Mattie found herself a widow at the age of 28. Despite her immense heartache, she found the strength to help others who also experienced loss.
Not long after Ben died, Mattie and her friend Brooke Tometich founded the organization NaSHEville. The organization helps multiple groups of people, including widows like Mattie.
Now, three years after Ben passed away, Mattie is continuing to speak about his death and her grief in the hopes it will help others going through the same experiences. She lays her heart on the line in her new book Lemons on Friday, which will be released on November 16.
As Mattie told Yahoo! Life’s The Unwind, she found comfort in journaling after Ben died. She had been a Creative Writing major in college, so it was natural for her to write her feelings down.
Those journal entries served as the springboard for Lemons on Friday. She explained:
“It was never my intention [to write a book]. The way I knew how to process sudden tragedy and grief was to write. It’s a passion of mine anyway, but there was more permission to be more honest on paper than with myself and the people around me.”
Since Lemons on Friday is being released this month, Mattie has been speaking to various outlets about the book. She received featured stories in both Brentwood Lifestyle magazine and Belle Meade Lifestyle magazine.