Nationwide — In America, stillbirth claims over 20,000 infants each year, and Black women are twice as likely to experience stillbirth as their white counterparts (CDC, 2024). Despite this devastating disparity, conversations around miscarriage and child loss remain nearly taboo in many Black households- leaving countless mothers to suffer in silence.
On a mission to change that narrative, Alexis L. Williams, a U.S. Air Force Combat Veteran turned author and grief advocate, created Beautiful Aches: A Guided Healing Journal – a 90-day, under the moniker “Lauren Taylor”. Through her groundbreaking journal, she is helping women around the world find words, peace, and community after child loss.
“I felt invisible,” Williams recalls. As a veteran, I was trained to hold it together. As a Black woman, I was expected to. But inside, I was breaking. Beautiful Aches became the voice I needed when no one around me could understand my pain.
Beautiful Aches moves readers through the tender stages – Loss, Honoring, and Rebuilding – using compassionate writing prompts, affirmations, and space for reflection. It meets grieving mothers where they are, offering a culturally safe, faith-honoring space to process heartbreak without shame. It’s a lifeline for mothers to reclaim their voice and their hope.
Williams hopes her journal sparks broader conversation about how the Black community supports bereaved mothers. We must normalize grief, she says. “Silence keeps us sick. Stories help us heal.” Through her grief work, Williams leads support circles, healing retreats, and remembrance events that empower women to share their stories without shame. Her Grieve Out Loud Anthology, scheduled to release next year, has given countless mothers permission to speak their pain, celebrate their children, and find sisterhood in shared survival.
Extending her healing mission globally, 10% of proceeds from each copy of Beautiful Aches support women and families in Pokrom, Ghana – providing economic development, grief support, and access to community programs that uplift mothers navigating loss and trauma.
“Healing is a global language,” Williams says. “What began as my personal journal became a bridge between women in America and mothers in Ghana who carry the same ache, the same love, and the same resilience.”
Beautiful Aches is now available on Amazon
Whether purchased for yourself or gifted to someone grieving, it serves as both a comfort and a catalyst- proof that love doesn’t end with loss, and that healing can ripple across oceans.
About the Author
Alexis L. Williams is a writer, veteran, and owner of Aloha Glamour, a global fashion brand helping women navigate grief, honor their stories, and rebuild with purpose. Her work bridges the healing journey of women across the African diaspora, connecting communities from the U.S. Mississippi Gulf Coast to Ghana through grief awareness, maternal advocacy, and compassion-led philanthropy.
For press inquiries, contact lexii2613@gmail.com or 228-229-0745