American Born Courageous Desi

Desis for Progress, a nonprofit committed to building a stronger South Asian community, published my article "Raising Hope" Please view link here: https://medium.com/@desisforprogress/raising-hope-9df93fbb945b

We live. We love. We lose. And somewhere in between, we learn. We learn to lose. We learn to love. We learn to live. Grieving as the child of immigrants was a unique experience in some ways. We grieve deaths from the other side of the globe, unable to say goodbye to the deceased, attend services, and perform rituals meant to help us heal collectively. Grieving a family relative we rarely saw, barely knew, but still experienced a deep sense of loss to the family unit. Immigration itself is a journey in learning to cope with loss and isolation. When leaving behind a country of origin, an immigrant grieves the loss of connection, identity, belonging, trust, safety and security. And learns to grieve, cope, and accept in their new land. Recently I have lost three women who were meaningful to my life. One woman, a friend and colleague, inspired me with her work as a dedicated child trauma therapist and her love for nature and family, I was inspired by her peacefulness. One young moth