Hi, I'm Tammy.
Tammy FauldsGrief Coach
ICF Certified Life Coach, PCC
Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist®
Certified Grief Educator (David Kessler)
Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator (Brené Brown)
500hr RYT (yoga & meditation teacher)
Heart Centered Facilitator (Danielle LaPorte)
Death Doula (Alua Arthur)
Guiding you through loss, to life.
Grief is a full-contact emotion.
It demands, and deserves, your full attention.
Grief cracks us wide open, and threatens to break us. It forces us to feel. To slow down. To soften. To be open and embrace the unknown. All the things we try to outrun and avoid in our lives.
Grief teaches us about the beauty and power of love, and our magnificent resilience. But we weren’t taught how to honour it for the powerhouse it is. Instead, we were advised to avoid it, to keep busy, be strong, stuff down our emotions, and to shut up and soldier on.
Because ultimately, time heals all wounds….right?!
Wrong.
Our brains can’t heal our hearts.
Nothing makes us feel more exposed and vulnerable than grief and loss — these conflicting and confusing emotions aren’t tidy, or linear, and they’re definitely not comfortable. So, what do we do instead? We find whatever we can to comfort us. We numb out with any variety of things readily available – food, booze, social media, Netflix, shopping, sex, drugs, work, exercise….whatever. The point is, we don’t want to feel the pain and discomfort so we’ll consume whatever we can to avoid feeling it.
We numb.
Our emotions need to move, they’re ‘energy in motion’ – they need to breathe, be felt and not get stuffed down and ignored.
They need to be compassionately held so they can be healed.
Death is one of my greatest teachers.
When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor. I was thrown into a new way of life that quite frankly, sucked. I had surgery, chemo, radiation …the whole nine yards. Yet, I firmly believe my early brush with mortality awakened me to a deep sense of how precious life is. It could easily scare me long term, facing death, knowing I’m at a higher risk for secondary cancers. Instead, it became the first dance between the light & dark that I continue to this day.
That’s why, when my inner knowing slapped me upside the head with the certain knowledge that I craved actual adventure, to really taste life instead of dream about it, I traded in my cushy government job for a sturdy backpack. I heeded the call of my heart to liberate myself from the grief that was keeping me stuck in a job that was slowly killing me inside. This happened again (and again) when I had the perfect job ‘on paper’ but my soul knew it wasn’t for me. The last time, it took pre-cancerous cells on a scan to show me that this grave misalignment could indeed kill me, and I needed to change my ways, FAST.
That’s why, when my soul called me to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser, I started planning my route and opened my heart to helping those less fortunate. And the view from the top on my 30th birthday? Nearly as beautiful as the reason I was there, to help those patients stuck in isolation at the very same hospital that saved my life. Knowing I was climbing for their liberation was definitely what pushed me to the peak.
That’s why, when I felt the big calling in my own heart to help heal the deep pain in others hearts, I threw all my ‘corporate-ladder-climbing’ plans aside and answered the call.
Dancing with death at a young age, leaning into the secrets of death’s shadows, gravitating to grieving hearts I inherently recognize — death is the foundation which I’ve built my life upon … and now I want to help you do the same.
Guiding you through loss, to life.
With a proven, evidence-based plan
How does one become a grief coach? For me, it took getting advanced certifications in Coaching, Yoga, Grief Recovery® and The Daring Way™ (developed by Brené Brown). But it really all began with a cancer diagnosis and this fascination I’ve always had with the dance between life, death, and rebirth. Dark and light. Sadness and joy. Beginnings and endings. The cycles/circles of life. There is such beauty in all of it, although we’re taught to only chase the light and fear the dark – but I’ve learned it’s in bravely exploring the shadows, especially when you’re forced to by grief, where the real valuable gold mining is done.
I’ve been told that working with me is like having that wise ‘tough love’ older sister. The one who holds you at your most vulnerable and guides you through to the other side. I’ve held the virtual hands of those who have suffered deep heartbreak, from the parents who didn’t bring their babies home from the hospital, to those who just can’t seem to get over the death of their mother. From those who are still reeling from a divorce years prior to the death of a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. No hurt is too deep. No emotions too unmentionable. I’m here, I know the way with a proven path forward (it’s evidence-based for all my scientific folks) and all you need to do is bravely take the first step … reach out because I can’t see you in the dark m’love.
WHAT I DON’T DO:
- I’m not a therapist or a death doula (but often work in tandem with them and have a list of trusted professionals I can send you)
- I don’t help with end of life planning (and do have a trusted wills & estate lawyer I can also send you to if you need help with that)
- I don’t work with people who want quick fixes or to be told what to do. Coaching is a co-created partnership and I believe you are the expert in your own life.
WHAT I SPECIALIZE IN:
- Meeting you where you are - whether that be in deep pain or if you’re telling yourself “I’m just not sure what the f*ck to do next” … I got you.
- Having open conversations about things like grief, shame, guilt, vulnerability, death, loss, etc. Again, this is where the real gold is...and the deeper you go, the higher you’ll fly.
- Getting to know the unique individual that you are, I love connecting on the soul/spirit/heart level because isn’t that all we really are anyway?!
You can feel better...
Let me show you how.
Let’s see you through, together.
What’s standing in the way of healing your heart?
Discover what may be blocking you from feeling better.