Welcome. Hi. Nice to meet you. "Hallo und Guten Tag."

Glad you're here. Are you suffering from a constant, nagging tiredness? Is your mind wandering in endless loops which makes concentrating a chore? Does your broken heart keep you awake at night? Are you angry half the time, and you don't even know why? Maybe you're just curious what Grief Recovery is all about, as I was, when I first saw 'the little purple book' on the "New Book" bookshelf of my local library.

What started as a simple journey into discovering emotions following the death of my father, grew into unearthing long-buried grief, pain and 'coping patterns' that didn't help me cope at all.

Before I engaged with the Grief Recovery Method, my creativity had been all but wiped out by grief-related fatigue, because the cumulatively negative effect of grief acts as a 'dimmer switch' on life in its entirety. With the help of a passionate and compassionate Grief Recovery Specialist I found the courage to face my own turmoil, and subsequently, was put on a path of recovery. This experience has changed my life forever in ways I couldn't have dreamed of.

Here's a little about my background: I grew up where other people go to vacation, at the foothills of the Bavarian Alps in Germany. In my early twenties I spent a year in England as an assistant teacher, and I moved to the US in 1998. I currently live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I am a holistic educator who started out as a teacher turned homeschool mother transitioning to private tutor. I have 25+ years experience in the field of education, and great passion to enable ourselves and our young generation to thrive.

https://www.helpingchildrenwithloss.com showcases how I teach caregivers of children how to support the children in their care during times of change and loss.

My own journey includes many (MANY) moves, some of which were more traumatic than others. In some cases, I didn't even understand the dynamics that left me sad and depressed, because the change had been "good". I thought I ought to have felt joyful instead! Moving from one culture to another is an interesting experience also, and I did not realize until recently just how impactful it had been.

When our first child was born, we almost both died because I had developed toxemia. Our son was delivered via emergency C-section two months premature, and I had been so ill that the procedure put me on a respirator for three days afterward. It took me months to recover from the ordeal, and in the beginning, there was a real disconnect to our new baby, where there "should have been" love and connection. I was confused at best, angry and frustrated at worst.

In 2010 my mother died suddenly, unexpectedly, tragically, and an ocean away. We had been close at heart despite the physical distance, and I went numb with shock. After everyone moved on with their lives around me, I decided I needed to, too. The light went a little darker... Just a few short years later, my father developed Alzheimer's Disease, also far away. How do you lose a person who is still alive? That was a challenge of another kind.

Like all of us, my life has been touched up close and personal by many other losses.

Fast forward to 2018, just a few weeks after my father had passed, where I happened to see this book. "Hm", I thought, "could be a good read". After all, I had just lost my dad. I was hooked on page one of chapter one, where it states:

"Grief is the conflicting feelings caused by the end of or change in a familiar pattern of behavior".

That blew it wide open for me! I also realized the peaceful Goodbye my father and I had shared was in stark contrast to my mother's death ten years prior, which suddenly touched me hot and raw again. I noticed that in ten years, I hadn't been able to open the picture box under my bed once. By the time I had walked through Grief Recovery, I had put a few pictures of my mother on my desk, and since, I am able to look at her as often as I like with joy instead of unbearable pain - something that I had thought impossible.

I have seen that I can heal my relationship not only to people, but also to harder-to-grasp internal intangibles like trust, or a sense of safety (or the lack therof!). The freedom and peace I am gaining as a direct result, have become a solid foundation to live from in these times of great uncertainty.

If by now something I have shared has piqued your curiosity, and if you'd like to hear more, I promise to listen without judgment and answer all questions honestly. Experiencing loss is inevitable, but suffering from it endlessly is not. And if you'll allow me, I'll show you how life can be brighter, lighter and with an added touch of sparkle again.