A gift for someone going through a hard time

There isn't a good card for grief or a hard diagnosis or a loss — most of them reach for the same handful of tired phrases. Caribbean sayings about getting through hard times were made for exactly this, by people who had a great deal of practice getting through hard times.

From the Pick Sense from Nonsense collection · Updated September 2026

Why these sayings work better than a sympathy card

None of these tell someone to cheer up. They say, plainly, that the hard time passes — which is a truer, more useful thing to hear than most of what's printed on a card. (VOICE-PASS)

Four sayings about getting through it, one per island

• 🇧🇧 Barbados What doesn’t kill does fatten. Adversity can make you stronger and wiser. Blunt, and exactly the kind of thing a Bajan grandmother would actually say. (VOICE-PASS)
• 🇯🇲 Jamaica Likkle laugh ease big burden. Humor helps through difficult times. Permission to laugh again, from a culture that never stopped believing in it. (VOICE-PASS)
• 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago Morning rain doh stop sunshine. Difficult times pass. A gentle, weather-shaped way of saying: this isn't the whole day. (VOICE-PASS)
• 🇭🇹 Haiti Dèyè mòn gen mòn. ‘Beyond mountains there are more mountains.’ Life always presents new challenges. One of Haiti's most-known proverbs — read here as: you keep climbing, and you keep arriving. (VOICE-PASS)

How to give it

The calendar works quietly here — not a big gesture, just one steady thing on the desk through a hard stretch. There's no need to explain why you're giving it. (VOICE-PASS)

Questions people ask

Is this a real Caribbean-made gift?

The sayings are collected from Barbadian, Jamaican, Trinidadian and Haitian families, and the art comes from Caribbean artists working island by island. Nothing here is a generic 'tropical' design — each island keeps its own voice.

Does the gift come with an explanation, or just the saying?

Both. Every saying in the calendar and book comes with what it means and the everyday moment it belongs to, so the person receiving it doesn't have to already know the culture to feel it.

Can I choose which island's edition to give?

Yes — Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti are each their own edition, kept in their own voice. Pick the one that matches who you're giving it to, or take the quiz together to find out.

Is a calendar an appropriate sympathy or get-well gift?

Yes — it's a quiet, ongoing gift rather than a single bouquet that fades. Many people find something to read every morning more comforting during a hard stretch than a one-time gesture.