To the fly-fisherman feeling the spray from the whip of their line, or the mountaineer climbing through the clouds to an island in the sky, the great outdoors reminds them that life is beautiful despite the hardships it comes with. Rebecca Wyld, hiker, business-woman, and daughter, is on a mission to encourage everyone to venture outside and experience the healing journey themselves.
Hardship is familiar to Rebecca. As the owner of a salon and a hairdresser of 13 years, she’s heard countless tales of love and success. The bond she shares with her clients has also led her to become a vessel for their grief. To ensure she could handle those situations delicately, she went through a life coaching program.
The program was helpful to more than just her clients. In its midst, she lost her father to illness and a friend to suicide. Through it all she acted as a pillar of strength for her family and continued to lend an ear to her clients’ troubles, but despite the facade, she was “overflowing with sadness.”
The dull scenery needed to change: “I needed to see different s—t,” Rebecca said. She laced up her hiking boots, loaded up her pack, and drove into the Cascades. The mantra of her footsteps, tightness in her limbs, and sweat on her brow was a subtle reminder that hardship wasn’t impossible to overcome. 30 miles away from the nearest person and in the arms of evergreens and mountain peaks, Rebecca was finally able to cry.
Creating a Product with Purpose
COVID restricted a lot of tools Rebecca used to distract herself from grief. With the salon closed, unable to work and life-coach, she needed to prove to herself that she had value in the community.
A hashtag she’d used since 2016, #sees—t, crossed her mind. She thought, “What if I put this on a shirt?” It would act as a reminder that Mother Nature had a spot for everyone on her therapy couch. Support from her friends and family encouraged her and SeeS—t was born.
Rebecca’s story and outdoor-inspired t-shirts took off on social media and earned a rack in Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview. People from all over the world shared their own experiences in her comments, creating a safe space for others to do the same. It wasn’t long before one of her TikTok videos went viral and gained $5,000 for SeeS—t.
She often thought about the mother and son her late friend left behind. Another friend of hers who had found themselves in a similar situation introduced her to the grief support groups held at Community Home Health & Hospice. The Suicide and Children’s program were especially beneficial in their grief journey as it was, and still is, a community built of broken families who found companionship in shared pain. Led by experienced social workers, the groups introduced new ways for them to heal and included activities focused on children and teens who experienced hardship too soon in life.
With these children in mind, she created a youth-inclusive splinter brand called SeeStuff and vowed to donate all profits gained to both the Children’s Bereavement and Suicide Loss programs at Community.
Community’s grief support services are open and free of charge to anyone who has lost a loved one. If you or a loved one find that you can benefit as Rebecca and her friends have, call 360.703.0300, email griefsupport@chhh.org, or visit our events page to register for a class to get started.
