Susan’s life as a young mother was seemingly normal. She was a mother to 3 beautiful children, Will, Seth and Lucy where she drove a woodgrain minivan to little league practices, dance classes and PTA. Until one day her life wasn’t normal at all. The earth seemed to open and swallow her whole.

Lucy was killed in a tragic accident 1 week after her 7th birthday. Lucy’s life continued through the lives of others as Susan’s family made the choice to now become an organ donor family. Following this, Susan spent time speaking to organizations and churches on the benefits of organ donation from a donor family standpoint. However, the grief remained and in fact grew.

Susan sought out numerous ways to find the happy, adventurous person she was before Lucy’s loss including group therapy, individual therapy, grief programs, and of course the least successful, the denial program.

None of which provided much relief. Unknowingly, she went back to her roots of how she was raised with an appreciation of nature and the outdoors, and she began to hike. This connection with nature seemed to provide some space for her to feel the pain that she had tried so unsuccessfully to push down for so many years. Somehow, the trail began to transform her more spiritually and she was finally able to not solely focus on the loss of her only daughter; but rather was able to marvel at the love she saw in nature.

On a particular day, of normal hiking, Susan looked down at the trail and saw a perfectly shaped heart rock. She smiled, looked up at the sky and said, “I know you’re still with me girl”. Lucy’s Heart Rocks were born at that very moment. Normal hikes became treasure hunts looking for the love that Lucy was passing onto her through nature. After 15 years of collecting hundreds and hundreds of heart rocks, Susan realized that Lucy’s Heart Rocks didn’t belong to her. They belonged to anyone who grieved.

It then became Susan’s intention to pass on Lucy’s Heart Rocks and the secret to her grief recovery by focusing on the beauty of nature and looking for the love letters that our loved ones send us in waves, clouds, rocks, and heart-shaped everything!

Today, Susan lives a simple life with her best friend and life partner, Shawn, on their sailboat, “Gone With The Wind”. Together they travel the world seeking love in the form of heart rocks on beaches, islands, and mountains all for the purpose of passing that simple form of love and hope onto others who grieve. Susan has found that happy and adventurous soul she lost so many years ago to grief and her life’s purpose is to pass on the hope that love will remain despite physical loss. She is blessed with 3 boys who have grown into kind, compassionate men who feel Lucy’s love around them daily.