Move Forward Stronger: A Dynamic Framework to Process Change, Loss, and Grief by Julia A. Nicholson is an autobiographical self-help book. It provides unique tools and techniques that can positively and productively assist anyone who has experienced trauma. Nicholson explores various challenges she has experienced in her life, which she refers to as 'its.' These are defined as any unwanted changes or losses that you may face. For Nicholson, these were a nearly fatal car accident when she was a teenager, her abusive first husband, Mark, getting a divorce, raising her two daughters as a single parent, and the premature death of her second husband. Nicholson finds Kübler-Ross’s 1969 research on the five stages of grief inadequate to deal with her 'its.' As such, she develops the five facets of the Diamond Framework, which ask you to relive, reflect, reframe, reconnect, and release your 'its.'

Not only is Julia A. Nicholson’s story inspiring, but it also shares her thought processes on how she developed the Diamond Framework. It is easy to follow her writing and learn how to apply the framework to your own 'its.’ Nicholson’s observations, particularly about loss and grief, resonated with me. I found her both relatable and logical. I also loved the part where she dealt with the narratives we tell ourselves and being qualified in MSU, short for 'making shit up.' The Diamond diagram was also very useful, visually representing Nicholson’s theories. Move Forward Stronger is a valuable and insightful read for anyone looking for guidance on coping with life’s challenges.

Move Forward Stronger: A Dynamic Framework to Process Change, Loss, and Grief is a creative approach to processing any unwanted trauma in our everyday lives. Julia A. Nicholson has the benefit of her faith plus her own real-life experiences in this book. She experienced a near-fatal automobile crash during her freshman year in college that left her devoid of self-esteem, which led to an abusive first marriage and the suicide of her second beloved husband. Nicholson found that the mainstream information available to help her deal with change, loss, and grief was oftentimes misleading. She developed a framework called The Diamond Framework that includes 5 facets: Relive, Reflect, Reframe, Reconnect, and Release.

Julia A. Nicholson hopes that her new and innovative way of dealing with loss can help others going through the same process. She emphasizes that her framework is not linear and that each individual is unique and will process things differently and in their own time. People can be in more than one stage at the same time, and go back and forth between them as often as they like to move forward with hope and positivity. Nicholson’s technique was an easy-to-follow guide that may help anyone dealing with an emotional crisis. Setbacks will be experienced repeatedly during a person’s lifetime and are unavoidable, but there is always hope. Move Forward Stronger is a must-read for anyone going through change, loss, and grief.