The Hope Narratives

Ambiguous loss is a unique and harrowing type of grief experienced by the loved ones of long-term missing persons­ – considered by many psychologists to be the most traumatic type of loss. Unlike standard grief, it is a continual loss, complicating and delaying the grieving process, leading to unresolved grief.

Launching ahead of National Missing Persons Week (July 31–August 6), The Hope Narratives is a tool for putting the emotional complexity of ambiguous loss into words, using the lived experiences of others.

It garnered 22 million in earned reach, 170+ unique pieces of coverage, and an 800% increase in searches of ambiguous loss.

Created with global ambiguous loss expert, Dr Sarah Wayland, the Hope Narratives are designed to help people find a way through the grief, and to know they are not alone. The cards combine over 500 collective years of experience into 145 modular statements, which connect to become over 1.4 million possible Hope Narratives.

“MPAN’s mission to support loved ones of missing persons and Dr Sarah Wayland’s incredible work on finding hope within ambiguous loss define a unique creative space. The Hope Narratives is a response to this space: a tool designed to help a community, made from the lived experiences of that community. We are incredibly proud to have played a role in the development of a narrative tool that will not only help the loved ones of missing persons, but will go on to set a precedent for ways this complex and devastating type of loss can be addressed around the world.” - Joe Hill, ECD whiteGREY Melbourne