Claire Brakel Packer
There is no life without loss & there is no living without dying.
GRIEF WRITER, WITNESS & RITUAL WEAVER
Hi! My name is Claire Brakel Packer. I'm a writer and grief coach dedicated to reclaiming the sacred art of grief tending. Much of my work focuses on weaving embodied ritual practices as a way to walk alongside rather than fight, fix, or outcast the many and complex griefs we gather as humans on this beautiful and suffering planet. My writing and coaching is rooted in anti-oppression and communal liberation work. This is a space where deeply feeling and deeply grieving folks can find refuge. Your heartbreak is welcome here.
On this site, you'll find links to my projects including my newsletter The Grief Letters with Claire and information about my grief coaching services at Morning Fields Grief Coaching LLC.
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Grief Astronomer
by Andrea Gibson
A difficult life is not less
worth living than a gentle one.
Joy is simply easier to carry
than sorrow. And your heart
could lift a city from how long
you’ve spent holding what’s been
nearly impossible to hold.
This world needs those
who know how to do that.
Those who could find a tunnel
that has no light at the end of it,
and hold it up like a telescope
to know the darkness
also contains truths that could
bring the light to its knees.
Grief astronomer, adjust the lens,
look close, tell us what you see.
THE GRIEF LETTERS
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it won't be me.
the one to tell you it gets better.
the rainbow leading to a pot of gold.
the coach with a plan to heal your grief.
the bandaid on your broken heart.
i can make space for the pain.
i can show you that it's okay
to stay and love them here.
but if you're searching for
someone to lead you
to the brighter side
it won't be me.
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sara rian
GRIEF COACHING
COMING SOON!
I'm launching my grief coaching offerings in early 2025. I'll be so honored to be in grief with you.
ABOUT: My Grief Lineage
In 2001, I lost my older brother Daniel to suicide. I have walked alongside Grief and Death ever since. In 2020, I began to alchemize this personal pilgrimage into grief work and offer my medicine in the form of writing, group gatherings, and coaching. Below is a list of training and commitments that have informed my grief work.
Doing Our Own Work: An Anti-Racism Seminar for White People - Melanie Morrison, Allies for Change, 2015
Foundations of Somatic Abolitionism - Resmaa Menakem & Carlin Quinn, 2021
Reparative Communal Consultations for White Bodies - Education for Racial Equity, 2021 & 2023
Enter the Healing Ground: Grief Ritual Leadership Training 2023 - Francis Weller with Erin Geesaman Rabke, Holly Truhlar, Carl Rabke, and Alexandre Jodun
Hospice & Bereavement Volunteer Training - Unity Point Hospice 2023 & 2024
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Teaching English as Second Language, MA, St. Cloud State University, 2011
English Writing; Gender & Women's Studies, Japanese, BA, Illinois College, 2008
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