Circles Grief Journal

Our grief companion is a journal for healing after loss. We shake with joy, we shake with grief. What a time they have,these two housed in the same body.”Mary Olive Co-created by Amanda Meeks and Shayna Norwood this journal is designed to provide structure to navigate your day to day while grieving. Wherever you are in your grief journey, we hope this journal makes space for youto explore your grief through creativity, reflection, and helps you move forward at your own pace. It’s a special gift to collaborate with a dear friend on somethingas personal and sacred as a grief journal. In grief support spaces,we are encouraged to treat ourselves with the same kindness andcompassion we would a friend. Here is our take on what a friendmight oer another grieving friend who has experienced loss.We’ve designed the following pages for you to fill with your ownexperiences, feelings, and creations in hopes of meeting youwhere you are. As you move through our self-care suggestions, please remember to notice the joy in each one, even if it is small. There may be days where simply feeling the joy of breathing is all that is possible and that’s okay. Laughing or other joyous moments will come when you’re ready for them. There is no rush. Please be gentle with yourself and remember: You already have all of the tools you need within you, we’re here to remind you of that. With Love, Amanda & Shayn About the Creators: Amanda and Shayna met in graduate school in 2008. Together they share a love of books, art, countercultures and a close friendship that has maintained over time, distance, and life’s ups and downs, including loss and grief. Amanda works with grief as an artist, end-of-life doula, and educator; she volunteers as a grief support facilitator and developed the content here based on her training and personal experiences with loss. Beyond this journal, she can help you process and honor your grief by collaboratively and compassionately working with you on creative legacy & memorial projects for your loved one(s).To contact her or access her doula services please visitwww.amandameeks.com/legacy/. Shaynais an artist, designer and mental health advocate. Her company Steel Petal Press creates and publishes greeting cards, notepads and journals for self care. Her work is sold in over 700 stores around the country and in all 50 states. She has been interviewed for numerous podcasts about her own personal struggle with anxiety. Through story telling she hopes to destigmatize the public opinion of what it means to struggle with mental illness and shed light on how isolating it can be. Purchase her work online or find a retailer near you here:www.steelpetalpress.com