Heidi Gessner, MDiv, BCC, is an ordained United Church of Christ minister, author of Pockets of Grace: Lessons from Darkness, Lessons from Light, and grief coach. She’s developed a unique way to approach loss through her signature system, Indigo Flow: Path to a New Beginning.
Heidi Gessner, MDiv, BCC, is an ordained United Church of Christ minister, author of Pockets of Grace: Lessons from Darkness, Lessons from Light, and grief coach. She’s developed a unique way to approach loss through her signature system, Indigo Flow: Path to a New Beginning.
As a former end-of-life hospital chaplain, Heidi spent nearly 20 years supporting people on their grief journeys. She developed the University of North Carolina Hospitals Bereavement Support Services, a program dedicated to promoting healthy grieving through educational resources and follow up to families for a year after the death of a loved one. She facilitated grief support groups and writing workshops in the hospital and community for caregivers and individuals living with uncertainty due to illness and loss.
Heidi was a longtime member and chairperson of the UNC Hospitals Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team, which responds to unexpected, traumatic events in the hospital and provides education and emotional support.
As a faculty member in the UNC Medical School, Heidi co-taught in the RICE Program, a course on Advanced Communication Skills, Ethics, and Reflection for third-year medical school students. This required course gives students space to reflect on their own lives and their interactions with patients and hospital staff. By connecting with their own stories, they learn how to engage and communicate with patients and families intentionally and more skillfully.
Heidi created and co-facilitated Writing for Resilience, a weekly reflective prompt-writing group for patients, caregivers, staff, and the community, as a coping tool and to initiate healing shifts in perspective.
“Heidi Gessner was leading a recovery group for recently bereaved people, and I was lucky enough to be included. Her sensitivity, calm demeanor and years of experience made for wonderful sessions. At one session. Heidi announced that her book was coming out that very week, and how excited she was. Two days later, a copy was in my hands, and I spent the next three days totally immersed in reading it.” ~ Cindy
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Heidi is the author of Pockets of Grace: Lessons from Darkness, Lessons from Light, her memoir about her journey during her father’s terminal lung cancer while simultaneously divorcing her first husband. At the threshold of death, she found connectedness, meaning, and depth, which led her to work with dying and bereaved people.
In this book, you’ll discover how even during turbulent times, you are never truly alone. Pockets of Grace explores how unpredictable coincidences and magical synchronicities are signs from the universe, letting you know you’re on the right path. You can find comfort and support during challenging times in unexpected ways!
As a former end-of-life chaplain, through the telling of relatable stories from patients, grief group participants, saints, and healthcare professionals, Pockets of Grace illustrates how death may end the physical life of someone you love, but that doesn’t mean your relationship ends. Heidi explores how your bond can naturally shift to a non-physical connection. Reflective questions and practices are included at the end of each chapter for readers to dive deeper into their emotional and spiritual lives and encourage healing. This book is a result of working as an end-of-life chaplain for nearly 20 years. It’s for anyone wrestling with spirituality and/or grief and addresses issues about what it means to be human, to grieve, and to grow.