Welcome to Witnessing-grief.com. I’m Kristen Norman and I am a Grief Educator. A Certified Grief Educator is committed to providing the highest level of grief support through education, experience, and insights into the often unacknowledged rocky terrain of grief.
We live in a grief illiterate society. Few people recognize the full impact of grief in our lives or that grief is a continued journey, not something that expires after 6 months or a year.
Through my own experience with grief, I felt the desire to “bring grief out of the closet” and help normalize grieving. To reach that goal, I became a Certified Grief Educator and one of the most important things I learned in that training is that grief needs to be witnessed.
My job as a Grief Educator is to witness your grief and help you navigate your grief journey.
I have known Kris for many years. Kris is a gracious, intelligent, kind friend. Grief work has been interwoven throughout her life due to family situations and challenges. Kris entered each loss with a willingness to strive for healthy healing that would enrich her soul and world view. My relationship with Kris has given me insights into my personal and professional challenges. Her support and encouragement throughout the years is a treasure I cherish. Kris will bring a gentleness, profound listening skills, and an authentic perspective that will offer options empowering the healing process.—David Maghakian, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, St. Croix Falls, WI
My Story
My daughter Ella lost her battle with depression and took her life in October 2020, just shy of her 21st birthday. The loss was devastating and because we were in the throws of COVID, I did most of my grieving in isolation. To maintain some contact with my friends and family, I began to document my grief journey on Facebook. I processed my grief on bike rides, in nature and making art. As time went on, I received more and more comments from people about how much they appreciated me sharing my journey. They found it helpful to have grief out in the open. Many shared their own stories of grief and were glad to not be alone on their grief journeys. This is when I realized the need to “bring grief out of the closet” and I began my work sharing my story more broadly and working to normalize the role of grief in our lives. I know that what I have learned on my grief journey can be helpful to others and my goal is to help others navigate grief and know that, while it never goes away, you can come out on the other side and learn to live with and around your grief.
Remembering Ella—from Ella’s Caring Bridge Site
Ella took her life on Sunday 10/25/20 and we are heartbroken. Ella was extremely sensitive to what was going on in the world from the climate change to politics to racism to LGBTQ issues. She also fought anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, deep depression caught up with her, and her concern for the world was too much to bear and she decided to leave us.
As a toddler Ella loved dress up, trains and anything musical! By high school she was an avid singer, cross country runner and track and field competitor, a student of politics and history, talented singer and actor and, most of all, friend. She had more friends than you could count. She could often be found in the back yard with friends around a bon fire talking until 2 am, or engaging in Sunday afternoon rounds of D & D!
She was incredibly musically talented playing the piano, guitar, violin and her most played instrument- her beautiful voice! Ella was studying music and history at Roosevelt University in Chicago. She loved classical music of all sorts, and was particularly fond of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Beethoven, and Debussy.
Ella came out to the world as a transgender woman in July of 2020. She was finally able to be herself and friends and family accepted her with open arms.
We can't believe we have lost our daughter, our sister, our friend. Your support is more important than we can ever put into words. Thank you.
Peer to Peer Support
I can meet with you on-line or in person to help you navigate your grief journey and witness your grief. This is an opportunity for you to get support as you process your grief.
I offer a 30 minute complimentary “Get to know me” session to see if you think working together is right for you. After that you can decide how often and for how many sessions you would like to meet. Sessions are $150/hour or 3 sessions for $400. Contact me to set up your complimentary session.
What I Do
Presentations
I can present to your grief group, church or other organization about many aspects of grief including my grief journey, helping others in their grief journeys, surviving suicide, loss of a child or other topics you might want or need. Contact me to find out more.
Group Facilitation
I can facilitate grief groups for your organization. I have facilitated the child loss group for the Edina Grief Coalition and understand the dynamics of grief groups for any type of grief. Contact me about facilitating a group for your organization.
Presentations and Publications
Remembering Ella is a 20-30 minute presentation that can be combined with discussion and Q&A. The presentation describes my grief journey, the things that I found helpful in processing my grief and that you can come out on the other side, living with and around your grief. The presentation also touches on mental health, suicide, gender transition, and how to support those around you who are grieving.
Many employees face grief, whether from the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or other life changes, and yet few workplaces are equipped with policies to support them. This session will address the need for greater awareness and education around grief in the workplace. By understanding grief's profound impact on emotional well-being, productivity, and work engagement, organizations can implement compassionate policies that not only help grieving employees but also enhance workplace culture.
Honoring and Supporting Grief in the workplace can be a 20-30 minute presentation or a 60-90 minute workshop.