From Her Journals to My Art: Honoring My Mom, Carolyn MacDonald

By Together at Peace | Nicole Kneedy, Guest Contributor

Honoring Her Heavenly Birthday

This year, I celebrated my mom’s heavenly birthday in a way she would have loved: surrounded by friends, art, and purpose. On September 6, I hosted a gathering of 50 people in her honor and organized a raffle benefiting the Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation. Together we raised over $10,000 to support mental health.

That day, I also unveiled my first piece of art, a mixed-media work created from her own handwritten journal entries and poems. It felt like she and I were collaborating across the veil, merging her words and my textures into something new.

Living Her Message

It hasn’t yet been a full year since her passing, but I know when January comes, I’ll mark the anniversary with writing or art, the forms of expression that connected us most. My mom always encouraged me to write. She believed in me in a way that made me believe in myself. Now I’m finally working on the book I’ve wanted to write for so long. I’m also creating more art with words and textures, and building my advocacy platforms for mental health and domestic abuse support for families and youth.

Through these projects, I feel like I’m extending her life’s mission, not just keeping her memory alive but amplifying her voice.

Signs of Her Love

Since her passing, I’ve experienced moments of peace that feel like her reaching back to me. In dreams, her journals appeared before I found them in real life. I notice repeated numbers or little signs that whisper, “I’m here.” In many ways, I feel closer to her now than I did when she was alive. She couldn’t always support me the way she wanted while she was here, but now I sense her presence guiding and cheering me on.

Closing

My mother’s life taught me that love and creativity can grow even from hardship. Her words continue to inspire my own, her faith fuels my advocacy, and her legacy of kindness is the path I’m determined to walk.

I share this story in the hope that others who are grieving might also find healing in creativity, community, and the small signs our loved ones send us. As my mother said, “Spread kindness and love.” May we all carry that forward.

If you have a story about your loved one that you’d like to share, we welcome you to submit it here. Let’s keep spreading the light that still shines.