about

My name is Leanne and I am the author of “Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things After Death and Loss” (Release date: February 6, 2024, Broadleaf Books).

In 2013, my sister died of cancer, and it was awful. The funny thing is, I thought I’d be really good at grief before I had to go through it. As an ordained pastor, I had studied grief and given countless people grief counselling. I regularly conducted funeral services and sat with people who were dying and grieving. I figured that I would know what I was doing when my turn came to grieve. 

I did not. 

Instead, like everybody who grieves, I fumbled my way through, shocked by how confusing, disorienting and downright horrible grief actually is. I had to learn a lot, and the greatest lesson I discovered was that grief had no easy fixes, timelines or steps to recovery. I realized that what I needed more than any simple solution or platitude was room to let my grief be, exactly as it was. 

A few years later, I wrote “Grieving Room,” in the hopes that it will help all of us give and receive room for grief. 

You can also find other things I’ve written through the years about grief, leadership, pastoring, parenting, and other areas of interest in my blog on this page. Please also join me on my Instagram page @grieving.room where I regularly share thoughts on grief and how to give it room.

A few others things about me: I currently work as the Executive Minister for a gathering of churches in Canada. I live in Hamilton, Ontario with my husband and two teenaged children. I love popcorn, fancy donuts, reading and Zumba. And when I’m not working or driving my kids around, I’m usually out walking.

If you’d like to arrange book signings or speaking opportunities, I’d love to talk about visiting you on a Grieving Room tour. You can contact me at leannefriesen1@gmail.com.