Emily Threatt - Author, Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

Emily Threatt

Emily is a Grief Transformation Expert and holds a Master’s Degree in English with a Concentration in Writing. She has been teaching writing and composition on the college and university level over 30 years. During that time, she published three writing textbooks. with Prentice Hall and Pearson Education.

She participated with the Bereaved Person’s Association in Bakersfield, California, which her husband co-founded. She also assisted her husband Jacques Thiroux, a bio-ethicist, with multiple revisions of his popular text Ethics Theory and Practice published by Prentice Hall and Pearson Education. She presents Writing Through Grief workshops.

I’m so excited for you to connect with Emily, check out her work and new book, and follow along as she continues to write and teach others to write to deal with all kinds of grieving, and reclaim and cultivate joy and carry on in the face of loss.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

When I was young, I thought I would find a career and stick to it until I retired, and I also thought I would do that after I had children and raised them. My life turned out to be so much more. A few of my careers were ambulance attendant, nurse, seamstress, university writing lecturer, Quality Assurance Director, staff development director, theatrical make-up designer, costume designer, actor, director, producer, theatre and school of arts owner, art gallery and café owner, ambulance company owner, community servant, author, online teaching pioneer, and caregiver to two wonderful husbands. After all that, I realized I needed to write a book.

How did you get started?

I started writing to explore my imagination and deal with life when I was in junior high school. It’s always been a passion of mine. After my second husband to die passed, I found myself looking for my purpose in life then. I started writing to help me decide what would come next for me. Then a good friend of his who was much younger died suddenly, and I found myself writing to his widow to help guide her way. I ended up writing her every week for the year after her husband died. It that writing, I saw an outline for a book, so I got and agent, wrote the book, and found a publisher. The book, Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief, is now available.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

Those notes I wrote inspired the work I am doing now. I saw how I could take my experiences and use them to help others. When Ron first died, I started looking online to see if I could find people or groups to help me. There are many Facebook groups and other resources that deal with grief. I found most of them to be so sad with tragic stories of the loss of loved ones. I would cry as I was reading them, then realized they weren’t what I was looking for. I started looking for positive books and found Marci Shimoff’s book Happy for No Reason. I found myself smiling and breathing easier as I read the book and knew them that whatever I would do, it would be positive and based on joy.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

Choosing just one passion is a challenge. I do love to write. I wrote three university textbooks, so after my second husband died, I discovered that writing was the best way for me to deal with my grief. We had moved to Maui to spend Ron’s final time. He had lived here before and we both loved the island, so we moved and spent two beautiful years together till he died. That’s when I stared searching for the purpose of my life now, and I discovered it was helping others deal with their grief and loss. I started by teaching others how to write to deal with what they were going through. Then I wrote my book. I am loving being able to support and help people discover what serves them best in the time of loss.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

I focus on positivity. I start each day by meditating, writing in my journal, writing at least three things I am grateful for, writing three affirmations, writing about what I am manifesting, and writing what brought me joy the day before. Starting out each day this way, I can’t help but smile and share my joy. It might seem like that would take lots of time, but it doesn’t, and the time flies as I am realizing how good my life is.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

I focus on the moment. Of course, I remember the past and dream about the future, but I spend my time enjoying the present. I only do things that bring joy, comfort, and/or love. I am also passionate about integrity. Speaking only the truth is freeing and feels really good.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

My younger self would be amazed. I grew up in a very small town without much money and believed my destiny was to get married just out of high school and be a housewife forever. I was told so many times that I couldn’t learn, wasn’t bright, and didn’t try hard enough in school. When I went to college, I discovered that was all a lie. I learned so much and loved my classes. I ended up with a master’s degree and an award for the outstanding graduate student for the whole university. Nothing stopped me once I discovered my passion and power.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation? 

I have two. One is to live in the moment, and the other is that all is well.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is for my book to be a best seller so that it can bring comfort and care to people dealing with loss and grief, especially in this time of the pandemic.

To learn more and connect with Emily visit her website https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/ sign up for her weekly blog here https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/blog/ find her classes on finding joy and writing about loss at https://emily-thiroux-threatt.mykajabi.com/store and on Instagram @emily_thiroux_threatt Facebook @emily.thiroux you can find her Facebook Group Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief here and Reclaiming Your Joy After Loss here and on Twitter @ThreattEmily and for speaking information click here

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