12: Justine Froelker Continues Ever Upward

Justine Brooks Froelker is a Licensed
Professional Counselor, who has a private practice in St. Louis,
Missouri.  She is the author of the book and blog, Ever
Upward.  She is an advocate for breaking the shamed silence
surrounding infertility, loss, and recovery.  Justine writes
for St. Louis Health and Wellness and Huffington Post and makes
regular TV appearances on the midday show, Great Day St.
Louis.  She went through costly infertility treatments and
now lives “child-free,” but not by choice. 


In this episode, you will learn the following:


How Justine reacts to the ever-present question, “Well, why
don’t you just adopt?”

How to apply the grieving process to loss that isn’t commonly
acknowledged or understood.

How Justine recommends navigating through a journey like
hers.

How relationships can become “casualties” of the journey and
what true empathy is.

Why people don’t know how to respond to infertility that
doesn’t end with a happy, bouncing baby.

Two “Motherhood Myths” that are prevalent in today’s society,
and how to respond to them.

How unexpected “mothering roles” can bring fulfillment to the
nurturing desire, even to the point of raising
butterflies-----yes, butterflies!

How a “child-free” life can bring a deep sense of meaning and
purpose so that you can choose your legacy and impact the lives
of others.

What Justine refers to as the “complicated gray” of life,
where nothing is all-black or all-white.

How Justine advises other women who live their lives without
children of their own.  “YOU are the only one who
knows what is right for your family.”


Find Justine on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and
at her blog,
www.everupward.org.