Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Gooden-Stewart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

When I look back at my life, helping others is all I ever wanted to do. Having a big capacity to care just comes naturally to me. The things I’ve experienced from personal experience with loss and what I encounter while healing communities can tug at anyone’s heart strings. I have walked into homes where grief was heavy on everyone’s hearts. I have touched the hearts of people who didn’t know how to reach out for help. Complete strangers have even stopped me to vent or pray for them. I always left people feeling better than they had felt before. It feels good to keep bereaved parents encouraged and to restore their hope. My life inspires them to keep moving forward in a positive direction. There is triumph after tragedy.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Being an infant loss survivor has changed life as I knew it. In the beginning, I was settled in my corporate customer service job. I had dreams and aspirations but I placed them on the back burner for motherhood. I clocked into a job I despised everyday to provide for my family. When my infant son CJ passed away in an unexpected tragic way, I ditched my job and my old life. Life was too short to settle for less than I deserved. I moved back to my hometown and created a better life for myself. To commemorate my son, I started the Baby Stewart Foundation. Our nonprofit organization helps families and individuals in need with hygiene care, baby necessities, disaster relief, car seat safety, and bereavement support. We have worked hard since 2015 to ensure the needs are met in our local community, states across the South, and countries. I became a Certified Grief Coach and Educator years later. My company Pocketful of Hope restores the hope of anyone needing grief and loss support.

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

Everything that I knew about grief before the loss of my child was wrong. I had to actually go through it to learn that grief is not a linear process. The five stages of grief isn’t something everyone will experience and that is okay. Everyone’s grief is unique to them and their feelings are validated. Giving yourself enough time to heal is necessary for your journey and no one should rush you through it.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I will always grieve the loss of my son. This experience has taught me that I cannot undo the past but I can make a better future. I’ve navigated through the good, the bad, and the ugly so I can help someone else along their journey. All roads have led me to this profession and I feel this is my calling. I would choose this profession again because it’s important that we work on the steps towards healing after loss. It’s also important that we heal so the next generation knows how to heal themselves. Grief work is needed more than ever, especially during unprecedented times.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://pocketfulofhopegriefcoaching.com
• Instagram: agoodstew87
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CoachingWithAshley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-gooden-stewart-mpa-29140554

Image Credits
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