Michele Neff Hernandez

Michele Neff Hernandez is the founder and executive director of the Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation. SSLF is a non-profit organization committed to providing resources and support to people grieving the loss of a loved one. In addition to her work with the foundation, Michele inspires people as a motivational speaker and freelance writer. Through speaking to service groups, faith communities, Universities and hosting community seminars she has shared her thoughts on loss and hope with a variety of audiences. She is the creator of the Widow Match program. Since the death of her husband in 2005, she has made reaching out to other widows her personal mission. Ms. Hernandez’s various projects have been featured in the Ventura County Star, the Simi Valley Acorn, and the Riverside County Record. She is a contributing author to several websites and is chronicling the interviews she has done with widows across the country in a book called, The Healing Power of the Widow’s Bond. Currently, she is planning a national widowhood conference scheduled for the summer of 2009. Ms. Hernandez is a resident of Simi Valley, California where she lives and laughs with her three amazing children. An avid runner and outdoor enthusiast, she actively encourages others to embrace the life we are given.

Articles:

How Should You Help a Grieving Widow?

By Michele Neff Hernandez — Grief is a thief; it steals the breath of life and leaves devastation in its wake. What happens when grief robs a woman of not […]

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Mother’s Power Limited in the Face of Death

By Michele Neff Hernandez — Motherhood brings out the lioness in me. No task is too small or sacrifice too great to ensure the well being of my three children. […]

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Young Widow Overcomes Her Death Wish

By Michele Neff Hernandez — It is an odd and frightening sensation to wish you were dead.  After my husband died, I fervently wished I could die, too. The first […]

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Wearing Husband’s Clothes Keeps His Memory Close

By Michele Neff Hernandez For the first few weeks after Phil’s death, anything that had touched his body was sacred. His shoes were sitting where he last left them, his […]

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Husband’s Soul Lives on in His Shoes

by Michele Neff Hernandez — My husband had a shoe fetish.  Phillip owned shoes for all occasions and athletic events-some were kept only for their sentimental value.  To him, each […]

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Affectionately Remembering a Valentine’s Day ‘Scrooge’

By Michele Neff Hernandez — My husband used to call Valentine’s Day “So What Day.’” Romantic, huh? He thought that greeting cards were a waste of trees, that buying flowers […]

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From Sad to Silly: Christmas Memories Salve Widow’s Pain

By Michele Neff Hernandez — There is a song on the radio at this time of year, sung by the Carpenters, called “Merry Christmas, Darling.”  The first Christmas after my […]

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