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About Me — Danell teNyenhuis Black
Just trying to get the words out
I grew up with a love of reading. One of my favorite authors was Agatha Christie, and I also enjoyed The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe series by C.S. Lewis.
In high school, I began developing a love of writing, mainly to express my emotions. My first published piece was a short article I wrote in high school about a club I belonged to that focused on volunteer work.
During college, I focused on academic writing and love letters to my boyfriend, who attended school several hours away.
After my marriage, I quit writing and spent my time enjoying my happy life with my husband and our two daughters. Initially, I taught elementary school for four years and then spent the next twenty-two years working for a health insurance company.
In 2016, my life was forever changed when my husband Patrick went on an early morning bike ride and was hit and killed by a meth-impaired driver.
Writing became a way to process my grief, and I wrote prolifically for the first few years. I started a blog, My Life After Patrick, on Tumblr and later moved it to WordPress.
I also sought out and read books and articles on grief, particularly the ones focused on the loss of a partner. Reading the personal stories of resilience after loss gave me hope and helped me to find a path forward in my own life.
During the pandemic, I discovered Medium. Here is an introduction I posted that goes into more detail about my journey.
In late 2022, I became a licensed professional clinical Counselor (LPCC) and started a private practice.
I have continued writing essays about grief and transitioned to more articles on mental health. I have written about the mental health benefits of writing and continued to write personal essays. I also decided to write a book and wrote this story about making that decision. My book was published in early January!
