This morning was one of those days. It was one of those days when I woke up and I wasn’t a widow. I woke up…
Over the past two months I have gone back through every single one of the 1,400+ posts here on my blog, as part of the…
Today would have been my 15th wedding anniversary. And in this very strange time of social distancing and self-isolation, I find myself missing Paul even…
Today marks 11 years since my beloved husband, Paul, passed away so unexpectedly. His death has impacted my life more than I ever could have…
It has been 10 years since JustFrances.com entered the blogosphere, so I thought it was time for a reflective post to mark the milestone. After all, the average…
On my way to the Death Café a couple of weeks ago, I wandered through a couple of old kirkyards at the base of the Edinburgh Castle.…
I attended my first “Death Café” last weekend. I had heard about these events in the past but had never had the time to attend,…
It has been a long time coming, but I am finally a doctor. Oh yes, I am now officially Dr Frances Ryan. The PhD kind…
Regular readers will know that my PhD Dreams have been an important part of my life for a few years now. And excitedly, my PhD Dreams will…
It has been 14 years since I became Mrs Ryan, although most of that time has been spent as a widow rather than a wife. Yet…
On my way home from visiting my late husband’s grave, I stopped off in Berwick-Upon-Tweed for some adventuring. I thought that it would be a good way to…
Today marks ten years of widowhood; ten years since my darling husband died so unexpectedly in the middle of the night. These past ten years have…
Today is Thursday, 21 February. I was born on Thursday, 21 February. And on this very Thursday, 21 February, I am 21 in Scrabble tiles.…
Today’s post* is brought to you by a writing prompt. The prompt is to “write a list of your favourite holiday activities”. I wanted to…
I am a widow. I was widowed when I was a young woman of 35 and my life has never been the same since. In the…
When we think about the grieving that happens after the death of a loved one, we often think about the suffering those left behind are…
Yesterday was (would have been?) my 12th wedding anniversary. And much like last year, I spent the day distracting myself with my PhD before taking some time to…
Today marks eight years since his heart stopped beating. And in that very same moment, my own heart shattered into a million pieces. Remarkably, my shattered heart…
Note: This is one of a series of Zadar posts with photos. The other two are: Zadar: A Catholic girl’s paradise and Zadar: Everyday life for an everyday…
I received my new American passport yesterday. But despite this being my third passport, it will also mark several passport firsts in my life. But…