pet loss
You Never Left: Reflections on Pet Loss, the Afterlife, and Continuing Bonds
Some questions about pet loss don't have answers—only the mysterious, comforting ways our animals seem to stay with us after they're gone.
Michele Whitney
BIPOC Mental Health
Honoring Our Strength: Reflections on Black Mental Health, Resilience, and Help-Seeking
For many Black Americans, strength has been more than a personal characteristic—it has been a means of survival. This reflection honors that resilience while exploring mental health, help-seeking, and what strength can look like today.
human-animal bond
I Didn't Set Out to Become an Animal Chaplain
An unexpected email during my dissertation journey introduced me to two words I couldn't forget: animal chaplain. I never imagined where they would lead. This is the story of a dissertation, one very good cat, and an unexpected calling.
human-animal bond
Anthropomorphism: Grief, Culture, and Meaning—Part 3
Grief is often described as universal—but the way we experience it is not. In this final post of the anthropomorphism series, I reflect on how anthropomorphism, family, and culture shape the meaning of the human–animal bond—and what is lost when that bond is broken.
human-animal bond
Anthropomorphism: Seeing Personality, Finding Ourselves — Part 2
Personality is a word we use often when describing the animals we love—but what do we really mean when we say it? In this post, I explore how personality, projection, and connection shape the human–animal bond—and the questions that emerge when we begin to look more closely.
human-animal bond
Anthropomorphism: The Word That Gave My Experience a Name — Part 1
Anthropomorphism is a big word—but what it represents is something deeply human. In this first post of a series, I reflect on how attributing human qualities to animals shapes connection, meaning, and the human–animal bond in ways we don’t always stop to think about.
Black History Month
Dehumanization Rebranded as Humor—Race, Animals, and the Refusal to Let Dehumanization Have the Last Word
Dehumanization only functions if we accept its premise. When that worldview is exposed, the insult loses the authority it claims.
grief
When Everything Feels “Griefy”: Living in an Era of Cumulative Grief
Lately, everything feels “griefy.” Not one loss, but many. This reflection explores cumulative grief, cultural context, and what it means to live in a world that keeps asking us to carry more than we were designed to hold.
reflection
The Covenant of Authenticity: A Year-End Reflection
Authenticity became a quiet covenant I made with myself this year. This reflection explores grief, writing, and what it meant to choose alignment instead of silence.
grief
Part 4—Beyond the Stages: Holding Grief and Life at the Same Time
Grief does not move in straight lines. In this final part of Beyond the Stages, I reflect on the framework that helped me hold loss and life at the same time, and why a squiggly line became the most honest way to understand grief.
grief
Part 3: Beyond the Stages—Searching for a Framework That Could Hold Real Grief
Grief is universal, but the way we experience it is not. In Part 3 of this series, I reflect on the major grief theories I explored and why they could not fully capture the emotional and cultural complexity at the heart of my research.
grief
Part 2 — Beyond the Stages: When Theory Meets Experience
Grief does not unfold the same way for everyone, and neither does research. In this post, I explore how choosing the right theoretical framework became a deeply personal part of my dissertation journey.