Who we are
Our Mission
Kintsugi Grief Center’s mission is created from a belief, not unlike the practice of kintsugi, that in the face of the damage caused by suffering in grief, resilient and restorative supportive services can create one’s history to become beautiful.
We are a collective of therapists, healers, and care professionals who find deep connection and meaning by providing and building support in this community.
“Our grief is as individual as our lives.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
About our FOunder, Vanessa Fierstadt
While life may end, love does not.
In 2012, owner and founder of Kintsugi Grief Center Vanessa Fierstadt lost her husband Greg to a form of cancer at the age of 30. Throughout their final days together they held onto the sacredness of truly living and a resilience that no cancer could break their spirits. The happily ever after in most love stories that can be such a comfort was betrayingly broken. Vanessa was a young wife in deep loss and struggled to find a place as a young griever. Inspired by the daringness of the way in which Greg lived in the face of his adversities, Vanessa enveloped herself in a process of mending. She began to connect to her own broken pieces with light and meaning by specializing in grief work for those in more disenfranchised grief. She hoped to channel her lived experiences and specialized training in creating courage, support, and community in the face of despair by opening Kintsugi Grief Center.
