Meet Laura Busse of Grief and Hope

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Busse

Hi Laura, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic when schools closed and the whole world stayed home, my worst fear became my new realty. My beloved son, Evan only twenty-three-years-old, lost his battle with depression and died by suicide. The news of this sudden tragedy shattered my soul into a billion pieces.

Alone without a guide, overwhelmed by confusion and despair, I entered the dark valley of grief. I clung to close family, friends, and my faith but I knew I needed so much more.

Being a long time educator, I dove into the many questions that quickly arise in grief. Why did this horrible thing happen? Is there anything I could have done? Why do I feel so alone? Will life ever be the same? What’s a life worth living look like? I explored each one and learned from leading grief and trauma experts. Learning and teaching others became my path forward. In the trenches of pain and suffering, a new light of hope and healing appeared.

Now I have become the grief and hope guide, educator, and coach I desperately needed. We are best able to support the person we used to be. No one should walk through grief alone.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Grief and loss do not take us down a smooth or easy road. They put our feet on a path of unimaginable pain where we must become the next version of ourselves. I have learned that after a loved one dies, we can never go back to life as it once was.

My biggest obstacle has been myself. First I had to face my own grief and ask for help. After interviewing and spending a lot of time and money with therapists, coaches, and pastors, it became crystal clear that I needed a trusted community of bereaved parents and survivors of suicide who were also walking through the unimaginable. Being in the company of people who were enduring similar loss and trauma gave my the strength to have my intense grief witnessed. In doing so, I eventually pivoted my career into grief education.

Surrendering to the call to use the worst part of your life to help others is a full-body wrestling match, a battle of the mind, and a daily decision. Why would I choose to tie my identity and career to the chapter of my life I’d rather delete, ignore, or hide? Because bringing grief into the light helps me find meaning and guides others who are suffering to experience renewed hope. It gives me purpose in my pain.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Grief and Hope?
As the founder of Grief and Hope, I compassionately support grieving souls. I am a certified Grief Educator and Coach having studied grief and trauma with world renowned experts such as David Kessler, Frank Anderson, Alex Howard, and Peter Levine. I specialize in acute grief, child loss, sudden loss, traumatic loss, and death by suicide.

I encourage and equip bereaved people in one on one sessions, facilitate weekly world-wide grief groups with David Kessler, host online webinars, retreats, and speak at women’s conferences and corporate events. I recently spoke on International Suicide Survivor’s Day hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Denver. Public speaking is my passion.

I am so excited to share that in January 2025, I signed my first traditional publishing book contract with Moody Publishing in Chicago. My book on the many questions grief needs answered is scheduled to come out in the summer of 2026.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can work with me one on one, in grief and hope groups, online, attend in-person events, or invite me to speak at their conferences, schools, businesses, or churches. If they want to learn more, they can go to griefandhope.org

Pricing:

• One on One Support $99 for 60-75 mins.
• Churches $1,000 / talk
• Corporate Events $2,000 – $7,000 / workshops
• Community Grief Groups free – $25 / person

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.griefandhope.org
• Instagram: @griefandhopeorg
• Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/laura.busse.96
• LinkedIn: Laura Busse
• Youtube: @laurabusse-the3oclockwakeu809
• Other: www.laurabusse.com (speaker website) www.3oclockwakeup.com (ministry website)