Grief Is My Side Hustle

Sibling aand Pregnancy Loss: Dr. Julie Shaw of Hello I’m Grieving

Dr. Julie in her own words:

"Like every grief story starts.... My sister, Jennifer lost her battle with Lupus February 2020. I was not prepared to lose her even though I whispered to her so many times that I would be ok if she had to leave us.

When grief hits, you can never be prepared for the grief tsunamis that bring difficult emotions from the depths of your soul to the soft waves of beautiful memories. 

I am on my grief journey and figuring out what my life will be like and who I am without my most favorite person, my big sister, in my life. She was/is a mom of two, the glue of our family, a dedicated nurse practitioner, loyal friend, and one of the toughest warriors you could have by your side.

She will forever be my why to giving grief a voice and building a community through grief awareness and visibility. Thank you for being here and saying hello to grief."

https://helloimgrieving.com

Author: Jessica Faith Kantrowitz: Good Morning Friends-Gentle Suggestions for The Start of the Day

About Jessica

I’m a writer. I write poetry as well as creative non-fiction, essays that examine aspects of my life or the world around me and try to find the deeper meaning and connection in what I observe. I also write about media and culture, faith, and the intersection of the two. I wrote a sort of sermon once and it went viral. I write for places like Sojourners,  Think Christian, The Good Men Project, the Madeleine L’Engle Blog, Our Bible App, and Together Rising.

I’m an author. I have three published books and am working on my fourth. The Long Night, Readings and Stories to Help You Through Depression came out on May 19th, 2020 through Broadleaf Books, and its companion book, Blessings for the Long Night: Poems and Meditations to Help You through Depression will be out on April 19th, 2022, also through Broadleaf Books. In between those I self-published the “peace poems” I’d been writing into Twitter every evening for a year as 365 Days of Peace: Benedictions to End Your Day in Gentleness and Hope. I also created a journal to go with 365 Days of Peace.

I’m a theologian. I have a BA in World Religions and a Master of Divinity in Christianity. I’ve traveled to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and Europe to study Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I did part time ministry for many years — leading worship, teaching the Bible, leading discussion groups, working with teens, and teaching English as a second language. After I graduated I went to work for a campus ministry, doing interfaith outreach, but burnt out after a year and a half of fundraising and training. I try to use my education and experience in my writing, both to deepen my perspective and to minister to my readers.

I’m an editor. In my editing work I help scholars from all over the world who are working on academic dissertations. I’ve also edited books, journal articles, newsletters, cover letters, and more. Find out more here.

I’m a workshop leader. I’ve developed and teach the Finding Your Voice Writing Workshops for aspiring writers who struggle with depression or other mental illness.

 

https://jessicakantrowitz.com

Death Doula: Mangda Sengvanhpheng

Mangda Sengvanhpheng is an artist, healing practitioner, and the founder of BACII - a digital space that focuses on end-of-life topics such as loss, grief and death while providing services and offerings that renew our engagement to life. Her life and death work is guided by her Laotian last name, which means “the light of the full moon.” Mangda’s work has been featured in Vogue, Brydie, NY Mag’s Curbed, Chacruna Institute and more.

https://bacii.co

Charlene Lam: The Grief Gallery Founder/Curator

Charlene Lam is a certified grief coach, speaker and the founder of The Grief Gallery. After her mother died suddenly in 2013, she leaned into her creativity and instincts as a curator to guide herself through grief.

That work led her to help other people to process their grief and losses.

Charlene believes we are ALL curators after a loved one dies. Her Curating Grief coaching framework is designed to be a creative and accessible way to process grief.

She provides grief coaching to help bereaved people to feel less alone and better equipped to deal with the practical and emotional aftermath of losing a loved one. And when they’re ready, to transform their pain, loss and grief into something beautiful so they can move forward with living their own fullest lives.

As curator of The Grief Gallery, she presents exhibitions exploring death and grief during international design events and festivals, including NYCxDESIGN, DesignTO (Toronto) and the London Design Festival.

She speaks about the power of art, creativity, story and meaning making for healthy grieving and post-traumatic growth.

