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Turning grief into hope, healing and connection by sharing our stories of loss and love. That’s what Laurie O’Neil and Marisa da Silva (10 years old!) talk about on this episode of Engaging Voices.

This Weeks Engaging Voice:
Laurie O’Neil & Marisa da Silva
https://www.facebook.com/Gracefulwomanwarrior-247095598695612/
https://twitter.com/LaurieONeilMSW/
Graceful Woman Warrior

Show Notes:
Laurie O’Neil is a social worker, author, speaker and blogger who has devoted her 40-year career to enlightening, empowering, and engaging others in the critical power of loving connection.

Co-author of Graceful Woman Warrior: A Story Of Mindfully Living In The Face Of Dying, and creator of the accompanying Grace Lessons Workshop, Laurie also contributes regularly to the online magazine, Herself360, and has appeared on  NPR’s The Point, 95.9 WATD-FM’s Powerful Women Revealed, and the Engaging Voices podcast.

A graduate of Boston University, Laurie specializes in grief and loss, giving voice to the transformative and healing power found within our shared loss stories. 

Marisa wrote this herself ❤️:

Marisa Alegria da Silva is a ten-year-old girl, writing songs, making art, having fun and most importantly eating candy. A fifth-grade student at James M. Quinn School and co-author of Graceful Woman Warrior, Marisa dreams of having her own horse and all the animals she dreams of.

But for now, she can play with her favorite dog, Aura. And to this day, she will be happy, sad, excited, nervous and all those feelings. And her Mamãe will be doing all those things, too. In her memory, she can picture her and Mamãe baking a cake and licking the bowl together. And even though her Mamãe is not alive right now, Marisa knows Mamãe has all those feelings too, and is busy creating beautiful sunsets, putting Marisa’s favorite songs on the radio, and visiting Marisa by sending a deer or two near her. 

On this episode Stacey, Laurie & Marisa talk about…

• What Marisa wants to be when she grows up (:55)
• What Laurie wanted to be when she grew up (2:55)
• How Graceful Woman Warrior came to be (6:05)
• Laurie and Marisa speak about the healing power of sharing their story and how it opened new doors (10:10)
• What happened in Marisa’s 4th grade class when she shared the story about her mom and how important sharing has been to heal (15:25)
• Laurie’s deep need to show up for herself, others and mankind and how that drives her work today (24:45)
• Importance of family and community to heal grief and loss (26:00)
• Passages written and read by Marisa (get your tissues!) and Laurie (29:30)
• How Marisa is honoring her truth at 10 years old and the fun of sharing your story and learning from others (33:00)
• Is a children’s book next for Graceful Woman Warrior? (35:15)