Loss Brings A Fresh Perspective:
My Self-Love Journey Through Grief, Resilience & Self-Discovery
🎧 Prefer to listen? Here's a 7-minute reflection recorded just for you:
On Monday, April 21st — the fourth anniversary of my late husband, Angel’s passing — I received a surprise: I was removed from a widows’ Facebook group I’d joined the year before.
The younger version of me would’ve spiraled into shame, assuming I was shunned, unwanted, or had done something terribly wrong. But after a brief moment of self-pity, the wiser version of me — the one who’s been shaped by deep loss — chose to see it as a graduation of sorts.
🌊 Navigating a Tsunami of Losses
After Angel died, my life unraveled in every possible way. A few months later, my best friend Maria Elena passed away. I lost work, my home, my car, and nearly everything I owned. I was lucky to have had the kindness of family to have a roof over my head.
Grief stripped me bare — and offered me a fierce dose of perspective.
📚 Seeking Solace in Sacred Spaces
Living without privacy, dealing with illness, and trying to avoid toxic relationships left me raw and resentful. I found comfort in quiet corners of the library, piecing myself back together, one day at a time.
I began to reflect on why so many losses followed Angel’s death. And while I don’t believe we are victims of circumstance, I recognize that life doesn’t happen to us. It happens for us. Those painful lessons? They were a redirection — toward self-love.
😢 Confronting My Deepest Father Wound
My most profound grief came long before Angel’s death. It was the slow, heartbreaking estrangement from a father I once adored. After sacrificing my own college dreams to run the family’s real estate business, I had to face the painful truth: my father ultimately chose money over me.
I internalized his rejection. I turned on myself — pushing away my husband, my children, and my friends. For 11 years, I grieved silently. And in that silence, I coped the only ways I knew how: through emotional eating and compulsive spending.
To the observer’s view, I had everything — a beautiful family, a cozy home, a thriving business — but I couldn’t see any of it clearly through the lens of self-hatred and heartbreak.
Because my father’s greed had wounded me so deeply, I overcorrected in the opposite direction. I treated money like poison and turned my coaching business into a hobby, rejecting payment. I believed that marketing myself was a betrayal of my values.
I now know better.
❤️ Reclaiming My Voice Through Self-Love
After weathering a tsunami of losses, I understand this: money is not good or bad. It simply reveals who a person is. And marketing? That’s just another form of
self-expression. It’s how I share my heart, my story, and my tools for healing with women who need them and recognize their value.
My wisdom is precious. My voice is a gift. I now embrace both.
For months, I sensed that my participation in the widow’s group was no longer welcome. After getting the go-ahead by the moderator, I had shared my posts from Lovin’ the Skin You’re In there — pieces about grief, healing, and starting over. When a few women asked how to find my writing, I pointed them to my Substack via my Facebook profile.
Looking back, I see that may have crossed an unspoken boundary. But I’m not sorry. I don’t regret offering my story as a lifeline for others.
📣 Embracing Financial Empowerment
Today, I see marketing as a privilege — not a punishment. It gives me access to the women I’m here to serve. I’m relaunching my coaching programs with a fierce new clarity: I teach women grieving losses how to prioritize themselves, speak up, and become their own best friends — so they don’t have to go through the same hard lessons I did.
🌅 Rising Stronger Than Before
I am incredibly proud of how I continue to rise. Each time life knocks me down, I bounce back stronger — and more committed to helping other women navigate the storms of grief and loss.
I’ve started creating more videos and livestreams, sharing my journey and inviting women into this next chapter of healing. I’m also seeking aligned partnerships and sponsor brands who share my commitment to empowering women through self-love.