My Story

True grief, like true love, commands the soul. It embraces you beyond thought or reason, beyond emotion, beyond your physical being. It renders you powerless.

I have many stories of grief I could share, but I’m choosing the one that has shaped me most. It’s a story I both want, and don’t want, to tell. It feels awkward, scary, and risky. Yet, I share it because it’s important, relevant, and, simply put, it’s the truth.

Julie

My younger sister, Julie, was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. He took her life with a single gunshot. Years have passed since that terrible day, but the impact has no expiration date. Grief entered my life, and anchored itself on a date in December I could not have postponed, canceled, or rescheduled.

I was thrust into a world of darkness. A world filled with violence, domestic abuse, and crime-scene details I never wanted to know. It brought up family drama, reopened old wounds, and led me into a confusing forest of guilt, shame, anger, sadness, and a deep sense of being misunderstood.

I now know, and wish I’d been told then, that no one can truly understand another person’s grief. Just as no one can fully understand the love, connection, or unique experiences we share with those we’ve lost. David Kessler’s words hold a special place in my heart:

"Each person's grief is as unique as their fingerprint. But what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed."

This loneliness, born from feeling like no one can understand, is real, but being alone in it is an illusion. I want to emphasize this: we are NOT alone.

The Gift of Grace

As tragic as losing Julie was, grace was with me at every turn, and still is. I experienced it in every moment, even more so in hindsight. It showed itself in the courage of those who walked with me through this darkness, in the words that will forever live in my heart, and in the love that lifted me higher than I thought possible. Grace opened me to spiritual experiences that changed my view of the world and transformed my ability to love, heal, and grow beyond what I imagined.

Grace is often hard to recognize when we are grieving, but even a small glimpse can be the light that guides us forward. I want others to know that grief, when combined with grace, can be a life partner, a teacher, and even a friend. Not the friend who tells you what you want to hear, but the one who’s honest, always waiting nearby. Grief is not here to harm us. It’s here to teach us—about ourselves, about life, and to help us grow gracefully into the souls we are meant to become.

Why I Became a Grief and Life Coach

I left a successful corporate career to become a certified Grief and Life Coach because it felt like a non-negotiable step toward living my most authentic life. I’ve always been drawn to deep conversations, asking uncommon questions, and helping others see what they may not recognize in themselves. Even as a child, my friends naturally opened up to me, feeling safe in their vulnerability.

Grief holds a deep place in my heart, filled with stories of loss, love, and gratitude. My desire to coach stems from wanting to help others transform their grief, to be their 'witness,' while simultaneously expressing my true self in ways that bring relief and maybe even joy to others.

What makes me a valuable coach is my quick access to empathy, my capacity to create a safe container for receiving stories, and my insatiable curiosity. I’m dedicated to personal growth and helping others find their own path to healing and transformation.