Life doesn’t always come with a map.
Care, grief support, and tending to mental health can guide us forward.
Life doesn’t always come with a map.
About the author
Gibbons Insights is shaped by the lived experience of Terrie Gibbons.
After losing my husband in 2022, just two weeks after we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary, this space grew out of the long, quiet work of learning who I was after profound loss.
Not long after losing my husband, I also lost my brother, followed by other beloved family members in the years that followed. Those layered losses, alongside years of caregiving, deeply shaped my understanding of grief, resilience, and the way life can change in ways we never expected.
Before and through those seasons, I balanced family life and a full-time career, learning firsthand that resilience is often built not in dramatic moments, but in faithful presence, showing up day after day in the midst of uncertainty.
In recent years, I also walked alongside both my mother and stepfather through their final season of life, an experience that deepened my understanding of anticipatory grief, caregiving exhaustion, and the complicated emotions that often follow saying goodbye.
Professionally, I have spent more than four decades in business, leadership, analytics, and technology, and have also returned to school later in life to pursue graduate studies in psychology to better understand the emotional and human side of loss, healing, and personal growth.
I share my story here in the hope that it offers understanding, steadiness, and encouragement to others navigating grief, caregiving, identity shifts, and life’s unexpected transitions.
Through the blog and forthcoming resources, Gibbons Insights is meant to be a place to pause, reflect, and gather strength, offering thoughtful perspectives shaped by experience, compassion, and the belief that even in life’s hardest seasons, we are not walking alone.
While this space may offer comfort, reflection, and support, it is not intended to replace therapeutic counseling, mental health care, or professional medical advice.
The photo above is the first one I have of us, taken in 1986, at the beginning of a life that would become full, meaningful, and deeply shared.
Support for caregivers
Even before the strokes, my husband and I raised two boys together, sharing the demands and rhythms of family life. When he had his first stroke in 2018—followed by two more in the years that followed—the kind of strength required changed entirely.
This was not the familiar exhaustion of parenting. It was the experience of watching a strong, capable partner endure increasing pain and loss, each stroke taking more from him, while I learned to adapt, advocate, and endure all while working a full-time job outside the home.
Caregiving can lead to deep emotional exhaustion. The resources at Gibbons Insights are designed to support caregivers in protecting their mental health as they navigate the long, often unseen work of care.