Guiding you through grief and beyond
Hi, I’m Cheryl
I help people who are grieving, whether they’re reeling from a recent loss, or have been living with emotional pain for a while now.
In the next section on this page, I share my own story of loss, grief and recovery.
But I completely understand that when you’re already dealing with your own grief experience, you may not want to read about somebody else’s.
If you’d rather move right along to discover the help I can offer you, you can skip the rest of the page.
Just know that:
- I am trained and qualified to deliver these services – I am a certified Life Coach and certified Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist able to deliver in person and online
- However you’re feeling, for however long, and whatever coping mechanisms you’re using right now – I understand, I’ll never judge you, and it is possible to feel better (even if right now you can’t imagine what that would look like)
- You can find out more about the ways I can help you here.
My Grief Recovery Journey
I decided to become certified as a Life Coach and Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist because there are a lot of hurt people in the world who are merely coping and living with emotional pain. People struggle with facing their emotions and so many mask their feelings by resorting to drugs and alcohol, only to discover the pain remains, buried deep inside, waiting to resurface when the time is right.
I deliberately chose to do this work because I want to give people hope and help them to believe in themselves and to believe their hopes and dreams are possible.
Life Coaching is my passion and Grief Recovery is my specialty.
Turning 50 was a rite of passage. Life was good. My adult sons planned an amazing surprise party and gathered family and friends to celebrate this milestone. I had found my soulmate after being a single parent for many years.
Bill and I were beyond happy to be planning our future together and excited about our new blended family. We started home renovations, talked about wedding plans and travel plans after retirement which was planned for several years down the road. That was the plan then.
Unexpectedly, I lost my job of 30 years due to a merger. I thought to myself – 50 is not a great age to become re-employed so I drummed up some courage and started my own consulting business. I took my skills and experience in Human Resources, Community and Stakeholder and Public Relations and expanded my knowledge from Oil and Gas sector to Green and Alternative Energy. I continued to build relationships and learned a lot about operating as a solopreneur. My career was back on track and I was doing more of what inspired me but in many ways it was doing the same type of work I had done for 30 years.
Bill and I both lost our only remaining parent. The loss of a parent is very difficult at any age. For me the feelings of having lost my Mother, the woman who gave birth to me and showed me unconditional love, told me I was her rock (when she was mine) were difficult. Knowing she died alone and unexpectedly also contributed to the grief. It’s a tremendous loss and something you really cannot prepare for. I found great comfort and so appreciated the support and understanding that I had from Bill. I think with both of us losing a parent, close to the same time, helped with the ability to comfort, listen and understand each other’s pain. It was just months later that Bill was diagnosed with cancer. A battle he fought and won!
Dreams can be shattered. Plans for the future wiped away. It was December 2012, a cold winter day, I received the call that Bill’s boat had capsized and a search and rescue was underway. It was a couple days before Bill’s body was recovered from the waters of Lake Huron. The days and weeks passed and I decided to take a break from my working career of 35 years now, and focus on me, my wellbeing and what would become of my future.
I felt lost, empty and uncertain.
I sought out support groups and various forms of grief therapy but didn’t find anything that was really helpful. In my heart I had the desire to become a life coach. I sought out a certification program and began the work toward learning and growing.
In 2014 I was presented with another challenge when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. I had never before felt the feeling of losing my life, having my health compromised. I continued my studies and at the same time underwent chemotherapy, radiation and numerous surgeries.
My true healing began after I read the Grief Recovery Handbook (see Resource Section).
It was exactly what I needed. I could relate to everything I read. It made sense. It was at this point I realized that I wanted to become certified to deliver The Grief Recovery Method to help others. And so I did.
I do things differently now. It’s not the crazy 9-5, working weekends, catching up after vacation. I let all that go. I made some choices on what I was passionate about and it’s been a longer road than I originally thought but that’s ok. Taking inspired action is the key. I knew I was on track.
Today, having upgraded my skill set and now I am an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist I’ve expanded my reach and can support more people. I like to believe that I am contributing to healing the world, one person, one loss at a time.
I enjoy walks in nature, yoga, sacred circle dance, astrology and moon studies, essential oils, quantum physics, reiki, chakras and energy healing.
For anyone interested in learning about my programs just click the link and book your complimentary discovery call.
