Sympathy cards for parents who have suffered a miscarriage are included in the Journeys line.

Greeting cards always have been gentle sorts of things -- all soft colors and gently curving lines and words written in looping, lazy cursive script, perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, to wish a sick person well or offer polite condolences upon someone's passing.

But where are the cards for life's more intense, more emotionally shaky occasions?

Cards for divorce, miscarriage or infertility. Cards for recovery from substance abuse or an eating disorder. Cards to thank hospice workers, offer encouragement to Alzheimer's caregivers or someone who's waiting for medical test results, even cards to thank organ donors.

No problem. It turns out Hallmark -- the company that has made "Hallmark moment" part of the national lexicon -- has it covered with Journeys, a new line of, as Hallmark's Cynthia Musick puts it, "real-life cards for real-life situations."

Musick, editorial director for Hallmark, oversaw the development of the line, which hit the shelves in the company's Gold Crown stores in February. Journeys came about after consumer feedback and market research showed consumers want cards suitable for the "incredibly diverse situations" they face in their lives, Musick says.

Even Hallmark was amazed at some of the situations consumers talked about. For instance, Musick says, the demand for miscarriage cards "really kind of surprised us, but we just kept seeing this and seeing this. People were asking for them."

But it makes sense, too, she continues. "I think it can be really healing for people, almost cathartic, when you can say, 'OK, this honors what I've been through.' It's not celebrating it, but it honors it."

Some of the cards in the Journeys line cover less dramatic, but no less significant, events of daily life, from encouraging a child or loved one to congratulating/supporting a brand-new empty-nester, to caring for an aging parent.

Musick says that while it's too early to compile sales figures on the line, response to Journeys has been good. Still, read a few of the cards, and the thought occurs: Maybe some situations are best handled with a personal note or even a face-to-face visit, rather than a greeting card.

"I think anytime you put out something like this, where you're really going to be dealing with some, maybe, deeper emotions, you're going to have people divided," Musick says.

"Unless you've had the experience of some of those things, I think you might say, 'Why send a card like that?' But, then, I've heard people say: 'That's what I wanted to hear. I wish somebody would have sent that card to me.' "

Journeys cards can help someone offer a sentiment -- support, encouragement, congratulations -- they can't articulate themselves. The Journeys line includes blank cards suitable for handwritten notes, Musick says, but "some people just don't feel as comfortable with blank cards. That's when we can provide the words."

A card can serve as a catalyst to personal connection, she adds. "We always hope (givers) add their own personal note and maybe deliver it in person with a hug. It's all about connecting."

Robyn Isaacson, chair of the Las Vegas local affiliate of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, says Journeys' infertility card -- "I wish I could make things happen for you the way you want them to ... " -- "wouldn't offend me or most people I know."

When a couple is coping with infertility, others sometimes "say things that are not especially helpful," Isaacson says. "So I have faith in Hallmark that they would avoid the worst things that people could say."

Having a greeting card that deals specifically with infertility may help to make talking about it easier, Isaacson adds. "I think whenever there's a greeting card, it normalizes the struggle."

Janine McDonough, Avon breast health navigator at the Nevada Cancer Institute, says she would have no problem sending or receiving a Journeys cancer card, even if it joked about chemo-related hair loss.

"The person who buys that would buy it for someone with a sense of humor," she says. "To me, there's something for everyone."

McDonough even has an idea for another card Hallmark might add to the line, one that "the cancer patient would send to friends and family saying, 'It's OK, we can talk about this.' "

Dr. Gerald Weeks, chairman of the marriage and family therapy department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says the most important thing in this equation is how one of the cards will "strike the recipient."

"The intentions of the sender aren't necessarily going to be the interpretations of the recipient," he explains. "It's a good idea to really know that person before you buy one of these things."

But, Weeks adds, such cards "may have the effect of opening up some of these taboo topics, things that folks in the past would never acknowledge to people.

"Miscarriage is a very good example. I can't tell you how many couples I've seen (in counseling) who have had a miscarriage and no one knows it. No one in their family knows about it."