Melissa Hull is the author of the new book Dear Drew: Creating a Life Bigger Than Grief. Hull lost her 4-year-old son, Drew, in a drowning accident in 2000. Hull is a coach, artist, and healthcare CEO.
Q: First of all, I'm very sorry about the loss of your son...
Why did you decide to write Dear Drew?
A: The decision to write Dear Drew really began with a letter I once received from a woman named Teresa. It was raw and honest and full of truth — the kind that pierces through the noise and lands right in your soul. She wrote about her own grief, but in doing so, she somehow articulated mine.
That letter made me feel seen in a way I hadn’t been before. It gave me language for something I didn’t know how to express, and in that moment, I realized how powerful it is to be understood in your pain.
That was the turning point for me. It’s what made me want to heal — not just survive my loss, but actually live again.
Dear Drew was born from that same impulse. It’s my letter back to the world, written with the hope that someone else might read it and feel what I once felt when I opened Teresa’s — seen, heard, understood, and reminded that healing is possible.
It’s an offering of encouragement and companionship for anyone finding their way through grief, because I know what it means to need that kind of letter.
Q: The author Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino said of the book, “This book is an invitation to heal, to rediscover joy, and to create a life that honors both our loss and our limitless potential.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love that description because it captures the soul of Dear Drew. This book isn’t about grief as an ending — it’s about life as an expansion. When we lose someone we love, we don’t stop living; we start living differently. Healing isn’t about closing the door on the past, it’s about opening a wider one to what’s still possible.
That’s what Elizabeth so beautifully named: the invitation. I believe every loss holds the potential for rediscovery — for remembering that love doesn’t end, it evolves.
Q: Can you say more about what the book expresses about grief?
A: I think Dear Drew reminds us that grief isn’t something that happens because love is gone — it’s love calling us back to itself. It’s love asking to be acknowledged, even when the form has changed. The pain we feel comes from believing we’re separate from that love, but we’re not. The connection never ends; it just takes on a new shape.
For me, grief has always been an invitation — to remember, to reconnect, and to stay present to the love that still exists. It’s not a punishment, and it’s not proof of something missing. It’s proof that something sacred remains.
And when we learn to meet grief in that way — with openness instead of resistance — it becomes a bridge, not a barrier, between what was and what still is.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Writing Dear Drew invited me to reflect — to revisit the hardest moments, but also to stand back and truly see how far I’ve come. There were emotional days, yes, but what struck me most was how quickly gratitude followed.
That’s been one of the greatest outcomes of this healing journey — recognizing how naturally grace arrives when we’ve practiced meeting life with an open heart.
More than anything, writing the book reminded me that I did make something beautiful out of something painful. That realization means everything to me. It’s what I hope readers discover too — that they are powerful creators. It’s not what we’ve been through that defines us; it’s what we choose to create from it.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now, I’m focused on expanding the Greater Than Grief movement. It’s a coaching and community platform built to help people transform pain into purpose and reclaim joy after loss.
I’m also developing the Drew Gallemore Water Watchers Safety Initiative — a water-safety program in honor of my son that connects families with certified lifeguards for private events and educates communities on prevention.
Both projects are deeply personal extensions of Dear Drew — because healing, for me, has always meant giving back what I’ve learned.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Only that Dear Drew isn’t a story about tragedy — it’s a story about love. About what remains. About how we can still create a life that’s bigger than what broke us.
My son’s life continues to shape mine in every way, and through this book, I hope readers feel the same invitation I felt: to live fully, love deeply, and trust that joy is not the opposite of grief — it’s the evolution of it.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment