Blogspiration For Those Lonely Nights

by Kim Niemi

Blame it on the recently passed New Year, or the upcoming romantic/chocolate holiday, but there’s something about this time of year that makes us seek out inspiration (it could also be a coping mechanism for those buried under record amounts of snow in the Northeast). Whatever your reason, there’s an inspirational blog out there for everyone.

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Here are five to watch:

Katie Hurley – Practical Parenting

For Katie Hurley, and for millions of women in the US and beyond, conceiving her two children did not come easily. It took almost five years and there were three miscarriages along the way. Out of the heartbreak and struggle came a warrior who took to the blogosphere to talk about infertility and secondary infertility – topics rarely discussed or well understood by those outside the experience – creating a place for women to safely share their emotions, frustration and pain. She now blogs about parenthood in all its complicated glory, and can be read at the Huffington Post and MoonFrye (as in Soleil), among others.

Heidi Cave – Fancy Feet

In 1998, at the age of 23, Heidi Cave’s life changed in an instant when the car she was driving was hit by another car traveling 60 MPH, pushing her vehicle into a ravine, where it landed upside down and burst into flames. She was badly burned over much of her body, and lost both legs, but her will to survive dominated her lengthy recovery, and recover she did. Now a motivational speaker and author, Heidi shares her story with others, encouraging them to decide how they want to live their “one life.” The beginnings of her memoir are on her blog – but fair warning: clear your afternoon because you won’t be able to stop reading.

Vikki Reich – Up Popped a Fox

Sharing the details of our lives is never easy. The best bloggers do it in a way that makes it SEEM so, but unless today is your first day on the Internet, you know that it can be a hateful place. Which is why it’s a bit heroic to do it anyway. To share the details of your life with the world – especially when that life doesn’t fit the narrow constraints of what some might dictate are acceptable. But Vikki Reich shares the vibrant details of her life as a gay woman, married and raising two great kids – quietly reminding us that love is all it takes to make a family.

Russ Crandall – The Domestic Man

In 2005, at the young age of 24, Russ Crandall had a stroke. He recovered, but what followed was a string of health-related events, resulting in the diagnosis of a rare autoimmune disease (Takayasu’s Arteritis). Major invasive surgery to reverse inflammation in his pulmonary arteries and an arsenal of medications did little to relieve his symptoms, and by 2010, stumbling across a claim that the Paleo diet could help, he embraced the plan whole-heartedly and within a month his inflammation markers were dramatically reduced. The author of three Paleo-inspired cookbooks, he blogs regularly, sharing whole food recipes to promote healthy eating for all.

Charlie Capen & Andy Herald – How to Be a Dad

Their blog doesn’t mention what got them started, but who cares? With two wives and five boys between them, these two dads have plenty to offer, and it’s mostly hilarious. An uncommon perspective amid the thousands of mommy blogs on the Web, How to Be a Dad is perhaps accidentally inspiring just by existing. And with the simple act of sharing and commiserating with all parents out there, they manage to win us all over.

There are millions of blogs in Cyberspace, but it’s always fun to help the good ones rise to the top. If you haven’t heard of these before, give them a try and share with a friend (and remember where you heard about ‘em!). Or let us know whose blog YOU find most inspirational. Feeling extra inspired? Maybe you’ll start a blog of your own…  Follow the lead of any of these and you’ll be in good shape.

IMAGE CREDIT: ALAN CLEAVER