I recently had the pleasure of sharing a wonderful conversation with Jessica Tefenkgi Ruelle 🌸 for her podcast over at Whispers of Inner Power. We originally recorded our conversation via Substack Live, and if you’d like to tune in to more live conversations, as well as access all the articles and podcasts from Coffee with Coops whenever you like, you can find more on the Substack app. But don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing everything with you by email too, and I’m so excited for you to catch up on this recording, if you couldn’t join us in real time! Jessica’s mission is to support “highly sensitive women in business build the foundations they need to be visible online.” Many of her clients, as well as Jessica herself, have had to navigate challenging circumstances and tough times, while also continuing to build, scale, or at least keep things afloat. It isn’t easy, but there are things we can do to support ourselves - and that goes for all of us, not just those building a business. In this conversation, I share more about how my work and the coaching and other support I provide is really rooted in lived experience, and we explore the difficulties of dealing with complex grief and related emotions in different workplace or professional contexts. Although our circumstances have been quite different, both Jessica and I have grieved the loss of a father, as well as facing other close losses, and we acknowledge how that grief process is never “done”, but we have to learn to move along through it. In talking about the importance of “doing the work” to enable this, for ourselves and those around us, we highlight the importance of building our own support network around us too. It doesn’t all happen in the therapy room. I touch on some of the work I’ve done to facilitate workplace policies relating to death and grief, as well as advice for business owners who might feel like they need to just keep going - not least due to financial concerns - even while experiencing grief. It’s all about small steps. We also touch on Death Cafés - which regular readers will know I have enjoyed exploring! - and keeping the conversation about death and grief open, in a way that encourages us to make the most of life! I hope there’s a lot for you to take away from this conversation, and although we are chatting about heavy topics, you’ll hear that we managed to have a few laughs along the way too. A beautiful connecting conversation. Subscribe for more conversations like this... 🕯️If my conversation with Jessica has sparked a curiosity with you to join a conversation about grief, you’re welcome to come along to my next grief circle on July 28th at 7pm BST. There is no pressure to talk, you can also come along to just listen, and feel held in the space. These circles are free for paid subscribers with Coffee with Coops but you can also sign up to join a single session. 💛 Later this month I’ll be sharing another wonderful recorded conversation with you, this time with Emma Simpson, in which we explore more about grief and death, what it means to live well, finding community, and how to be our authentic selves. Stay tuned! 💌 In early August I’ll be sharing more news on what’s next for Coffee with Coops, and I can’t wait to take you with me on the journey. In the meantime, maybe you’d like to share this conversation with a friend who would enjoy it? Until next time, Coops x If you enjoyed this conversation and would like to support my work here without a paid subscription, you can offer a coffee for Coops here - thank you! Get full access to Coffee with Coops at ruthcooperdickson.substack.com/subscribe
