Kate Leong on wholehearted grieving and finding hope in unexcepted places

When we create our stories each week, one of the most agonizing decisions is what to call people. How do you distill a life—in the case of our storytellers, an otherworldly life—into the three or four words of a title scroll?

Today we feature Kate Leong of the wildly popular and incredibly powerful blog “Chasing Rainbows.” Kate tells us her story of what inspired her to begin writing, and more importantly, how her endless love continues to inspire her and sustain her through her family’s tragedy.

Recently, we’ve had some courageous followers reach out to us and tell us their stories of trial and internal struggle. We so appreciate it and honor it, because that first step of vulnerability is a huge step in its own right.

It made me think of this part of our recent talk with Kate Leong of Chasing Rainbows.

I fall in love with Kate every time I’m with her. Her disarming, unassuming presence is magnetic, but underneath is a white-hot fierceness born of walking through some of the worst pain imaginable.

In this installment of our conversation, Kate lets us in on her secret to freedom. The day she stopped hiding her history with alcoholism, and wrote publicly about her struggles openly, it lost its grip on her.

Owning her truth and the wholeness of her humanity not only set her and her husband free, but strengthened her vulnerability muscles so that when her 5 ½-year-old son Gavin passed away unexpectedly just months later, there was nothing she had to hide. Through her writing, Kate models for us a new way of authentic mourning.

Because Kate has the courage to grieve publicly, with raw honesty, she’s has opened up an international dialogue about love and loss. I can think of no better tribute and legacy to her beloved son.

Follow her at kateleong.com and on Facebook at Chasing Rainbows.

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