Welcome, welcome. I'm glad you're here. Pleasure to meet you.
I'm Lenore. Dr. Matthew in formal settings. To family and friends, just Len.
I'm a researcher and practitioner from the field of social work. I work on the fringes, using data and evidence to explore human well-being and the interventions proven to make it better. While I've always been an empath, I'm data-driven by profession and need evidence in order to believe that something exists.
In 2020, my world changed forever. I lost my husband, the love of my life, to unexpected suicide. There were no warning signs, no indications that he was suffering. He was 34 years old.
Since losing my husband (to me, "my B"), I've muddled my way forward in grief and the trauma, doing my best (whatever that meant on a given day) to understand young widowhood and suicide loss.
I dove into the empirical literature and consulted other professionals in mental health fields. I worked to learn all I could about suicide, mental health conditions, and the root causes.
I wanted—I needed—to understand my B, as well as myself. Why did he take his life? And how was I ever going to survive without him?
At the same time that I plowed through data, studies, and statistics, something else was going on: I began receiving incredible messages from my husband in the afterlife, and eventually, from others who had passed on.
My world has been turned upside down. Not only was I thrust into the deepest sorrow and most painful loss I've ever known, I began receiving messages, signs, and insights from a dimension that I never understood, nor ever had a reason to believe existed. I spent the better part of early grief skeptical and in denial (I'm a social scientist, after all!), and at many points, I asked myself and loved ones, "am I going nuts?!" But deep down, I knew these experiences were very real and I trusted them—sometimes even more than the statistical models I run.
At the same time that I plowed through data, studies, and statistics [to understand my husband's suicide], something else was going on: I began receiving incredible messages from my husband in the afterlife, and eventually, from others who had passed on.
I'm still a researcher; I document it all. Every time I receive a message or sign from Spirit, I catalogue every detail. And as I've gotten curious about, and open to, my experiences, I've noticed great shifts in my own life. I've begun to connect with my own soul and intuition, as well as my purpose in life—a large part of why I'm here.
Everything I thought I knew and understood about life, death, and love has been called into question. It's been a wild ride; healing, confusing, terrifying, and exciting all at once. And the journey is just beginning.
Join me here as I share my journey of exploring the Alchemy of Science and Spirit.
Together, we'll look at how Science and Spirit work together to heal and help us understand mental health, trauma, grief, loss, and human well-being. We'll also consider the ways in which Science and Spirit butt heads, and how, with an open mind, they can call all that we know into question.
I'll share empirical evidence about grief, loss, and mental health, including suicide, trauma, and their antecedents; and will dive into the scientific resources I've found helpful in understanding and healing them. At the same time, I'll also discuss my experiences with this new world of Spirit, and how it knocked on my door in the wake of my husband's loss.
Share your thoughts; share stories of your own experiences. (Do so by logging in to the website and dropping a comment!)
This is a journey we're taking together, and there is so much to learn.
Lenore Matthew, Ph.D., MSW
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Take a look at some of my other blog posts and published articles.