Bereavement - Kirnan Coaching Associates, LLC

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 – 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝

Fifty-four years ago today, my older brother Dennis passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 19. In early 2020, going through my Mom’s personal things after her passing, I found this letter — Dennis had written it to me in February 1972, just two months before he died. I was a junior at …

Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲

“𝑺𝒆𝒆, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕.” 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑:𝟖 As I come to the close of my year-long journey through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I find myself returning to certain Scripture passages—not just for what they meant then, but for how deeply they mirror …

Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲

“𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘.” — 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟐𝟏:𝟓 The resurrection of Jesus is not just a precious single moment we celebrate every Easter morning — it is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives and something we experience repeatedly as part of being human — a rhythm, a quiet steady …

Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

“𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.” — 𝙋𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙢 𝟯𝟬:𝟱 This morning, I took my second outdoor bike ride of the year — part of my preparation for the 2026 TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride through New York City on May 3rd. As I headed toward the …

Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐊𝐧𝐞𝐰 — 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

“𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑… 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛, 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑜 — 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒.” — Mary Oliver, The Journey That line above from the great Mary Oliver lands …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.” 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚, 𝘼 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙄𝙩 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟮), 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 Holidays can be an especially tender and painful time for …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠

“𝑺𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”, 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, “𝑨 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: 𝑾𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎”, 𝒃𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊 𝑺𝒚𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊 𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑹𝒊𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟖) As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself spending more time reflecting on the growing number …

Bereavement Reflections

Remembering My Great Mentor and Dear Friend — Dr. Michael Luckey

“There are good ships, there are wood ships, there are ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships and may that always be.” An old Irish proverb Do you remember what you were doing when you were 29 years old? Well for me it was in early April 1984. I had just …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬

“𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚.” 𝑳𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚, 𝑫𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆 (𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐) Can you remember the experience of sitting at the kitchen or dining room table growing up? At first glance you might say, “What’s so memorable about that oak table?” After all, …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Recovery Coaching Spiritual Coaching

The Redbird in Grief: Mom, Dad, Dennis — Is That You?

“Death ends a life, not a relationship. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on — in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.” From the book, Tuesdays with Morrie (1997) by Mitch Albom During the past several weeks, a …