Testimonials
Though Gently Deathcare
“I’m a writer who had stopped being able to write after my brother died two years ago. Every attempt to put my experience into words felt false, either too big or too small, so I stopped trying. But not writing began to feel like a compounding loss. Working with Andrea over just a few sessions not only brought me into a more active and connected practice of grieving my brother but helped me reorient my broader creative practice in ways that no longer felt at odds with or inadequate to my grief experiences. Bringing a special combination of compassionate presence and keen observation to her grief companioning, Andrea sat with me inside the mess of everything and helped me notice where language and meaning already lived, how the images and intuitions I kept circling could be trusted and directly worked with, and how I already, on some level, knew what I was doing. I’m both grateful for and amazed by where our conversations took us. It was beautiful.” —A.K.
“I was experiencing a lot of complicated feelings after an unexpected loss and I didn’t really know how to process or proceed. I felt fully disoriented, like I couldn’t even tell where the ground was anymore, let alone how to navigate and keep up on the demands of everyday life. I didn't know who to talk to, or even how to talk about it—as it felt too heavy and too deep. In my first session with Andrea, it felt like the whirlwind eased, and through her stability, she helped guide me calmly back to the ground. Her presence brought a stillness, and a sense of safety, that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.” —G.A.
“In the year after my mom died I kept having experiences I had no idea how to talk about, including dreams that felt like more than dreams and small impossible coincidences I always immediately regretted sharing with the people in my life. Andrea was the first person who neither waved these experiences away nor made too much of them. She helped me understand my experiences as meaningful and legitimate without drawing us toward a specific interpretation or explanation of them. I came away from our sessions feeling more connected to my mom (as well as other people in my life who’ve passed away), more engaged in my grieving process, and oddly more at peace with having no clue what’s going on. I'd recommend Andrea to anyone whose grief has taken them somewhere they don’t yet have language for and who wants to remain as grounded as possible while exploring the groundlessness of loss.” —M.S.
“I had just one 90-minute session with Andrea but in that time was shown a whole new way to think about ritual as something that is naturally in us to do. Andrea listened deeply, responded with so much care and curiosity, and offered practical but powerful suggestions for how I might begin to create my own context-specific practices. I felt very inspired by our session and would recommend Andrea to anyone in or anticipating grief.” —K.S.