Building a Community with Michele Neff Hernandez (Ep. 1)

Navigating life after the loss of a life partner is full of challenges – emotional, practical, financial.  Facing those challenges while grieving can be overwhelming and finding practical support feels impossible. Join Andy Dziedzic as he sits down with Michele Neff Hernandez, the CEO of Soaring Spirits International, whose unique journey through widowhood after the tragic loss of her husband led her to create a beacon of hope for widowed individuals seeking connection and understanding.  Since it’s creation, Soaring Spirits has impacted nearly 5 million lives through innovative and empathetic programs.  If you’re newly widowed or years into your journey, this episode offers practical advice, deep empathy, and an invitation to a community that understands you. Andy and Michele discuss: The creation of Soaring Spirits International and how finding other members of the widowed community can provide support and help ease the transition. One of the most impactful resources available at Soaring Spirits: a newly widowed packet and how it helps to serve as an initial path forward for those grappling with loss. Camp Widow – a unique blend of a conference, retreat, and reunion that offers solace and empowerment to its attendees. The significance of the Widowed Community Ally Program aimed at increasing grief awareness and literacy among myriad professionals in the community. Michele’s book, Different after You: Rediscovering Yourself and Healing after Grief and Trauma And much more. Get in Touch: Connect with Andy Visit our website Connect with Michele Neff Hernandez: Website: MicheleNeffHernandez.com Facebook: Michele N. Hernandez Instagram: @micheleneffher Twitter: @micheleneffher1 About Our Guest:  Michele Neff Hernandez is a nonprofit leader, compelling speaker and dedicated advocate for the widowed community worldwide. She is the founder and Executive Director of Soaring Spirits International, a non-profit organization providing research-based programs and a community of peers for anyone who has experienced the death of a life partner.  Since its inception in 2008, Soaring Spirits has served over five million widowed people and continues to provide innovative grief support programs such as the Newly Widowed Program and Camp Widow®. Michele is the author of Different After You: Rediscovering Yourself and Healing after Grief or Trauma, published by New World Library. Her passion for supporting widowed people, and the power of integration, fuels her presentations and her community activism. Michele resides in Simi Valley, California and shares her life with her three amazing children, their awesome partners, her grand-cats, and one very Australian husband. Note: The work of Soaring Spirits is dedicated to the memory of Michele’s late husband Phillip Hernandez, who was killed in a cycling accident in August of 2005. His fun-loving, loyal and energetic spirit infuses her passion for creating community for widowed people.