Why I Created 27 Affirmation Cards for Grieving Women
- Amanda Gervais
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
I didn't set out to create a product. I set out to find the words I wished someone had handed me on the days I couldn't find my own.
Grief has a way of stealing your language. The words that used to come easily — how you feel, what you need, who you are — they go quiet. You find yourself standing in the middle of a room, or the middle of a grocery store, or the middle of the night, with nothing but the weight of what you've lost and no words to hold it with.
That's why I made these cards.
Not to fix anything. Not to promise that it gets easier. But to put something gentle in your hands on the days when you need a truth to hold.
The Story Behind the Number 27
My son Dylan passed away on November 27, 2023. He was 18 years old. He had never been sick a day in his life until April 1, 2023, when everything changed with a leukemia diagnosis that none of us saw coming.
He went into remission. He made it to prom. He walked across the stage at graduation. And then he relapsed in August — and despite everything, we lost him.
He came home from the hospital for his final days. He was with us for exactly 27 days. He passed at 9:27am on November 27.
27 was always Dylan's number. Every sport he played, every jersey he wore — it was always 27. And since he left, it follows me everywhere. On clocks when I wake in the night. On receipts. On license plates. In moments that take my breath away.
I don't believe in coincidence anymore. I believe it is him.
So, when I sat down to create something for grieving women, it could only ever be 27 cards. Because Dylan is woven into every single one.
What Grief Really Does to Your Body & Mind
As a Holistic Nutritionist, I understood the science of what grief does to the body. The cortisol that floods your system. The gut that stops working properly. The hormones thrown into chaos. The nervous system stuck in permanent survival mode.
But living inside grief taught me something no textbook could — that the body and the heart need gentle, consistent reminders to come back to safety. Not grand gestures. Not hour-long practices. Just small, quiet moments of truth throughout the day.
That is exactly what these affirmation cards were designed to be.
Affirmations work not because they are magical — but because they interrupt the story your nervous system is telling you. They slow the spiral. They bring you back to your body. They remind you, in the gentlest possible way, that you are still here and you are going to be okay.
What's Inside the 27 Cards
Each card carries a single affirmation — honest, simple, and written specifically for the woman who is grieving. They are organized into four themes that move through the whole experience of loss:
The Four Themes
🌿Your Body — Cards 1 to 7
Grief lives in the body first. These cards address the physical experience — the exhaustion, the nervous system, the nourishment your body is craving. Gentle reminders that your body is not broken. It is responding to something real.
💙Your Feelings — Cards 8 to 14
Permission to feel everything without explanation or apology. The anger, the tears, the joy that comes with guilt attached, the confusion, the longing. All of it is valid. All of it is grief. All of it is love.
🦋Signs & Spirit — Cards 15 to 21
For the woman who feels her loved one still close. These cards hold space for the signs, the dreams, the moments that cannot be explained with logic. They can only be explained with love.
✨Moving Forward — Cards 22 to 27
Not moving on — moving forward. There is a difference. These cards are about courage, identity, community, purpose, and the quiet belief that tomorrow is another chance to take one more step.
The Four Themes
🌿
Your Body — Cards 1 to 7
Grief lives in the body first. These cards address the physical experience — the exhaustion, the nervous system, the nourishment your body is craving. Gentle reminders that your body is not broken. It is responding to something real.
💙
Your Feelings — Cards 8 to 14
Permission to feel everything without explanation or apology. The anger, the tears, the joy that comes with guilt attached, the confusion, the longing. All of it is valid. All of it is grief. All of it is love.
🦋
Signs & Spirit — Cards 15 to 21
For the woman who feels her loved one still close. These cards hold space for the signs, the dreams, the moments that cannot be explained with logic. They can only be explained with love.
✨
Moving Forward — Cards 22 to 27
Not moving on — moving forward. There is a difference. These cards are about courage, identity, community, purpose, and the quiet belief that tomorrow is another chance to take one more step.
Card 27 — Dylan's Card
Every card in this set is meaningful. But card 27 is different.
It is gold. It stands apart from all the others. And it carries the words I believe Dylan would want every grieving woman to hear:
You are not alone. You are loved beyond what you can see. Keep going — someone heavenly is cheering for you."
I chose to make it gold because gold is the colour of something precious and enduring. Something that does not tarnish with time. Just like the love that never ends.
When you reach card 27, I want you to know that Dylan made it for you too. He is in that number. He is in this product. And he is rooting for you.
How to Use Your Cards
There is no right or wrong way. These cards are yours — use them however feels good.
Some women pull one card each morning and carry the words through their day. Some place them on their mirror, their nightstand, the dashboard of their car. Some tuck them into their journal. Some shuffle them and pull one when they need it most — like a gentle message from the universe arriving at exactly the right moment.
What I hope is that at least once, on at least one hard day, you will reach for a card and feel — even for a moment — that you are not alone in this.
Because you are not. I promise you that.
A Note on Affirmations & Grief
I want to be honest with you. Affirmations alone will not heal your grief. Nothing will heal it overnight. Grief is not a problem to be solved — it is a love that has lost its place to go, and it takes time and gentleness and a whole community of support to find a new way to carry it.
But I believe deeply in the power of small, consistent moments of care. A glass of water. A walk outside. Five slow breaths. And yes — a card pulled from a deck that says: you are still here, and that is brave.
These cards are one small tool in a much bigger healing journey. And I am here to walk that journey with you — through everything I share here, through the resources in my shop, and through this community of women who understand.
You are not broken. You are grieving. And there is a profound difference between those two things. Your body is not failing you. Your heart is not too much. You are a woman carrying something enormous — and you deserve every gentle, honest word of support you can find.
The 27 Affirmation Cards are available now as an instant digital download in my Etsy shop. Print them at home or at your local print shop, cut them out, and let them find their place in your life.
And if you know a woman who is grieving — a friend, a mother, a sister — share this with her. She might need it today more than either of you know.
With all my love — and with Dylan's number in every card,
Amanda 💙
Pure Heavenly 27
The 27 Affirmation Cards are ready for you.
Instant digital download. Print at home. 28 cards including Dylan's gold card 27. $7.27.
Amanda — Pure Heavenly 27
Holistic Nutritionist, grief wellness coach, and mother of Dylan. I created Pure Heavenly 27 to help women heal from grief through the body, the mind, and the spirit. Because nobody should have to do this alone.
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