Grief has a way of making the world feel smaller—especially when the support you need isn’t easy to find. But sometimes, one connection is all it takes to start finding your way back.
In this edition of Stories from the Circle, meet Joy—after surviving a mini-stroke and losing her mother, searched her small town for grief support and came up empty. Through Wider Circle, she found the community she needed—and a facilitator who helped her rediscover her confidence, and her smile.
Today, Joy is a steady presence for other Wider Circle members navigating loss.
Joy
Finding Her Smile Again: Joy’s Story of Grief, Grit, and Community
After a stroke, the loss of her mother, and years of isolation, Joy found her smile—and her voice—through her Wider Circle community.
After Joy’s mother passed away, Joy navigated the loss largely alone. Still living with the aftereffects of a stroke that had affected her speech and memory, she searched Flagstaff for an in-person grief group, only to come up empty.
That changed when she discovered Wider Circle through a virtual call about grief support. Shy at first, she started taking one-on-one calls with her facilitator, Jayson, and slowly, the weight she’d been carrying began to lift. “Wider Circle actually helped me with my grief,” Joy shared.
Joy also started joining Wider Circle’s virtual events where members from different cities and states come together to share information, experiences, and advice on everything from benefits to health. For Joy, they became a steady source of learning.
“I know that with these town halls with Wider Circle, they help you get information from other members in different cities and states,” Joy said. She found that the calls gave her access to knowledge that, in her words, a lot of people simply didn’t know they had.
Through that growing connection, and with Jayson’s guidance, Joy discovered a $1,000 dental benefit she didn’t know she had, allowing her to see out-of-network dentists and get much-needed second opinions. Because of this, she finally received the dental care she had been putting off for far too long.
The change was visible. Joy had been afraid to smile. Now, she could laugh freely. Joy says that without Wider Circle “I wouldn’t have gotten all that dental work done,” she said.
With her smile back and her grief easing, Joy’s confidence grew. She helped organize the biggest Wider Circle event her area had ever seen.
Today, Joy is a calming presence in meetings—the steady voice other members lean on. She supports fellow members through the Tuesday grief program, drawing on her own journey to meet others where they are. When members struggle to access healthcare, she refers them to her own primary care doctor. Her journey even inspired another member to step into the role and help build the community alongside her.
“If it wasn’t for Wider Circle, I wouldn’t have gained the confidence,” Joy said. “Wider Circle is the reason I got informed about my benefits and health.“
From shy and grieving to leading and lifting others, Joy didn’t just receive her community’s support—she became part of it. Her story is a reminder that the right connection, made at the right moment, can change everything that follows.
Thank you, Joy, for sharing your journey and reminding us of the strength found in courage and community. And thank you to our sponsors for helping make stories like Joy’s possible every day
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About the author: Jamie Zale
Wider Circle
