Posoh! Hello!

My name is Saquatukia (Evening Star Woman) and I am an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. My english name is Sharon Fredericks.

When my 13-year-old son died by suicide, the loss ripped open every wound I ever had. Drowning in guilt and pain, I began a journey to understand my grief. I soon discovered a profound truth: the people who truly understood my pain were those who had experienced similar losses. I’ve learned firsthand how to live with traumatic losses, including: trauma, illness, murder, addiction, and suicide. Each type of grief has its own complex layers.

As I began to heal, I felt a deep desire to help others. With my PhD in Education, I know how to teach.  So I trained with David Kessler to become a Peer to Peer Grief Educator, gaining the professional skills to accompany my life experience to guide others through their healing. I have been moderating in David’s online grief community TENDER HEARTS for more than two years. This has taught me how to support people from around the world with an array of losses.

We live in a grief-illiterate society, and many people feel alone and misunderstood in their pain. There is no fixing grief or taking away the pain, because it is a testament to love. However, the intensity of that pain can change when you learn how to navigate it.