Douglas Fossett

My name is Douglas, and over the years my interest in grief has grown out of both personal experience and the many conversations I’ve had with people navigating loss in different forms.

What I’ve come to notice is that grief often reaches further than we expect. It’s not only about missing someone or something—it can also affect how we understand ourselves, our place in the world, and where we’re going from here.

That realization led me to spend time studying grief more intentionally, particularly how people make sense of themselves after life has been disrupted. I’ve been drawn to the moments where people say things like, “I don’t feel like myself anymore,” or “Something just feels off,” because those experiences seem to point to something deeper than emotion alone.

My background includes work and study in mental health and grief, but just as important to me is listening—hearing how others describe their experience in their own words, without trying to rush them toward answers.

I believe there is value in slowing down enough to understand what loss is doing beneath the surface, not just trying to move past it. For me, this space is an opportunity to learn from others, to engage in meaningful conversation, and, where it’s helpful, to offer perspective that might give language to experiences that are often hard to explain.