Gabrielle Michel
Gabrielle Michel, a pioneer in the grief movement and Founder of Graceful Grieving, is an interfaith minister, spiritual counselor, Certified Hypnotherapist and Grief Recovery Specialist. Her specialty is helping people work through spiritual crisis after a major loss. In 2004 she experienced a spiritual crisis of her own. February brought the miscarriage of her first baby. July: the death of her younger brother. In October she said goodbye to a dear friend who succumbed to emphysema. And on December 22nd, she joyfully welcomed her second baby into the world, only to say goodbye to her the very next morning when death claimed her as well. Seeking solace in the midst of great spiritual pain, Gabrielle embarked on a quest to find comfort, eventually becoming a Grief Recovery Specialist. What she discovered during that time, are what she believes to be the missing pieces for grieving parents, and those who have lost a loved one. Her studies, training, ministerial and spiritual counseling experience, along with her own recovery from deep despair, make Gabrielle a compelling, relatable writer and speaker on the topic of grief. Though the subject is dark and painful, her resilient spirit, disarming sense of humor and accessible demeanor allow her to produce books, workshops and lectures that engage, inspire and empower.
Articles:
Losing a Grandparent, Recalling Her Wisdom
It seems like I haven’t written in forever. So much has happened in my world and in our world, I hardly know where to begin. So, I’ll start with me, because it is all about me after all. My favorite grandma, Marcella, made her transition a couple of years ago (for those of you who don’t speak “metaphysics,” transition means died). She was ninety-four, so it’s not like it wasn’t expected, but it totally caught me by surprise. There is something so final about death that even when you know it’s coming, somehow it still blind-sides you. My sorrow temporarily […]
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Repressing Grief Won’t Make it Go Away
If you were given the choice between diving into the darkest depths of the ocean, fully equipped with all of the gear needed to handle whatever you might encounter, OR being attached to an 80-pound anchor while you flailed frantically to keep your head above water, which would you choose? Well, when it’s put that way, I’d have to choose diving into the depths. Grief is a lot like plunging into the depths of a dark unknown ocean. When we plunge into grief, we fear we will never resurface. So we choose instead to frantically tread water while lugging an […]
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Death at Center of her Life
Sometimes I wonder if our lives are predestined or if we really have choice. Often it seems the universe conspires to lead us in a particular direction, and no matter how hard we fight it, we are going there whether we like it or not. I had a very specific vision of what my life was going to be; let’s just say it doesn’t remotely resemble the life that has unfolded (and continues to unfold) before me. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that my life’s work would be about grief, death and how death can teach […]
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