Grief Coach Kate Doerge Shares Strategies to Balance Sorrow and Joy

Kate Doerge experienced profound personal loss, losing her father to heart failure, her mother in a car crash, and her daughter Penny, who lived with neurofibromatosis, in 2022. Turning her pain into a vocation, she earned certification as a grief coach and wrote "Reimagining Grief," a guide she wishes she had during her own mourning. Her framework consists of five actions: fostering human connection, honoring the deceased through small rituals, remaining receptive to symbolic signs, engaging in regular physical activity, and converting sorrow into purposeful initiatives.

Through the latter, she and her husband launched Penny's Flight Foundation to support research and awareness for neurofibromatosis, a condition affecting about 150,000 people. Doerge advises friends of the bereaved to offer simple, sincere support, such as a text or a shared walk, and to recall cherished memories of the departed.