November 17, 2023  12:00pm CT

Kelly Cervantes and Christie Tate
(image from www.familyactionnetwork.net) 

“Normal Broken: The Grief Companion for When It’s Time to Heal But You’re Not Sure You Want To,” a conversation between Kelly Cervantes and Christie Tate, will be held on Tuesday, November 28, beginning at 7:00pm via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, suitable for ages 12 and up. Registration is required.

None of us make it through life without experiencing loss that leaves us feeling broken. That’s what makes grief so normal. In Normal Broken: The Grief Companion for When It’s Time to Heal But You’re Not Sure You Want To, award-winning writer and speaker Kelly Cervantes isn’t trying to tell you what to do, how to feel, or the right way to heal. She’s also not flinging sunny thoughts, vibes, and prayers at you. After losing her daughter to epilepsy, she knows that grief is many things. It’s weird. It sucks. It’s all-encompassing. Something everyone will have to deal with. But never linear. Just as what we are grieving varies, so do our journeys to process it.

Normal Broken was born out of this desire to meet people where they are in their grief journeys, to lend a hand, or maybe to just sit in the dark with them. To acknowledge your brokenness and to feel broken together—never pressured to “move on” or “think positive.”

Cervantes is an advocate best known for her blog Inchstones, where she shared the stress, love, and joy that came with parenting her medically complex daughter, Adelaide. Since Adelaide’s passing, Kelly has continued to write candidly about her arduous and, at times, contradictory grief journey. She is the current board chair for the nonprofit CURE Epilepsy and hosts their biweekly podcast, Seizing Life, where she interviews scientists, doctors, and individuals affected by epilepsy. Kelly currently resides in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband, Miguel Cervantes (currently starring in Hamilton on Broadway), four children, and two dogs.

Cervantes will be in conversation with Christie Tate (FAN ’21), a Chicago-based writer and essayist, Tate is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life and the 2023 memoir B.F.F.– A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found.

The November 28 event will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel. For more information, including a list of sponsors for the event, visit the Family Action Network website.