Featured in the RNE Magazine, 2022 Volume 3
It is common for grieving people to seek solace in artistic expression. What may be uncommon is the particular activity that provides a creative and healing outlet for Matt Smith – brewing beer. While it may be non-traditional, Matt’s Wandering Soul Beer Company has been about much more than beer.
In 2017, Matt and his wife Abby were preparing for their first child, whom they had already decided to name Melody in honor of their shared love for music (which also helped bring the couple together in the first place).
At nearly 9 months of pregnancy, the couple found out that Melody’s heart had stopped beating, and she was born still in May. Abby and Matt were blindsided and of course devastated by their daughter’s death.
“After Melody’s silent birth, we entered the darkest period of our lives,” explains Matt. “Flipping back and forth through the so-called stages of grief, I reached a point where I knew that I needed to do something to honor Melody’s memory.”