She’s the author of the forthcoming book Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies. Her podcast guest appearances include Late Bloomer Living, and the What Works podcast with Tara McMullin. A proud Chinese-American New Yorker (like her mother!), she's currently based in Lisbon, Portugal and works with clients worldwide.

Candace Cahill: Author Goodbye Again–A story of Childloss

Candace reunited with the son she'd given up for adoption when he turned 18. Primarily In contact through calls and letters, they met once when he was twenty. Candace worked hard to allow her son to drive the nature of their new connection, only to have him die unexpectedly in his sleep at age 23. 

In Candance's beautiful book Goodbye Again, she shares with us her experience learning to greive losses that are disenfranchized in our culture.  She talks us through pain upon pain, only to ultimately leave the reader holding an incredible story of hope and love.

You can learn more about Candace on her website:

https://candacecahill.com

Candace Cahill is a first mother and an LDsA, late discovery step-adoptee or NPE. She grew up in rural Central Minnesota with no running water or electricity, and by the time she graduated from high school, she’d learned books were an oasis and her guitar a good friend. After earning a Social Work degree, she embarked on a year-long bicycle trip across North America before settling in Alaska. An artist at heart, she is a self-taught silversmith, singer/songwriter, and plays the guitar, banjo, bass, and saxophone. Candace resides with her husband, Tom, in Denali, Alaska, and works as a Park Ranger during the summer months

Priya Soni: Caring for the Care Givers

Join Meghan for this heart felt discussion where two time caretaker, griever Priya Soni reveals how her own experience caring for her parents through their end of life experiences informed how she approaches grief and loss.

Priya's thoughtful approach of how to support grievers, approach memories and create a grief care group a beautiful concepts that can teach us all. 

Learn more  here:

https://www.priyasoni.net

John Worsley: A Widower Writes his Grief

When writer John Worsley's wife Amy died, he processed his grief through the written word.

He's the author of My Heart Has No Home: A Journal of Grief and Healing, a moment-by-moment account of his experience grieving the sudden death of his wife, Amy K.W. Heil – what he felt, how he healed, and what he learned.

Where to buy My Heart Has No Home: Amazon paperback and Kindle / Apple Books / Kobo / B&N and Nook

http://www.johnworsley.name

Jon LeFrandt: Caring for Siblings after the Death of His Father

Jon Lefrandt is Co Founder and CEO of For Grief

 

After more than seven years in real estate, Jon took a leap of faith and began his career in the funeral industry in 2011. Jon experienced the passing of his father and the emotional stress of planning his funeral — through that experience, Jon understood the need for individualized pre-planning and aftercare services.

 

At For Grief, they've built a better way for people to navigate loss by offering unprecedented and direct access to the country’s most preeminent grief experts and authors. Whether you join our monthly conversation series or participate in one of our new and forthcoming innovative GriefCalendar™ events, the first such on-demand community resource in the country, you’ll be welcomed into a circle of support unlike any other. Depending on your needs and schedule, our on-demand video courses, Grief Guide, information-rich blog, and downloadable resources are always available to you, anytime

 

https://www.forgrief.com

Author Debbie Weiss: Available As Is: A Midlife Widow’s Search for Love

Debbie Weiss is a former attorney who earned her MFA in creative nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2020. A native of the Bay Area, she turned to writing after George, her husband and partner of more than three decades, died of cancer in April 2013, and she found herself single and living alone for the first time in her life. Weiss’s essays have been published in The New York Times' “Modern Love” column, HuffPost, and Woman’s Day, among other publications. Available As Is: A Midlife Widow’s Search for Love is her first book. She currently lives in Benicia, CA.

Amanda Held Opelt: Bereaved Sibling & Author of A Hole in the World

Amanda Held Opelt is an author, speaker, and songwriter.  She writes about faith, grief, and creativity, and believes in the power of community, ritual, worship and shared stories to heal even our deepest wounds.  Amanda has spent the last 15 years as a social worker and humanitarian aid worker.  She lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina with her husband and young two daughters.

http://amandaheldopelt.com