Reflecting on a mother's legacy
Olivia Tripp Morrow, artist and dreamer, shares how her mother’s light continues to brighten many lives.
The Tally Tripp Memorial Fund, created in honor of our dear friend and colleague, supports the next generation of trauma healers. Their inaugural award will enable the critical work of Neem Foundation, who brings solace, hope, and transformative healing to insurgency-affected communities in Nigeria. Learn more.
My mom was one of those people you might call a ‘magnet’. She had a way of genuinely connecting with people from all walks of life. Her enthusiasm and energy seemed to exude an invisible force that drew people right to her—like a magnet.
After she passed away in December 2023, so many people shared stories with our family about the positive impact my mother had made in their lives. The details were varied, but the stories were undeniably connected by the ways my mother’s spirit came through: Her warmth, her abundant curiosity, her joyful energy, her devotion to her family and many friends, and her dedication to her work, which always centered around community-building and helping others to heal.
In the weeks and months after she died, some of the most unexpected and moving stories I heard came from my mother’s students and colleagues, many of whom she thought of more like extended family. I was floored by their stories and learning of her profound impact in the lives of so many people. The way she tenderly held space for trauma survivors as they expressed painful and isolating experiences in order to move toward peace and reconciliation. The way she’d facilitated safe and nurturing environments for groups of therapists around the world who were learning how to incorporate the power of somatic and expressive arts methodology into their trauma-responsive practices. The thoughtful way she challenged and mentored her students to ensure the next generation of clinicians would have the tools to navigate this crucial and challenging work with professionalism and grace. The way she incorporated joy into all these practices.
I never had the opportunity to witness her professional work firsthand, but these stories revealed a new dimension of my mother that I had perhaps not fully appreciated before. We’d talked for years about someday traveling together during one of her international work trips that she spoke of so passionately, but unfortunately timing and life circumstances got in the way, and we never did. However, I have found comfort and gratitude in being able to recognize my mother’s spirit in the fond memories of her colleagues, students, and friends, and I am moved by the profound impact she had on so many lives. Hearing their stories has given me a brighter and fuller picture of who she was, and it’s become part of how I remember her, too.
I believe the heart of my mother’s magnetism was her ability to be genuinely present with the people in her life, no matter how long she’d known them. She had a felt sense of belonging to something greater than herself. She knew intrinsically that we are all connected, and that these connections were powerful enough to reach across oceans and across time. She knew that being part of a caring community and nurturing our relationships brings abundance, joy, and meaning to our lives. She devoted her life to the people in it because this brought her joy as well, and the worldwide community that she belonged to was bursting at the seams with love for her. The memories we have of her, and those quiet moments spent reflecting on what she would say if she were here, continue to inspire, guide, and teach us. And that, I believe, is her legacy.
Our family’s hope for the Tally Tripp Memorial Fund is to build upon the momentum of the Common Threads Project’s global mission, and to ensure this crucial work is accessible to as many people as possible long into the future. The uncertainty of the future is a challenging place to build stability from, but her community has already shown up in great force to help us reach our fundraising goal—and we are so incredibly grateful and moved by your generosity.
The community of people who knew my mother personally can no longer expand without her presence in our world, but the legacy she left behind is something beautiful to rally around. I hope many of you will join us in honoring this legacy by investing in the Tally Tripp Memorial Fund, which will expand the reach of CTP’s trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and expressive arts methodologies to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Thank you for being part of this community.
With gratitude,
Olivia
