My Story

“Grief never ends. But it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, or a lack of faith. It is the price of love.”

My journey with grief began early.

At ten years old, I lost my older sister, suddenly and unexpectedly.  In the years that followed came the more anticipated losses of great-grandparents and grandparents, but that first loss had already changed everything. We fumbled through, but no one, including us, knew how to help or what we might need. Looking back, I now know my family healed the inside by heading outside. Walking trails, hiking, backpacking, camping; each finding our own quiet conversations with the universe, with spirit, with god. We found our way through, even if we never spoke of it directly.

Then came the hardest season of my life.

In early 2020, I lost my daughter to suicide. My world ended, and then the entire world shut down in a pandemic.  Six months later, my marriage unexpectedly ended too. Without the ability to participate in the typical mourning rituals, I had to find other ways to honor my grief, my love, and the life I still had to live.

Once again, I turned outside to heal the inside. Nature became my church, where the universe, grief, and I held long conversations. My nutrition and health training helped me honor what my body needed. I decluttered my environment and my life, keeping only what brought genuine joy. More importantly, I allowed myself to feel everything. I traveled to the deepest valleys of grief without turning away. And something surprising happened: when you allow yourself to fully experience sadness and loss, you also unlock the capacity the joy and wonder.

“The work is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other.” —Francis Weller‍ ‍

I am not the first person to walk this path, and I will not be the last. But somewhere along the way we lost our collective knowledge of how to grieve, how to move with grief rather than around it. That loss of knowledge is what drives me now.

My desire is to help others find their way back.

This might mean starting with the basics of sleep, nourishment and physical stability to rebuild the foundation. It might mean exploring renewed purpose and figuring out how to bring it into the world. Or it might simply mean having a safe, supported space to be exactly who you are, right where you are. 

Wherever you are is exactly the right place to start.

Certifications and Trainings