Cancer Is a Transformative Force
Author: Cami Thelander An intimate reflection on cancer, anticipatory grief, and the ways illness can transform our relationships, our priorities, and our understanding of life. When Cancer Becomes Part of Your Family’s Story Earlier this year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This isn’t my family’s first experience with cancer, though. My mom’s late […]
Every Grief Counts: Making Space for the Many Faces of Loss
By: Cami Thelander, Certified Grief Coach, Community Engagement Leader, Confident Grief Coach School When you hear the word grief, what comes to mind? For many of us, it’s the death of someone we love. And certainly, that is one of the most profound ways we experience grief. But grief has many faces, and they’re not […]
From the Margins to a Movement: The Evolution of Grief Coaching Over the Last Decade
By Patricia Sheveland, Founder of The Confident Grief Coach School When I first began working with grieving clients over a decade ago, I didn’t call it grief coaching. I was simply a coach sitting across from people whose lives had been forever changed by loss. They were grieving the death of a child, a spouse, […]
Mother’s Day: A National Holiday or a Daily Reminder?
Do you know the history of Mother’s Day? I love to research the history of holidays and wondered how Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and all those “… Days” came into existence. Apparently in the United States, Anna Jarvis organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration in 1908 to honor her late mother, Ann Reeves […]
There Is No Timeline for Grief: Releasing the Pressure to “Move On”
By: Cami Thelander, Certified Grief Coach, Community Engagement Leader, Confident Grief Coach School One of the most common and unspoken pressures people experience after loss is the expectation to “move on.” It may not always be said directly, but it is often felt—in the quiet pauses when others stop asking how you’re doing, in the […]
Grieving Without Heaven: When Loss Happens in a Secular World
As a certified Celebrant for funerals and celebrations of life, I am often asked to officiate a service because a family or their loved one was not affiliated with a formal religion or church. Most often, the family still holds some belief that they will see their loved one again—that there is a heaven where […]
Caregiver Grief, Invisible Loss and Why Self-Care Is Not Optional
Caregiving is one of the most common and least acknowledged roles in the United States today. More than 60 million Americans are currently providing unpaid care to a loved one who is aging, ill, disabled or living with cognitive or medical challenges. That’s nearly one in four adults. Yet despite how widespread caregiving is, many […]
The Medicine of a Grief Retreat: Sacred Space, Shared Humanity, and Healing in Community
There’s something powerful that happens when you step away from your everyday life and into a space that says, you don’t have to be okay here. Grief retreats aren’t about fixing anything. They’re about creating room… room to breathe, to soften and to let your guard down. They offer a pause from the world that […]
When the Holidays Feel Lonely: Understanding Isolation Through the Lens of Grief
For many, the holidays are painted as a season of togetherness — gatherings, traditions, shared meals, sparkling lights and cheerful music. But for anyone carrying grief, this time of year can feel like living behind a glass wall. Life keeps moving on the other side while you stand still, unsure how to re-enter a world […]
When Job Loss Becomes a Turning Point: Transforming Unemployment into Purpose and Healing
By Pat Sheveland, PCC, Founder & Lead Faculty, The Confident Grief Coach School The Hidden Grief of Unemployment When we think of grief, we often think of death – the loss of a loved one, a family member, or a friend. Yet grief shows up in many forms, including the loss of identity, security, and […]