TODD & MELISSA SHAFFER

Todd and Melissa Shaffer are a creative couple who raised four equally creative children: McKenna, Greyson, Tristan, and Sawyer. Todd spent thirty-five years as a filmmaker, writer, and animator, while Melissa home-schooled their children, taught acting, and pursued photography.

In 2020, just two days before his 19th birthday, their third child, Tristan, lost his battle with mental illness. Tristan had a deep love for art and storytelling, often writing adventure tales and wolf-themed stories. He was preparing to study animation at Concordia University. Known for his sharp wit and compassionate heart, Tristan had a gift for recognizing and reaching out to those who were vulnerable, broken, and hurting.

After their loss, Melissa launched a blog for Christian parents called Christian Suicide Loss and Todd started a podcast called Sparrow Falls to work through the Bible’s teaching on suffering and lament.

In 2023, the Shaffers faced another hardship when their home was destroyed in a fire. Displaced for eight months, they used the time to visit family and friends. While on the road, Todd envisioned turning their grief journey into a documentary. Its aim would be to help bereaved parents navigate their lives and create awareness about the challenges of surviving child loss.

With the help of their three surviving children, they interviewed eleven bereaved couples, laying the foundation for what is becoming a growing media project called Surviving Child Loss

For more information go to survivingchildloss.org

Contributing Authors, Testimonies of Grace (2024). Todd is a contributing author to Held Through the Storm: Stories of Suicide Loss and Hope in Christ (2024)
Surviving Child Loss - survivingchildloss.org

Christian Suicide Loss blog - christiansuicideloss.com

Sparrow Falls podcast - sparrowfalls.org

Facilitators: Support Group for Suicide Loss