A word from our Director, Jodi Pettingill 

Welcome. I hope you are doing the best that you can under the worst of circumstances. 

I am so happy you found us – and also just as sad that you needed to.  

Never been to a grief group before? A little nervous about walking into a room full of strangers and telling your story? Think it’s not for you because your loss was ‘only’ this or ‘only’ that? Your loss is the worst thing that has ever happened to you. And that, my friend, is the entire reason why you need us. There is no comparing of traumas. Your loss is just as valid and painful as anyone else’s, and anyone that may tell you differently – that you don’t need us, is wrong. There is no shame in admitting you need help with anything in life. I know that’s a hard thing to admit, that you need help. Trust me, I am still working on that every day.  

I will make a promise to you. If you start to come to our meetings on a regular basis, whether it be in person or virtual, we will help you get through whatever trauma it is that you are experiencing. We will help you move forward.  

If you can put your trust in me, I will walk through the fire with you. I have been where you are. And I understand what this feels like. I have walked through the fire countless times to help people just like you. I will hold your hand; I will pick you up when you fall. I will get you to the other side. Asking for your blind trust and faith is a lot, I know. But if you are here, on this website, you already know you need help. You’re at the end of your rope, and you don’t know where to turn. So next Thursday, why not stop by? Check it out. And then you’ll understand what I mean. You’ll see that you can trust me, that you can trust all of us in that first meeting. And it will feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Because maybe, just maybe, what I’m saying is true. What do you have to lose? If you don’t feel it, if you don’t ‘get it’, you haven’t lost anything, and you never have to come back. It’s that simple. 

I have been a grateful member of New Beginnings for over 4 years, and the Director of New Beginnings for four years this month. So – I am not just the Director, but I am also a griever, and I’m also a survivor. When I started as the Director, I was getting back just as much support as I was giving. It has gotten to a point now where I don’t need as much support, but knowing it is there is what gets me through. New Beginnings gave me a purpose when I had none. And it still fuels me with that purpose today.   

If you can trust me, if you can trust us – We will teach you how to do the work to get through each day. Is it a lot? Damn right it is. Is it hard? Harder than anything you have ever done. Can you do it? 100%. Of that, I have no doubt. If you have survived this far, and if you have found me, found us, you will get there. With help. You cannot do this alone. You need support. You need people who have been where you are. You need people that don’t judge, that will provide you a safe place where you can talk about whatever it is you need to talk about, 1000 times if you have to, and no one gets sick of what you have to say. No one will roll their eyes at you and say you should be ‘over this’ by now. Those people, while well intentioned, are not the ones that can help you right now. You can cry, scream, yell, talk, not talk, and sometimes – you’ll laugh.  

The pain won’t go away. I don’t have any magical potions or concoctions to help with that. All you can do is feel it. That’s the hardest part. However, the more time that passes, the better you get at dealing with it. The pain doesn’t get better, you just become better at living with it.  

I am also not a professional. Not a professional counselor, therapist, or social worker. What I am is a professional griever. I am 45 and have been through more loss than most people should ever have to go through in a lifetime. I don’t say that so you will feel pity for me, I don’t need that, though I do appreciate the sentiment. When I tell you my story, it’s not so you will feel badly for me, it’s so you can understand where I am coming from and who I am – and so that you can understand that I GET IT. I get everything you are going through. To me, for my healing, having these people at New Beginnings in my life is what helped me start to heal. Not the therapists or the counselors or the well-meaning people around me. It was this group. It was New Beginnings. They became my family, my tribe, my safe space.  

Becoming Director was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but also the most fulfilling. Because I have been able to do the work and start the healing process, it is what gives me the strength and the gratitude to be able to help others. I have worked with other volunteers in our organization to make New Beginnings into a magical place. Not a magical place that cures you, but a magical place that helps you realize that you can get through this and get to a point where you want to LIVE again. Not just exist, not just survive, but THRIVE. If you are committed to us, you will get ALL of us, 24/7, to give you whatever support you need at that moment. You will create bonds with others in the group that you didn’t even know were possible.  

Come see us in person (or online!). We’ll be waiting for you. I’ll save you a seat. I can’t wait to meet you. 

~Jodi

New Beginnings Wellesley Hills, Inc. (NBWH) is a 501(c)(3) self-help support organization for adults dealing with feelings of grief and loss.