My Story

When I was thirty the person that I loved and trusted the most in this world died without any warning or time to prepare. I wasn’t left with just heartbreak and longing, I was leftover in a world that no longer made sense to me anymore and sensations in my body that were foreign, involuntary and happening without my consent.

Before my beloved died I’d never experienced a loss that changed my life so dramatically. From my spiritual beliefs to my worldview right down to not knowing what possessive pronouns to use, I was left bewildered. Was it still our bed if I would be the only one sleeping in it now?

In the world I was familiar with, people died when they were old, if you were a good person then good things happened to you. I longed for my future because I thought we, me and my beloved – the person that I chose to spend my life with – were in control of it. But my beloved’s death changed all of that.

In the aftermath of my loss, I quickly realized that my experience of support was unique and unlike the horror stories of isolation and ignorance that I would hear from my widowed peers. With a willingness to lean into personal development, my support network and I dove headfirst into a world that none of us ever wanted to live in. And with unconditional love, courage, and brutal honesty, we’ve been auspiciously navigating how to live without my beloved, together. It’s our collective experience that inspired me to write Grief Ally, and develop a practice in teaching grief allyship because no one will ever know how to support someone they love through the long-haul of grief if we’re not willing to talk about it.

My Philosophy

• I believe that grief is a primary human experience that should not be pathologized.
• I believe that every human experiences grief in their own unique way.
• I believe that it is our right as humans to be able to grieve without judgment from others.
• I believe that grief lasts forever, we don’t “get over it” or “move on” or “fix it.”

What is Grief Allyship?

 Grief Allyship is the act of supporting and advocating for those who are grieving by providing unconditional love, empowerment, and deep reverence for their experience. 

My Training

• Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology (Candidate, 2024, Yorkville University)
• Certificate in Children’s Grief and Bereavement (2023, SickKids Garry Hurvitz Centre for Community Mental Health)
• Hospice Toronto Volunteer Core Training (2023, Hospice Toronto)
• Hospice Toronto Peer Support Group Training (2023, Hospice Toronto)
• Hospice Volunteer Training (2023, Hospice and Palliative Care Ontario)
• Foundations of Trauma (2023, Wilfred Laurier University, Department of Social Work)
• Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice (2022, Justice Institute of BC)
• Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum Who Are Grieving a Death (2022, Andrea Warnick Consulting)
• Creative Approaches for Supporting Grieving Children (2022, Andrea Warnick Consulting)
• Supporting Grieving Students (2022, Andrea Warnick Consulting)
• Talking to Children about MAID (2022, Andrea Warnick Consulting)
• Grief Therapy Techniques: A Foundation for Clinicians CEC (2022, What’s Your Grief)
• Cultural Diversity in Counselling (2022, Yorkville University)
• Grief Literacy Training Levels I, II, & III (2021/2022, being here, human)
• Continuing Bonds and Attachment in Grief CEC (2021, What’s Your Grief)
• Ethics and Personal Loss, Countertransference, and Self-Disclosure in Grief Support CEC (2021, What’s Your Grief)
• Mindful: A Workshop on Trauma Mindfulness (2021, Katie Krutz)
• Understanding the Grief of Traumatic Loss CEC (2020, What’s Your Grief)
• Whole Person Certified Coach (2018, Coach Training World)
• Masters of Science in Social Planning with a Specialization in Public Health Policy and Community Development (2013, University of Toronto)