We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Roane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At J & J Journals, our mission is to guide women through grief, faith, and self-care using journaling as a tool for emotional healing and rediscovery. J & J Journals was born after I experienced a traumatic ectopic pregnancy loss that nearly took my life. In the weeks that followed, I didn’t have the words to explain my pain, but I had a pen and a journal.

Writing became my lifeline.

I realized that so many women grieve in silence, keep pushing, and stay strong for everyone else. I created J & J Journals so they wouldn’t have to.

Every journal I’ve designed is deeply personal. From grief and pregnancy loss to self-care, gratitude, prayer, and affirmations, each one reflects a piece of my healing journey. I’ve since become a certified grief coach and a peer mentor for pregnancy loss, turning my pain into purpose so I can help others feel less alone in theirs.

This mission matters to me because I know what it’s like to feel broken and unseen. And I also know the power of creating space to heal out loud. J & J Journals isn’t just a business—it’s my assignment.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Shannon Roane, and I’m the founder of J & J Journals, a mission-driven brand dedicated to helping women navigate grief, faith, and emotional healing through the power of journaling. I’m also a certified grief coach and a peer mentor for pregnancy loss support at Northside Hospital’s H.E.A.R.T.strings program.

The heart of my business was born out of personal pain. In March 2019, I experienced a traumatic ectopic pregnancy loss that required emergency surgery to save my life. That experience shattered me. It was isolating, overwhelming, and left me with emotional wounds I didn’t know how to process. I turned to journaling as a way to make sense of my grief and it became the foundation of my healing. Page by page, I found clarity, strength, and hope again.

What started as a private form of therapy evolved into a calling.

J & J Journals offers a collection of guided journals that support women through different stages of healing and self-discovery, including:
•Grief Journal (Joy Comes in the Morning)
•Pregnancy Loss Journal (Held in My Heart)
•Self-Care Journal (Renew & Reflect)
•Gratitude Journal
•Prayer Journal
•I AM Affirmations Journal

Each journal includes thoughtful prompts, reflection space, and affirmations designed to meet women where they are, whether they’re grieving a loss, rebuilding their confidence, reconnecting with faith, or simply trying to prioritize themselves again.

What sets us apart is that this isn’t just a product line, it’s lived experience. Every journal I create is rooted in real moments I’ve lived through and supported others through. I know what it feels like to put on a brave face while silently breaking. I know how healing it can be to finally release what you’ve been carrying.

That’s why I’ve made it my mission to help women feel seen, heard, and supported especially during the seasons where it feels like the world doesn’t know what to say.

Beyond the journals, I offer grief coaching, and self-paced courses.

I’m most proud of turning one of the hardest chapters of my life into a purpose that helps other women heal. I want people to know that you don’t have to suffer in silence. Your healing matters. And whether it’s one journal entry, one affirmation, or one conversation at a time, I’m here to walk with you through it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In March 2019, I was in emergency room with what I thought was just severe cramps. It turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy that had ruptured. I lost my baby, a fallopian tube, and almost my life all in one day.

Just four months later, my aunt who was like a second mother to me, entered hospice. I drove eight hours to see her, and when I told her I’d be back that weekend, she smiled softly and said, “I think I can do that.” Those were the last words she ever spoke to me. She passed two days later.

And then in January 2020, I experienced a missed miscarriage. I carried my baby, not knowing their heart had stopped beating. Another wave of grief. Another silent goodbye. Another piece of my heart shattered.

Three losses. In less than a year.

There were moments I didn’t think I’d make it through. Moments I smiled in public and sobbed in private. Moments I didn’t recognize myself.

But one day, I picked up a journal and wrote it all down. Not to be strong, not to be seen—but because I didn’t know what else to do with all the pain. That’s when something shifted.

That’s when J & J Journals was born.

I turned my grief into guided journals that help women navigate loss, healing, and faith. Not from a place of perfection but from lived experience.

To me, resilience isn’t about being unshakable. It’s about surviving the shaking and still choosing to build something beautiful from what tried to break you.

That’s what I did. And that’s what I now help other women do, too.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

For most of my life, I wore strength like armor. I thought if I just kept going, kept working, kept smiling eventually, the pain would go away. I believed that sharing my struggles made me look weak. So when I experienced a traumatic ectopic pregnancy loss in March 2019, I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t know how. I just tried to “push through.”

Then came more loss. My aunt entered hospice and passed away that summer. I barely had time to grieve before January 2020 brought another heartbreak, a missed miscarriage. I was carrying a baby I didn’t even know I had lost. My body held onto the pregnancy, but my heart already knew the pain of goodbye.

Still, I kept quiet. I showed up for work. I checked on others. I smiled through tears.

But inside, I was breaking.

The turning point came when I gave myself permission to write. Just for me. No filters. No pretending. That’s when I realized something: strength doesn’t mean pretending you’re okay. Real strength is allowing yourself to feel, to fall apart, and to rebuild piece by piece.

I had to unlearn the belief that silence is strength.

Now, I speak out. I create journals. I coach women through their grief. And I remind them of what I had to learn the hard way: You don’t have to carry it all alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jandjjournals.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jandj_journals/profilecard/?igsh=aW5kMnp1M3FtcGt3
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563935826476&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: Telegram: https://t.me/+eLqWGit3vzA3ZGRh

Image Credits

Hannah Aryee