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About
Nathaniel's Story
This is Nathaniel's Story
On September 7th, 2022, Nathaniel Brewer passed away at 14 years old from complications of surgery.
His death was devastating, leaving his mother and family struggling to cope with loss, it changed the entire landscape of our family. The continued struggle to find some meaning, some way of coping, was made more difficult by the lack of resources available outside of standard grief groups. Although these groups are very helpful, the search remained for connection and need for alternate ways to cope.
The idea of a place in a rural setting surrounded by animals, being with those that understood the struggle, and having support and activities was the vision that led to the creation of Nathaniel’s House as a grief support center.
Our Why
From Nathaniel’s Mom, Meg
"There are no words to truly describe how difficult losing Nathaniel has been. In the quiet aftermath, I found myself constantly walking down to the barn, it became a place of peace amidst the chaos of grief. I remember thinking so many times, “how does someone survive something like this if they don’t have a barn to escape to?”
Therapy, while helpful in some ways was often a struggle. Just getting through the day was hard enough and sitting with the memories of that night-the pain, the confusion, felt unbearable. What I came to realize was that the moments I felt most at ease were when I was doing something that completely took my focus, something new, something that gave my mind a break from the endless loop of grief.
One day driving up the driveway after another difficult therapy session I had a thought, what if therapy happened in a place like this. A place with horses, animals, and nature is something inviting and healing in a different way. Surely, I couldn’t be the only one who felt that pull.
So, I’ve decided to turn the barn into something I am calling Nathaniel’s House - A Grief Support Center ".
From Nathaniel’s Aunt, Beth
"I am not sure when the idea came to my sister, but as soon as she said it, it resonated. And I latched on. This will give her purpose, bring some meaning, somehow help, and help us all out of this nightmare.
The more she talked, the more we talked, the more we thought about our journey, what had happened, what hurt and what helped, the vision and the purpose became clearer.
A place to go, to be able to share or to be quiet, to have something to do that was different. This could be an escape, a rest, a place to be with other people that shared a similar burden.
The world outside keeps going. It may pause for a time, but it focuses on moving forward and returning to a "new normal" (I hate that phrase).
As I looked at my own journey I thought, wouldn’t it be great to have a place to go where the pressure is off? There’s time to pause, time to connect with animals, with people, and with nature.
For me, Nathaniel's House would be a place to go to spend some time where the pressure is off, you can lose yourself in the work of the farm, spending time with a cat, walking the grounds, and talking with others. It would be a place to take a breath, to remember, to find hope, to find rest and begin to heal".
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