Hi! Thank visiting Sweet Speakable Sorrow. My name is Tricia, and I am my mother’s daughter.

The day my mom, Susan Catlett, died, I removed her blog, Susan’s Steps, from the internet. Don’t look for it. It’s not there. I went home and shut it down.

My mother was diagnosed with ALS in August 2011. My husband and I were in Los Angeles when she received word from her doctor, and she called us asking if we could come home. She wanted to tell us the news in person. ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), is a disease that eats away at a person’s neurological system. It essentially begins with muscle weakness or stiffness. Gradually, all voluntary muscles are affected, and individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. If you read the blogs, you will learn more—that was her hope.

Since my mom died in 2016, my dad has begged me to publish her blogs in book form. It took me six years to complete the darn thing. I realize why—I’ve been grieving. I shut her blog down because I wanted her to myself, no matter how much it helped or encouraged others. At the time, I didn’t want comments, posts, forwards, or tags. I wanted her.

Ironically, I am a grief educator by profession. I help people understand the importance of grieving, specifically through a Biblical worldview. However, grief is not tame. It will not be quiet.

But God, rich in mercy, exchanges our grief for sweet, speakable sorrow.

And so, her blogs. We’re back at this.

At the beginning of each post, I try to give some context or a memory of her. My mother grieved well—really well—and she wanted you to know what that looked like. This blog is about my mother, ALS, Jesus, and the sweet gift of lament. You will learn throughout how much my mother is glad you are here. Hang in there! She wrote 200 posts throughout her journey, and I’m here for all of them.

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Tricia Lewis is a national and international grief care educator and co-founder of the Reproductive Loss Network. She now provides grief education to individuals and groups, especially those in pregnancy help organizations. Tricia holds an M.A. in Human Services with a concentration in Trauma and Crisis, and a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychology.

Tricia is based in Nashville but loves to develop ongoing relationships with people wherever they may be. It is her joy to educate, equip, and encourage others to serve their communities in practical and compassionate ways.

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[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/patient-caregiver-education/fact-sheets/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als-fact-sheet