About
My name is Jan McDaniel. I speak grief. I also speak peace and healing. I started A Way for Hope blog and website to house projects I create that might help others who are grieving. The blog has expanded to include guest posts by my dear friends and fellow survivors who wanted to speak hope for others, too. We understand how difficult losing someone you love is, especially in such a traumatic way. We know how much it means to hear from others further along on this journey and how it is possible to live a life of happiness and joy even while still remembering and honoring those we love.
About me:
After I finished college, my beloved husband and I raised our children on a peaceful little farm in Georgia, where I wrote for print and later digital media. After his death, I searched for support and found connecting with others who understood my loss made all the difference. Attending and facilitating Survivors of Suicide loss (SOS) support groups, connecting with the Alliance of Hope for Survivors of Suicide Loss online, where I am a forum moderator and content provider, have enabled me to survive and build anew.
Though I have been writing since I was six years old, I didn't think i would ever write again after losing my husband. He was so much a part of my work, but this has become the way I honor the life and love we shared. I never expected my personal grief journey to lead to writing about suicide for people all over the world, but that is exactly what happened. The greatest tragedy of my life became a hope-filled mission to help others through the devastation that follows this kind of significant and traumatic loss. My husband was a kind and gentle man. He was always helping people. I think he would like that.
Author bio:
I am a contributor to Psych Central's World of Psychology blog and the Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors blog. My published work includes articles and columns for newspapers, magazines and online media, radio spots, curriculum materials, resource kits, author interviews, book and website reviews, and fiction as well as books and other materials about surviving traumatic loss.
Author page at the Alliance of Hope for suicide loss survivors: https://allianceofhope.org/author/jan-mcdaniel/
Writing Awards and Honors
*2020 Rockvale Writers' Colony first Flash Fiction Contest - "Power of Words," College Grove, Tennessee, winner
*2017 The Fountain Magazine Essay Contest, Clifton, New Jersey, Honorable Mention for "Love and Suicide"
*2004 William Faulkner Short Fiction Award (First Place)
*2004 Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Awards, nine nominations
*2004 Bread Loaf Writers Conference scholarship competition, among top finalists
*2003 Southern Women Writers Conference, Berry College, Rome, Georgia, featured speaker
*2003 Creative Writing Author of the Year, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, Carrollton, Georgia
*2003 Georgia Author of the Year Award winner, short stories category, for my collection titled By Train At Night (2002 Henri Butler Press)
*2003 William Faulkner Awards for Short Fiction (Second Place)
*2002 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Competition, among top finalists
*1998 Savannah Literary Journal, "Hitchie-Goomie," nominated for The Pushcart Prize
How Way for Hope Came to Be
About me:
After I finished college, my beloved husband and I raised our children on a peaceful little farm in Georgia, where I wrote for print and later digital media. After his death, I searched for support and found connecting with others who understood my loss made all the difference. Attending and facilitating Survivors of Suicide loss (SOS) support groups, connecting with the Alliance of Hope for Survivors of Suicide Loss online, where I am a forum moderator and content provider, have enabled me to survive and build anew.
Though I have been writing since I was six years old, I didn't think i would ever write again after losing my husband. He was so much a part of my work, but this has become the way I honor the life and love we shared. I never expected my personal grief journey to lead to writing about suicide for people all over the world, but that is exactly what happened. The greatest tragedy of my life became a hope-filled mission to help others through the devastation that follows this kind of significant and traumatic loss. My husband was a kind and gentle man. He was always helping people. I think he would like that.
Author bio:
I am a contributor to Psych Central's World of Psychology blog and the Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors blog. My published work includes articles and columns for newspapers, magazines and online media, radio spots, curriculum materials, resource kits, author interviews, book and website reviews, and fiction as well as books and other materials about surviving traumatic loss.
Author page at the Alliance of Hope for suicide loss survivors: https://allianceofhope.org/author/jan-mcdaniel/
Writing Awards and Honors
*2020 Rockvale Writers' Colony first Flash Fiction Contest - "Power of Words," College Grove, Tennessee, winner
*2017 The Fountain Magazine Essay Contest, Clifton, New Jersey, Honorable Mention for "Love and Suicide"
*2004 William Faulkner Short Fiction Award (First Place)
*2004 Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Awards, nine nominations
*2004 Bread Loaf Writers Conference scholarship competition, among top finalists
*2003 Southern Women Writers Conference, Berry College, Rome, Georgia, featured speaker
*2003 Creative Writing Author of the Year, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, Carrollton, Georgia
*2003 Georgia Author of the Year Award winner, short stories category, for my collection titled By Train At Night (2002 Henri Butler Press)
*2003 William Faulkner Awards for Short Fiction (Second Place)
*2002 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Competition, among top finalists
*1998 Savannah Literary Journal, "Hitchie-Goomie," nominated for The Pushcart Prize
How Way for Hope Came to Be
