Loss comes along.
First it breaks your heart,
then it comes along with you for life.
Loss is part of you, but it's not all of you.
I'm Kimberley.
If I've learned one thing from a series of life-altering losses and traumatic events over the course of my lifetime that could really help you right now, it's this:
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While loss is forever, grief is not.
Grief is tidal, like the ocean.
Big waves rise, recede, then calm flows in.
Are you feeling...
Helpless
Ever find yourself suddenly crying in the grocery store, while driving, in the middle of a conversation, or otherwise out of the blue—feeling completely at the whim of grief?
Haunted
Do your thoughts cycle and cycle, wondering what more you could have done, blaming yourself for what you did or didn't say, or feeling guilty for wanting to be happy again?
Lost
Does it feel like the whole world is going on without you, and that you've not only lost someone you love, you've lost your sense of who you are now that you have to live without them?
Terribly Alone
Are you overwhelmed by the longing to have your loved one back as a physical presence in your days, yet your memories of them bring not comfort but pain, as if you've been left behind?
What would it take for you to really live again?
Intention. Understanding. Compassion. Direction. Action.
the ingredients for achieving well-being
​I've had so many conversations over the years with people feeling stuck in grief and struggling to find their way back into their lives. When I ask what they've done so far to start living forward again, about 60% of the time they say, "Dealing with it on my own" or "I don't know what to do" or "I know it just takes time to heal."​​​​​
Time doesn't heal.
Hoping things will get better isn't a cure.
Sometimes they've watched self-help videos online or talked with a close friend or simply pushed themselves through their days like a numb, battle-worn soldier.
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When people finally find their way to me, realizing they need support to get un-stuck, here's what I hear: "I feel like something huge is missing. Not just the one I've lost, something deeper, that spark, that light-heartedness, that joy in simple things."​​​
Some losses are just so hard, you need a little help.
The right guide shows you how to help you.
Are you ready to find your pathway back to you?
I help people around the world, especially those at midlife and beyond, integrate the loss of someone they love into a vibrant, meaningful Second Act new season of life.
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That happens through:
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Personally working with clients one-to-one,
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Leading and facilitating periodic small group workshops,
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Creating an affordable and comprehensive Inviting Joy Into Grief Toolkit,
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Offering my top-selling book, Grieving Us: A Field Guide for Living With Loss Without Losing Yourself, a #1 New Release upon publication on Amazon.​
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I help people reimagine life after loss or traumatic events, so they can live fully again.
By understanding the various pathways we all travel when grieving, then focusing on the specific pathway that's blocking their ability to live forward, my clients are able to transcend the immense range of grief-driven thoughts, emotions, and physical feelings. ​​​​​
The results?
My clients grow and step into new versions of themselves. They're able to:
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Take the reins of their grief, feeling more in control of when and how they navigate difficult emotions.
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Tame the wild thoughts and self-blaming self talk, so they can live knowing they did their best in heartbreaking circumstances and they are worthy of well-being.
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Go safely within themselves and unearth a new sense of purpose and identity so they feel fully apart of their lives, their relationships, and the world around them.
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Learn to hold on to the ones they love and have lost in new ways, keeping a continuing connection to that love they still feel, remembering with peace and gratitude, as they move into their future holding often-surprising meaning, possibility & self discoveries.
Our lives intersect with others.
What I Bring
About me
As an award-winning poet & author as well as a mentor, coach & trusted advisor,
I believe in the marrow of my bones that we are each here because life wants, no, needs, to happen through us. We may never know what our 'purpose' on this planet may be, but you and I bring something to this world that only we can give.
Yes, death, trauma, harm, and hurt visit our lives.
Still, we are here, so our journey is still unfolding.
Joy, peace, curiosity, creativity, caring relationships, resilience, and real well-being aren't just goals.
They are the what, the why, and the way we keep going.
Me
​My dance with loss started early. As a toddler, I survived a house fire that my sisters, sleeping in the same room, did not.
Over time I weathered a series of deaths that come with living on the planet awhile. Losing my mother, soon after the suicide of a friend, hit me the hardest. I spent two years in "loss limbo" until I figured out a system for living with loss AND with joy every day.
If you're curious about how I found my pathway out of "loss limbo" and back into a life I love, you can listen to the audio below to hear the short story
Click below to listen.
Along the way, before moving full-on into life-after-loss mentoring & coaching,
I spent 25+ years as a philanthropy leader and charitable & end-of-life planning advisor. I've held leadership and professional roles with foundations, universities, and an international humanitarian organization.
​Most meaningfully, I've served incredibly diverse people looking for meaning after the loss of a spouse, partner, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, friend, or beloved animal to illness, accident, suicide, or traumatic death.​
My work has taken me from Alaskan rainforests to the Andean highlands of Ecuador to the villages of rural Sierra Leone, connecting across cultures.
I've learned ... the realities of living with loss and the desire to live with joy, curiosity, meaning & well-being are common threads woven into the lives of all human beings.
When I'm not writing, mentoring, or speaking, I thrive along Northern California's redwood coast where I satisfy my 'thing for birds' by hiking the forests & beaches, sea kayaking the lagoons & bays, hanging out with two quirky cats, caring for my husband, and mindfully enjoying the subtle turning of the seasons.
Some of my professional education
