17 Days

I made the first $17 donation.

Now I’m asking you to help us turn it into $17,000.

Elizabeth has spent 17 years surviving breast cancer.

My wife, Sonya, died from metastatic breast cancer just 17 days after her diagnosis.

Two stories connected by one number—and now, one mission:

Raise $17,000 for breast-cancer warriors through Impact One Breast Cancer Foundation.

Every dollar goes directly to Impact One Breast Cancer Foundation

$17 down.
$16,983 to go.

Who’s next?

Donate: impactone.pink/17days

Then share this post and challenge someone you know to give $17.

3.4 MILLION views. 🤯

I’m incredibly grateful to Tyler Hall and The Roller Coaster Podcast for giving me the space to share my story — and to every person who watched, commented, or shared it.

3.4M views. 196K likes. 24K shares.

Those aren’t just numbers. That’s millions of people having a conversation about grief, love, loss, and what comes next.

That’s why I started 17 Days.

If my story made you feel a little less alone, follow along. We’re just getting started.

17Days.me 💙

Some people turn their pain into purpose. 💗

This is my friend Elizabeth Cluff.

Elizabeth took her own experience with breast cancer and turned it into Impact One Breast Cancer Foundation — an organization that provides real, practical help to people going through breast cancer.

Somewhere along this crazy 17 Days journey, our paths crossed. Elizabeth and Impact One have supported what I’m building, welcomed me into their community, and trusted me to share Sonya’s story from their stage.

So today, I just want to return some of that love.

If breast cancer has touched your life — or someday touches someone you love — remember the name Impact One Breast Cancer Foundation

Give them a follow. Share what they’re doing. Support them if you can.

Elizabeth — thank you for your friendship, and for turning something awful into something that helps so many others. 💗

You don’t have to go through it alone.

Helping someone who’s grieving doesn’t have to be complicated.

Most people mean well. They just don’t know what to do — so they fall back on the things we’ve all heard a hundred times.

Sometimes a small change makes a BIG difference.

Don’t wait for them to ask for help.
Be specific. Show up. Listen.
And please — say their person’s name. ❤️

Save this for the day you need it.
Share it with someone who might.

If you’ve lost someone: what did somebody DO for you that actually helped?

I’d love to fill the comments with ideas that other people can use.

17Days.me

GRIEF & ME - National Grief Awareness Day

Apparently today is National Grief Awareness Day.

I didn’t even know we had a day.

Grief did.
He doesn’t take holidays off.

Birthdays. Anniversaries. A smell. A song. A memory. Sometimes just a random Tuesday.

Maybe today isn’t really for those of us carrying grief.

Maybe it’s for everyone else to remember that for us, grief awareness is every day.

And tomorrow… he’ll still be here. 🖤

GRIEF & ME - I fu***ng love this girl!

This one hits something I don’t talk about enough.

I loved Sonya. I still love Sonya.
And I fu***ng love Rachel.

For a long time, some part of me thought those things had to compete with each other. Like being too happy again somehow meant I was leaving something—or someone—behind.

It doesn’t.

Rachel has never asked me to erase my past to build a future with her. She loves the whole complicated package. The memories. The grief. The weird little shadow that still rides around on my shoulder.

And somehow, she’s helped me understand that moving forward isn’t the same thing as moving on.

Your heart doesn’t replace people.

It expands. ❤️

And yeah… I really fu***ng love this girl.

I’m looking for rooms where real conversations matter.

Over the last few years, I’ve had opportunities to share my story on stages, podcasts, interviews, and in publications — and I’m ready to do a lot more of it.

My wife went from seemingly healthy to being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer — and 17 days later, she was gone.

That experience changed everything.

Today, I speak about grief, caregiving, cancer, resilience, fatherhood, purpose, and what happens when life doesn’t go according to plan.

I’m not interested in giving people polished clichés about “moving on.” I talk about the parts we usually don’t say out loud — with honesty, humor, vulnerability, and hope.

I’m currently looking to connect with:
event organizers • conferences • companies • nonprofits • grief & cancer organizations • churches/community groups • podcasts • media • schools & universities

If you’re looking for a speaker, podcast guest, interview, panelist, or storyteller, I’d love to talk.

And if you know someone who books speakers or hosts conversations like these, please share this with them or tag them below. That introduction could mean more than you realize.

Booking & collaborations:
17Days.me
[email protected]

Sometimes the worst thing that ever happened to you becomes the story someone else needs to hear.