Barri Leiner Grant is the Chief Grief Officer™ and founder of The Memory Circle. Barri left a career as a reporter to step into full-time work as a Certified Grief Coach. “I dabbled in small motherless daughter events as a peer, when I received my yoga and mediation training certification, and knew I needed to make the Circle bigger.” Barri’s mother Ellen died in 1993 and she dedicates this work to her and the resources she wishes she had herself. She has studied with the leading names in the grief space including grief certification and education with Claire Bidwell Smith, Hope Edelman and David Kessler. She combines her writing background and yoga/meditation training to craft a one-of-its-kind way forward in learning to live with loss. She hosts Circles and 1:1 sessions bathed in her grief tending techniques. Barri’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Rue Magazine, essays for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper and Zibby Magazine, on award winning podcasts, television appearances and radio shows. She is the mother of daughters, Emma and Quinn and resides in New York with her husband Alex and pup Bean.
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“Barri’s work is instrumental in helping mourners make meaning of their losses. She’s at the forefront of 21st century bereavement work, offering a haven for so many who would otherwise feel alone in their grief.”
“Barri and The Memory Circle offer a rare space and warm understanding for all who have experienced the death of a loved one. Her personal loss and inspiring story have informed her work, and bring forward the hope that every griever deserves.”
“Barri brings compassion and wisdom to her work in the grief space and is a true gift to anyone looking for support along their journey of loss.”
“I sponsored Barri to present a continuing education program, Good Grief The Memory Circle Method: Becoming a Grief Informed Therapist to my therapy staff and clinicians in the Chicago therapy community. Her program was excellent and appreciated by all who attended. Barri is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about tending to and supporting those who are grieving. Her wealth of experience, knowledge and care for the topic was evident to all. She is an engaging and dynamic speaker who shares excellent information and valuable tools to support those who are grieving. I am so glad to know of the valuable work that Barri is doing in the world.”
