Healing Happens Here, Too

 Last Thursday, during my physical therapy session, something unexpected happened.

While my PT was pushing on my knee, the painful part of therapy, she asked what I was doing for the rest of the day. I mentioned that I was being interviewed by the local paper about my book, Caitlin’s Star.

She paused and said, “Bring it in sometime. I’d love to see it.”

So today I did.

While I was pedaling on the stationary bike for my ten-minute warmup, she sat nearby and began reading the story. As she read, she shared the book with another therapist in the clinic. That therapist had told me the week before that her boyfriend’s five-year-old niece had recently lost her mother. She believed the book might help.

Physical therapy is about rebuilding strength, regaining movement, and restoring confidence. In many ways, grief is the same. It’s not linear. Some days feel like progress. Some days feel like you want to stay in bed.

When I wrote Caitlin’s Star, I hoped it would reach families in living rooms and bedtime moments. I didn’t imagine it being read in a physical therapy clinic while I worked to bend my knee.

Loss reshapes us. So does recovery.

Both ask us to stretch beyond what feels comfortable. Both require support. Both remind us that progress is sometimes measured in unseen ways.

As I pedaled, I thought about the little girl who lost her mom. I thought about how children need language for feelings they cannot yet name. I thought about how adults need it too.

My therapist looked up and said, “This is really beautiful. I love how you can personalize it for other people and how you can keep a journal in the back for any loved one.”

The other therapist mentioned that the part of the book about the rainbow reminded her of her grandmother who passed away this fall. “She’s always sending me rainbows,” she said.

That’s the point of the story.

It isn’t just about one grandmother.
It’s about seeing your person in the pages.
It’s about remembering.

It’s about the subtle ways love still shows up — in a nail salon, a physical therapy room, a group session, or wherever it’s needed most.