My Story

 I didn’t set out to create a grief support program.
Graceful Guidance grew out of lived experience, professional nursing work, and a deep understanding of how grief and trauma affect both the heart and the body — especially after suicide loss.

After losing someone I loved to suicide, I did what many people are encouraged to do: I sought professional help. Some of that support mattered. But what no one explained was what was happening inside my nervous system — why my body stayed on edge, why my thoughts felt stuck, and why grief felt so overwhelming and confusing.

Without that understanding, I carried guilt, exhaustion, and self-blame far longer than I needed to. I believed I was “failing” at grief, when in reality my body was responding to trauma.

At the same time, I was becoming a nurse — learning to care for others while my own nervous system was still trying to find safety. Later, as a hospice nurse and death doula, I walked alongside patients and families through profound loss. That work filled my heart and sharpened my understanding of grief in ways no textbook could.

Over years in hospice and palliative care, I learned how deeply grief lives in the body, how silence and misunderstanding can compound suffering, and how powerful it is when someone feels seen instead of judged. I also learned what support can look like when it is compassionate, structured, and grounded — not rushed or pathologized.

Graceful Guidance exists so no one has to navigate suicide loss without understanding what their mind and body are doing. This work is not about fixing grief or forcing healing. It is about offering education, emotional safety, and steady support so people can move forward without blaming themselves for how grief unfolds.

If you’re here because something in this story resonates, you don’t have to carry it alone. Support options are available when and if you’re ready.