Juliann Ashcraft and her husband Andrew were twenty-somethings with four young children when he died in the line of duty in Prescott, Arizona on June 30, 2013. In fact, he was one of 19 wildland firefighters who died in the line of duty that day, with just one member of the crew surviving. Overwhelmed with gratitude for the strangers who sent letters and cards and offered support, Ashcraft converted a 40-foot Greyhound bus into a home on wheels and hit the road with her kids on a gratitude tour that would take them across the United States. Juliann wrote about the tour on a blog, and in this episode she talks about how she’s always used her writing to process her thoughts and feelings. She also describes how she recently added the word “gift” to her personal definition of the word “grief”—for without her experience of losing Andrew, she would not be who she is today.
2 Responses
Thank you, Juliann. It was an honor to read your story. Stay well.
Juliann,
I listened to your podcast today and cried. This is the ten year anniversary of the death of my daughter Anne in a fire in Idaho, and your podcast brought back so many memories of heartache and the support people gave me and the support I continue to receive from the NFFF and the WFF. Thank you for sharing.