We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Fernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
April 6, 2011 forever changed my life in an unthinkable way. I experienced the sudden death of my mom, who had just celebrated her 43rd birthday. Throughout the early days and years of my grief journey, I remember feeling completely lost and alone because any time I tried to speak to family and friends about my mom and all of the emotions I was experiencing, I was often met with their discomfort and projections of how they thought I should be experiencing my grief. These interactions oftentimes left me feeling as though something was wrong with me because it seemed that I was the only one experiencing all of this pain.
As time went by, I continued feeling this overwhelming sense of desolation and disconnection that made me feel as though I was merely existing. In 2017, I decided to seek out professional support through therapy & support groups because I could not bare continuing to feel this way for much longer. Through my healing journey and conversations with other fellow grievers, I realized that there was nothing wrong with the way I was experiencing my grief. Rather, I was faced with the reality that we live in a grief illiterate world, that is very uncomfortable with conversations around grief and loss. And so in 2019, I founded Life after Loss, with the goal of normalizing conversations around grief and loss. I started with a YouTube Channel, where I shared my professional and personal point of view, research, & experiences around grief and loss. I then progressed to creating an Instagram account, @_lifeafterloss, where I share content specific to grief education, the evolution of my grief journey, coping tools, building community, & the positive impact that having a support network that gets us. Shortly after launching my IG page, I created and launched my website and established an LLC, where I provide educational and supportive services on an individual, group, and organizational level. My mission is to make this a more supportive world for grievers everywhere so that no griever has to face their grief alone.
Lindsay, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I founded Life after Loss LLC with the mission of creating a more supportive world for grievers so that they don’t have to face their grief journey alone. As a little girl, I always knew that I wanted to work in the Mental Health field because I experienced firsthand how much my mother struggled with her Mental Health and how difficult it was for her to access adequate resources and support. At the time, I thought I would pursue a career as a Mental Health Therapist and it wasn’t until I experienced her sudden death in 2011 that I realized just how little support, resources, and understanding on both the individual and collective level, there was in the grief space. This was something that took me years to realize because there was a time in which I genuinely thought that there was something wrong with me and the way I was experiencing my grief, based on the misinformation, expectations, and discomfort of others around conversations of loss and grief. On an educational level, I pursued a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and went on to serve people that have experienced the death of a loved one, as a Bereavement Counselor. While I’ve enjoyed the connections and community I have been able to foster with my clients, I felt that there was still more for me to do, which is what led me to launching my own business, where I provide educational and supportive services on an individual, group, and organizational level. From launching a 1:1 Grief Educational & Supportive Services Program, to creating and launching a 12-Week Grief Group Program, to Support Groups for Grievers, & hosting Grief Educational Workshops online, in schools, and community organizations, I have been able to reach people from all walks of life. I decided to pursue and create my own path because oftentimes, traditional mental health settings have limitations like time, that doesn’t always allow people to access the kind of support that they need for the amount of time that they need. Both my personal experiences & professional expertise has allowed me to connect with my community in a raw and authentic way. I also don’t claim to be anyone’s ‘grief expert’, rather I guide people into becoming the expert of their own grief so that no one outside of themselves can project their own biases, beliefs, & discomfort onto them.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My first service-based offering was a group program that was designed to help grievers foster more ease and understanding throughout their grief experience. I was super excited about promoting my program and welcoming in people, who wanted to be supported and guided through their journey. However, after several consultations, I realized that at that time, people were more interested in individual services because their grief was something that was so vulnerable and personal for them and were not necessarily ready to share it in a group setting. At that time, I had two choices; continue promoting my group program or pivot and start with a 1:1 program. I decided that I would connect with my community through a 1:1 program where I offered educational and counseling support. While initially, I felt like my group launch failed, upon later reflection, I realized that it pointed me to the direction that I needed to take and that also allowed me to find out more about the kind of support that people are looking for and the challenges that I can help support them through. Focusing first on a 1:1 program also allowed me to build my reputation and trust within my community and led me to creating programs specific to the areas of support that people felt they were missing.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I have been able to build my reputation within the grief space by continuing to show up as my authentic, human self. As professionals, sometimes people forget that what connects us to our audience is being able to show the human side of us that allows people to see us as relatable and provides insight into why we are passionate about this field. Throughout the years of building my audience, I’ve never pretended to be something I am not or pretended to serve people beyond my scope of practice. Transparency has been key for me because anyone who has wanted to work with me understands what they can expect from me and the services I offer. The way I have shown up for all of my clients, whether through my 1:1 programs or group programs, has been with an open-mind and open heart, ready to meet them where they are emotionally, both emotionally and mentally, and guide them to a path of hope and the assurance that there is life after loss.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lifeafterloss.co
- Instagram: @_lifeafterloss
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@LifeafterLoss?si=oPXgT97llfMzRx57