grief
Losing a family member is one of the most traumatic life events; Families must support one another to endure the five stages of grief and get through it together.
My Sons and Survival. Content Warning.
My Sons and Survival Even after I left, it never truly felt over. At night, I could hear him outside sometimes, walking around the yard like he was searching for a way back into our lives. There were moments when I thought he might try to break inside, so I stayed alert constantly, barely sleeping and always listening for movement. After the police became involved, the stalking slowly faded, but the fear never fully disappeared.
By Rachel Foster5 months ago in Families
The Absolute Value of Grief
In June 2025, I began the drive home to Maine, returning three days before my grandmother’s funeral. Though I often wished it would go faster, the drive from Atlanta gave lots of opportunities for staring out the window and wondering how much I could've bartered with fate. What if I hadn't moved? What if I'd taken a different job? If I called upon the fates and offered to give them better yarn, nice and soft, would they have marvelled at the color so much that they forgot to snip an end to my grandmother's thread?
By Sarah Penney5 months ago in Families
The Hidden Decisions Families Face After Loss and Where Funeral Services Fit In
Losing someone close rarely arrives with emotional clarity or practical preparedness. In the first hours after a death, many people move between disbelief, sadness, confusion and responsibility. Phone calls need to be made. Family members need updates. Documents appear important without anyone fully understanding why. Decisions around memorials and funeral services often begin while grief is still settling in.
By Rochelle Martinez5 months ago in Families
Michael Jackson left behind millions and years of family turmoil
Michael Jackson's Children Still Haven't Received a Cent of His Fortune — Here's Why Nearly two decades after the King of Pop's death, the question of what happened to Michael Jackson's enormous fortune remains one of the most tangled stories in entertainment history. If you assumed his children have been quietly living off a massive inheritance, the reality is far more complicated — and far more revealing about how wealth, legacy, and family dynamics collide when a legend dies.
By Shirley Oyiadom6 months ago in Families
Why Comfort Fails and Discipline Endures
Modern culture increasingly treats comfort as a moral guide. Ease is framed as wisdom. Emotional smoothness is treated as maturity. Difficulty is often interpreted as a sign that something is wrong, unfair, or unnecessary. When a task feels heavy, when a conversation feels uncomfortable, or when effort feels draining, the instinct is often to stop and reconsider rather than persist.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
When Custody Should Be Removed
Any argument that emphasizes the importance of parental presence, structure, and authority becomes dangerous if it does not also specify its limits. Advocating strongly for fathers, shared custody, parental authority, or outcome-based custody standards without defining when custody should be revoked invites a fatal misunderstanding: that parental involvement is always good, regardless of behavior. No serious child-centered framework can allow that ambiguity to stand.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
When Greif and Faith Walked Together. Content Warning.
When Grief and Faith Walked Together It was a summer like no other, though I could not have known that at the time. How could I? Life seemed to be moving along as normally as possible. I was working in education, helping teach students, managing the everyday stresses that come with life, believing that the challenges I faced would eventually pass.
By Ronna Curtis6 months ago in Families
Poverty Is Expensive Because Stability Is Missing
Poverty Is Not Only the Absence of Money Poverty is often described as a shortage of income, but that description is too small. Low income matters, obviously. A family cannot pay bills with explanations. But poverty is not only the absence of money. It is also the absence of the conditions that allow money to stretch. Stable housing, storage space, reliable transportation, clean water, working appliances, sleep, time, tools, privacy, credit, and emergency margin all affect what a dollar can actually do. Without those things, the same dollar buys less, solves less, and disappears faster.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
Growing Up Thinking My Mom Would Always Stay the Same
As days go by, you never truly know what the future holds, especially when it comes to your parents. Growing up, my parents were always healthy, active, and independent. They were like two peas in a pod, doing everything together. From grocery shopping, going to yard sales, finding matching outfits, hosting family gatherings, and showing up to family events dressed alike, they were always side by side. Even though they would argue sometimes, they always found their way back to each other and returned to their usual routines.
By Blessing Palaita6 months ago in Families
