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Welcome to Carlita's Way
Writing That Holds Work and Life Together
A Note from Carlita
Dear Reader,
In work and in life, I often notice the same questions and emotional patterns surfacing across different moments and conversations. Writing has been one of the ways I sit with those questions thoughtfully and with curiosity, allowing reflection, meaning-making, and emotional truth to stay present long enough to be understood. The writing moves between my work as a therapist and my own lived experience.
In sharing these reflections, my hope is that this space feels like a companion as you navigate change, offering room to notice, reflect, and better understand your own inner landscape.
Thank you for being here and finding your way through Carlita's Way.
Love and Light,
Carlita
Losing a Job Without Losing Yourself
In recent years, large numbers of workers across the U.S. have experienced job loss through no fault of their own, a reality that has reshaped how many people think about work, stability, and identity. When someone loses a job through no real fault of their own, the loss can be devastating financially, but it often reaches much deeper than money. Being let go from something you invested your time, effort, and energy into can unsettle your sense of self, because for many peopl
4 days ago2 min read
What the New Year Might Ask of Us
As the year has been winding down, a lot of the conversations I’ve been having in session have naturally turned toward reflection—looking back at what this year held, what it took, and what it asked people to survive. And for many, 2025 hasn’t been a light year. There has been real grief, layered loss, political disillusionment, and a kind of quiet exhaustion that doesn’t always show up shapes how people are entering the new year. Even when growth or progress can be named, it
Dec 28, 20254 min read
The Unspoken Grief of Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Last month, during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I found myself reflecting on the quieter kinds of grief that linger beneath the surface, without words or witness. It led me back to a memory I don’t often touch, one that’s nearly thirty years old now but still alive somewhere inside me.
Nov 7, 20254 min read
When Grief Meets Gratitude: What Malcolm-Jamal Warner Taught Me About Legacy and Becoming
This isn’t the first time I’ve grieved for someone I never met. Michael. Kobe. Chadwick. And now, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. If anything, this grief remind me of how connection isn’t limited to proximity. Sometimes it’s born out of representation, resonance, and shared spirit. A person doesn’t have to sit across from you at dinner to shape your life. Sometimes, they show up in living rooms, through TV screens, and somehow become family. That’s what Malcolm was for me.
Jul 24, 20254 min read
When Grief Meets Gratitude: How to Manage the Ache of Absence in Life, Loss and Love
I didn’t expect a quiet breakfast to open such a delicate door. The dining area was mostly empty, the kind of space where strangers nod politely and move on — but instead, I found myself in slow, honest conversation with a man who was grieving.
Jul 10, 20255 min read
When Grief Meets Gratitude: How Shared History Brings Connection
Sometimes grief surprises us — not only in how it breaks us open, but in how it draws us close. It can bring a tenderness to moments we might have otherwise overlooked, wrapping even the smallest interactions in a sense of meaning.
Jul 8, 20255 min read
When Grief Meets Gratitude: Navigating Shifts in Generational Patterns and Conflicts
Nothing challenges the fragile balance within a family quite like loss. When someone passes away, emotions can spill over, and even simple conversations can feel loaded with history.
Jul 3, 20256 min read
What We’ll Carry Forward: A Sibling Reflection on Love, Laughter, and Legacy of Daryl Richardson
Some people leave behind a soundtrack. Daryl left behind a symphony — woven from laughter, love, and every life he touched. In the days since my cousin Daryl passed, our family has sat with countless memories — some tender, some hilarious, all part of the man we loved so deeply. In the first days of grieving, I wrote a personal reflection to hold my own sorrow. But something gently nudged me to see that Daryl’s story was bigger than my memories alone. I wanted to create space
Jun 30, 20257 min read
What We'll Carry Forward: A Tribute to the Music, Mentorship, and Memory of Daryl Richardson
Grief has a way of opening our hearts to things we didn’t know we needed to say. After my cousin Daryl passed last week, I found myself sitting with the weight of that loss and began writing as a way to process my grief. But as I listened—to the stories people shared, the way they spoke his name, the emotion behind their words—I realized my experience was just one thread in something much larger. There was a wider chorus of voices—students, colleagues, families—each holding t
Jun 22, 20258 min read
What I’ll Carry Forward: A Personal Reflection on Grief
Sometimes grief shows up without warning. It doesn’t knock first. It doesn’t ask whether you’re ready. It just arrives—quietly, or suddenly—and sits beside you like it’s been there all along. As a therapist, I spend a lot of time sitting with other people’s grief. I know how layered it can be—how it loops back on itself, how it shows up quietly and then all at once. It shows up differently for everyone. But when my cousin Daryl passed a few days ago, I was reminded—personally
Jun 17, 20254 min read
The Quiet Work of Letting Go: The Guilt We Carry for Not Leaving Sooner
Sometimes the hardest part of letting go isn’t the heartbreak—it’s what happens when the dust begins to settle. When the sadness softens just enough to let the questions creep in. Questions like, “Why did I stay so long?” or “How could I not see it?” That kind of guilt has a weight to it. It doesn’t shout. It simmers. It settles into quiet corners of your mind and waits until you’re tired or tender to show up with a list of what you “should’ve” done. I’ve sat with women who’
Jun 6, 20255 min read
Living with Grief: When Grief Becomes a Companion
Grief doesn’t arrive with instructions. It doesn’t knock politely or give you time to brace yourself. It shows up uninvited—sometimes quietly in the middle of the night, other times with the force of a storm that you never saw coming. And when it comes, it doesn’t just affect your heart—it rearranges your entire life. I’ve been there. I’ve watched people I love disappear from this earth, one by one, leaving behind echoes of their laughter, their pain, their history. I’ve held
May 24, 20256 min read
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