Unpack Your Grief
Personalized Grief Support for Busy Business Owners Navigating Life After Loss
Make Time For Your Grief
When you’re feeling burdened by all the responsibilities of the estate, the paperwork and everyone else’s well-being …
When you’re wondering when you’ll actually get to grieve …
When you need to unload about what your brother, sister, aunt or other parent is doing or not doing …
When you want to just be sad, mad or whatever you’re feeling today without judgment and without having to worry about hurting someone else’s feelings …
When you’ve tried therapy and you’ve gotten to functioning, but you want to actually feel better …
Grief Coaching Can Help
Grief coaching can help you get from just surviving to thriving.
My talk at Make Your Mark Live was called Packing and Unpacking: Lessons from a Grief Coach.
The process of
- unpacking our losses
- choosing with intention what we bring forward
- curating what we keep
is fundamental to what I do as a grief coach.
Originally from NYC and currently based in Lisbon, Portugal, I work with clients worldwide via Zoom. My 1:1 grief coaching package starts at $1500 USD.
Book a complimentary call to see if grief coaching is right for you. Have a question? Ask me at hello[at]charlenelam.com
You Are Not Alone
Hi! I’m Charlene. I’m a certified grief coach, speaker and curator of The Grief Gallery.
I help grieving people feeling burdened by responsibilities, resentments and regrets after the death of a loved one to feel lighter –– so you can live your own fullest life.
After the sudden death of my mother Marilyn in 2013, I put my life, work and grief on hold as I struggled to deal with the estate, paperwork and belongings.
Navigating the practical and emotional aftermath of losing my mom was the hardest, loneliest time of my life.
Healing took time — and it took help.
Want personalized, individual help with your grief?
Why Unpack Your Grief?
My talk at Make Your Mark Live was called Packing and Unpacking: Lessons from a Grief Coach. In the talk, I highlighted
- grief is not just for the loss of a human to death — we can also grieve projects, plans and businesses
- the importance of pausing to look at what we’re carrying and unpacking
- that grieving is essential for entrepreneurs and business owners
The process of unpacking our losses, choosing with intention what we bring forward and curating what we keep is fundamental to what I do as a grief coach.
I’ve seen the cost of NOT unpacking our grief, personally and professionally. When you don’t take the time to acknowledge your losses, to mourn them and to process any and all emotions that come up, it shows up in multiple ways.
- In your relationships.
- In your performance at work and with clients.
- In your ability to enjoy the holidays and other meaningful events.
- In your capacity to support others.
Unprocessed grief is heavy. It weighs you down, slows you down, drags you down.
Let’s help you unpack your grief, process your losses and to feel lighter.
Curating Grief: A Creative Approach
Whether it’s supporting you as you sort through the physical stuff or helping you to finally tackle the emotional stuff that’s been weighing you down, I bring a creative, accessible approach to my grief coaching.
I use the lens of curating in my grief work. As a metaphor and a modality!
Why “curate” grief?
Curating is choosing with intention.
1. We are all curators. You may not have a gallery space or work with art, but you make choices every day about what takes up space in your home and your life.
2. After the death of a loved one or other significant loss, we are inevitably faced with difficult choices. Choices about who gets what. What goes where. What we say or do. We can use “curating” as a beautiful lens for making these choices.
3. As grieving people, we’re dealing with circumstances outside our control like death and loss. It’s empowering to recognize what we CAN control. What choices we DO have. Like how we WANT to remember our person. And to move forward from there.
That’s why it’s so important to choose with intention, to Curate Grief.
Curious about my Curating Grief framework for grief coaching? Let’s have a chat!
WORK WITH ME
Grief Coaching
UNPACKING YOUR GRIEF AND LOSSES
Have you made space and time for your grief? Whether your significant loss(es) are months, years or decades ago, you might have unacknowledged or unprocessed grief that’s weighing you down. Let's unpack so you can feel lighter and more equipped to move forward.
CHOOSING WHAT TO KEEP AFTER A LOVED ONE DIES
Struggling with hard choices after the death of a loved one? How do we decide what to keep, and what to let go of? I can help.
CREATING THE MEMORIAL YOU REALLY WANT TO GIVE THEM
Facing a significant date? Whether it's a birthday, the anniversary of a death, or a major holiday, creating a memorial or commissioning artwork can be the best way to remember your person.
Or contact me at hello[at]charlenelam.com
I get more aha's from you than my therapist!
It's felt like an impossible task to try to sort through my mom's belongings. I feel like I have a place to begin this process now and it doesn't feel so terrifying. Thank you.
I love this approach as a creative outlet for grief - I'm totally inspired.
MY UNIQUE APPROACH
Curating Grief
Curating Grief After Loss
Curating Grief™ is the name of my unique approach to grief support. Why "curate" grief? Find out in this video.
LET’S HAVE A CHAT
Complimentary Call
EVENTS
Monthly Grief Gathering
Pull up a virtual chair and join grief coach and curator Charlene Lam for The Grief Gallery’s FREE monthly gathering for community connection and creative inspiration. We meet online the last Wednesday of the month at 2pm ET / 7pm UK time.
hello
I’m Charlene
I help grieving people to feel more supported, less alone and better-equipped to navigate the practical and emotional aftermath of losing a loved one. I offer grief support that’s effective and NOT grim, using creativity and the lens of curating.
After my mother died suddenly in 2013, I leaned into my own creativity and instincts as a curator to guide myself through grief. From there, I decided to help other people with their grief.
I’m a certified grief coach, speaker and curator of The Grief Gallery, specializing in storytelling, meaning making and post-traumatic growth. I believe we are ALL curators after a loved one dies. I designed my Curating Grief framework to help people heal in a creative, accessible way.
My certifications and ongoing training include The Life Coach School, Claire Bidwell Smith’s Grief and Loss program, Megan Devine’s Grief Care training through PESI, What’s Your Grief’s continuing education, and the Portland Institute of Grief and Loss programs in using art and meaning reconstruction in grief work.
As curator of The Grief Gallery, I present exhibitions internationally online and in-person about grief and loss, often featuring the belongings of people’s lost loved ones.
I’m the author of the forthcoming book Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies.
A proud New Yorker, I split my time between NYC and Lisbon, Portugal, and travels frequently for work and leisure.
Get In Touch
- hello@charlenelam.com
CONTACT
- hello@charlenelam.com
CONNECT
YOU ARE ALL WELCOME
WORK WITH ME
GRIEF COACHING
MEET ME IN LISBON
SPEAKING AND WORKSHOPS
MONTHLY GRIEF GATHERING
Join us for The Grief Gallery's free, supportive grief group gathering the last Wednesday of the month, 2pm ET (7pm UK).
CURATING GRIEF PODCAST
- Listen to the Curating Grief podcast
GRIEF RESOURCES
Need help with grief? I can help.
Get in touch: Email hello [at] charlenelam.com
Note: Coaching and coaching consultations are not a substitute for counseling, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, or other professional advice by legal, medical or other qualified professionals. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, contact 911 or your local emergency services.
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