Kimberly Hetherington

When my sister died by suicide, life changed forever. What followed was a grief so painful, so tangled with shame, I didn’t know how to face let alone talk about. Sibling loss, especially through suicide, is often overlooked and misunderstood. It doesn’t come with the same rituals or recognition as other types of grief. For a long time, I felt completely alone.

That’s why I wrote this book.

Well… if I’m being honest, I actually wrote it to complete the final requirement of the master’s level art therapy program at the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute. I dreaded writing it. The idea of revisiting that time of my life in such a structured, academic way felt unbelievably overwhelming. But somewhere in the writing process, something changed for me. It became more than a thesis.

Now, having written it, I feel like a deep layer of grief has lifted. The process of writing smoothed out the jagged edges of grief. Writing helped me find meaning, and create order out of what felt like chaos. In sharing it, I hope that someone else, particularly someone dealing with any type of disenfranchised grief, might read it and feel just a little less alone.

I chose to write an autoethnography because it offered a framework for articulating and validating experiences that are so often silenced, minimized, or misunderstood. This method of research weaves challenges stigma, opens space for dialogue, and invites more inclusive understandings of grief and trauma. In this way, autoethnography is not just a research method, it’s a form of advocacy.

Life After Elizabeth is part memoir, part academic reflection. It’s a personal exploration of sibling suicide bereavement and the slow, often non-linear path of healing that followed.

👉 Buy ‘Life After Elizabeth’ here

If the story resonates, I’d be honored if you shared it with someone who might need it. This book is especially good for art therapists, counsellors, life coaches, or someone who has gone through the suicide of a sibling.