The Other Side of Yet: Finding Light in the Midst of Darkness

In 2017, facing an impending divorce, Hord’s husband murdered their seven-year-old daughter Gabrielle. Thoroughly devastated by the event, Hord relied on friendship, faith, and her own determination to endure the loss, and in subsequent years has turned her sorrow into action by writing and speaking about losing her child, by establishing Gabrielle’s Wings (a nonprofit dedicated to helping children of color), and now by composing this meditation on navigating the grief and trauma that follow tragedy. The author combines her story and memories of Gabrielle with guidance on how to live with emotional pain without allowing it to overwhelm one. She repeatedly stresses her belief in of the power of “yet,” which for Hord means that though humans may suffer horrific losses, one can survive, celebrate those who were lost, and find purpose and joy in the world. Throughout the memoir, she meditates on what it means to continue living in the wake of grief.