There is no language for the moment a parent loses a child.
There is only the long walk afterward.
For Shannon, that walk began three years ago, when she lost her daughter Maddie after a struggle with her mental health. Maddie was just fourteen years old.
Her death divided life into before and after. It changed the rhythm of every day and reshaped the future Shannon had imagined for her family. But even within the deepest grief, love remained. It found its way into a children’s book, a foundation created in Maddie’s honor and the warm, and the familiar comfort of freshly baked cookies.
Today, Shannon is the owner of Sugar & Chip AZ, a home bakery where every batch is made with care and every cookie carries a little piece of her story.
Baking had been part of Shannon’s life long before it became a business. For more than thirty years, she found joy in measuring ingredients, testing recipes and creating something that could bring people together.
“Maddie used to taste-test everything,” Shannon says.
Before a cookie reached anyone else, Maddie was often there to offer her opinion. Those small moments in the kitchen became precious memories, filled with the kind of ordinary happiness that becomes extraordinary after someone is gone.
Shannon was one year into building Sugar & Chip AZ when Maddie passed.
“I almost quit,” she says. “Then I realized quitting does not honor my daughter or my efforts. I took a break and came back to baking.”
Returning to the kitchen did not mean that Shannon had moved beyond her grief. Grief is not something a parent simply finishes. It meant she was learning how to carry it while continuing to live.
When Shannon is asked what she hopes people experience when they taste her cookies, her answer is simple.
“Love. Purpose. Comfort. Hope.”
Those words reach far beyond the bakery.
They are also at the heart of Shannon’s children’s book, Always With You: A Short Story of My Spiritual Journey That Brought Comfort and Healing to My Family.
The book was inspired by what Shannon describes as signs from Maddie and by her personal belief that their connection continues spiritually.
“My inspiration for writing this book was the amazing signs from my daughter and the idea that she is always with us. Knowing she is always around and helping is such a comfort.”
Shannon’s son, Brandon, was only eleven when his sister died. In the months that followed, Shannon wanted to give him something that could reach the quiet places where grief settles.
“I wanted to create a book to help the siblings of children who have passed,” she says. “I want them to know their brother or sister is still with them. They now have a different type of relationship.”
Shannon understands that every family grieves differently and that her family’s spiritual beliefs may not reflect everyone’s experience. She does not offer the book as an answer to grief. She offers it as one expression of love and as a source of comfort for those who find meaning in its message.
“To see her memory live on in print, to know that other people will read about her and how she helps us every day puts such a smile on my face. I was always reminded of Maddie’s sweet spirit with each page and illustration.”
Shannon continues because her life still holds people she loves, including her husband and son. She continues because she believes living with purpose is one of the most meaningful ways she can honor Maddie.
“Being happy is the best way I can think to honor her.”
That choice lives inside Sugar & Chip AZ.
Cookies are often connected to the happiest parts of life. They appear at birthdays, holidays, family tables and kitchen counters. They are shared between friends and given as simple expressions of care.
For Shannon, they can also hold memory.
During National Cookie Month, Sugar & Chip AZ reminds us that food can tell a story. A cookie can honor a life.
sugarandchipaz.com