October 4, 11am-11:15pm Pacific

Compound Grief & Midwifing Death is part of our monthly series in 2025 called Grief Conversations.

When losses come in rapid succession, how do we honor each sacred ending while surviving the waves?

One aspect of grief and loss has been described as compound grief: multiple losses in a short period of time. Also known as cumulative grief, we may attempt to compartmentalize each deep loss when they happen in rapid succession, all to survive. At times grief can feel impossible to process, which can manifest in our bodies as an offline nervous system. Before we have the chance to process one loss we are onto the next, responding with fight; or for others this is possibly where freeze comes into play.

How do we move through compound grief?

We will not arrive at simple answers in this gathering. Compound grief is complex, embodied, and deeply individual. But we will meet this territory with tenderness and curiosity, exploring how the ancient practice of death midwifery offers tools for integrating and moving the energy of grief when losses accumulate.

In this heartfelt conversation, Death Midwife and Grief Guide Amber Deylon joins grief guide and ritualist Willow Brook to explore the landscape of compound grief and the sacred art of midwifing death—both literal death and the many deaths we experience throughout life.

This Gathering Is For You If You Are:

• Navigating multiple losses in a short period of time
• Feeling overwhelmed by cumulative grief that seems impossible to process
• Supporting someone through compound grief experiences
• Curious about death midwifery and its role in grief integration
• Struggling with embodied responses to overwhelming loss (fight, flight, freeze)
• Seeking practices to move grief energy when it feels stuck in your body
• Called to understand death as a sacred transition that can be midwifed

Through Our Time Together, You Will:

• Understand compound grief and how it manifests differently than single losses
• Explore how grief lives in the body and nervous system responses to overwhelming loss
• Learn about death midwifery as both literal practice and metaphor for accompanying endings
• Discover practices for integrating and moving grief energy when losses accumulate
• Gain tools for supporting yourself and others through compound grief experiences
• Connect with a community of fellow travelers who understand this complex terrain
• Find permission to honor multiple losses without having to "get over" them quickly

Questions We'll Explore:

• How does compound grief differ from processing single losses?
• What happens in our bodies when grief feels too overwhelming to process?
• How can the role of a death midwife help integrate and move grief energy?
• What does it mean to midwife the many deaths we experience in life?
• How do we honor each loss while surviving the waves of multiple losses?
• What practices support us when grief feels stuck in our nervous system?

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