent. It was a lot.

The work was full-on, but I had a supportive team that could be counted on. It wasn’t long that I felt compelled to share aspects of my divorce and custody journey. In part, it was to help explain any absences, or on many days, when I was absent-minded. I had peers and leaders around me in which I could confide, and took a load off when I was saturated.

I'm grateful for the support that was unexpectedly found in the workplace. Co-workers who took on my "extra" and a boss who I could be honest with were a lifeline to me. My most important learning out of my grief journey to-date is this: show up for others (and especially in the workplace!). I’m learning to show up for others in ways I never did in the past, and I never knew mattered as much as they did in my own experience.

When you've walked a hard grief journey, it shifts your perspective. I soon came to realize that the typical acknowledgement and gift responses we offer our hurting or anxious loved ones could do SO much better to serve their needs. When grieving, you experience why flowers or greeting cards may not carry the same uplift that they would on a birthday or holiday. When you’re in the throes of grief, you’re often in survival mode.?

It's why I created Beyond Words Co., to offer beautiful, research-driven care package gifts designed to first acknowledge, but then meaningfully address grief with items for mind, body, and spirit. They include important touches that provide an at-the-ready way to stay hydrated, a snack with a bit of protein, or offer a small and quiet moment of peace or joy by lighting a candle or using a calming hand lotion.

Our goal is that our gifts offer not only moments of healing, they also open a door to check in on a colleague or friend and start a conversation about what will be most supportive and helpful in their grief journey. As I’m grateful for those that were there for me in my own journey, Beyond Words Co. is here to ensure no one feels alone through life’s hardest times.??