Let’s Learn: Surviving a Sibling
This is a digital event. You should receive information in your ticket or from the host about how to join online.
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This panel discussion for the Surviving a Sibling series features some of the most articulate and passionate voices in the grief space to explore the unique and nuanced experience of sibling loss. We’ll create a space to remember brothers and sisters – those with whom we share loving and complicated relationships – and to honor the “forgotten mourners” themselves.
- How can we cultivate more empathy and understanding for those whose grief is so often under the radar?
- What are various kinds of projects – both private and public – that we can take up to honor the memory of our siblings?
Our guest speakers bring both professional expertise and personal experience to the topic of sibling loss. They include: Moira Khan, founder of Griefspan; Judy Lipson, author of Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late To Grieve; Annie Sklaver Orenstein, researcher and author of Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief; Grief educator and coach Dr. Julie Shaw; and moderator Nina Rodriguez, grief guide, founder and host of Grief and Light, a podcast and online community for grievers.
The program includes ample time for Q&A.
Moira Khan is originally from New Zealand, and now living in Madrid, Spain. She is the Owner and Founder of GriefSpan. After the loss of her parents and brother in a 5 year span, Moira became a Certified Grief Educator. She now helps and supports grieving individuals and groups all over the world through the most heartbreaking times of their lives. Grief Education enables grievers to process their grief in a safe space, while learning more about best practices and tools to help navigate the journey they never asked to be on.
Judy Lipson is the author of Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late To Grieve, winner of the Literary Titan’s 2021 Silver Award. The sole survivor of three sisters, Judy founded Celebration of Sisters, an annual ice-skating fundraiser to commemorate the lives and memories of her beloved sisters Margie and Jane to benefit Massachusetts General Hospital’s Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program. Judy has shared her experience of losing two sisters at the Bereaved Parents of the USA Conference, The Compassionate Friends National Conference, Open to Hope TV, as a board member of the COPE Foundation, and previously as a Reimagine speaker. She received the 2020 Get Up Award from the U.S. Figure Skating Association for her resilience on and off the ice.
Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late To Grieve
Annie Sklaver Orenstein is a qualitative researcher, oral historian, and storyteller who has spent over a decade collecting stories from people around the world. Annie’s brother was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Her debut book, Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief (Hachette Go, 2024) came about because she searched for guides to work through her grief as a mourning sibling and found nothing.
Her work has been featured on NBC Nightly News, Comedy Central, Huffington Post, Politico, TIME, and Mother.ly. In 2020, driven by a desire to share these stories beyond the walls of corporate America, Annie founded Dispatch from Daybreak, a collection of letters written by womxn to their earlier selves. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, children, dog, and chickens.
https://www.annieorenstein.com/
Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief
Dr. Julie Shaw (she/her) is an educator, grief wellness advocate, and experienced griever. Dr. Shaw is committed to building an inclusive community of grievers who are curious, ready to explore and moved to find ways they can integrate grief into their lives and continue to thrive. She is the founder of Hello I‘m Grieving, a community where grievers can find support and motivation through creative thought provoking in person and virtual events. Dr. Shaw has her doctorate in Leadership and is the co-founder of Lead Different Consulting where she works with global leaders in diverse industries and facilitates sessions on leadership development, DEI, and grief education. As a grief expert, Dr. Shaw has spoken on panel alongside David Kessler, contributed to the Empathy.com Cost of Dying Report, serves as a guest expert for HelpTexts, and her story is featured in the grief documentary Meet Me Where I Am.
Nina Rodriguez (moderator) created the Grief and Light Podcast after the sudden and unexpected loss of her only sibling, Yosef, as an authentic exploration of grief and life after loss. Through each conversation, she aims to give a voice to the griever’s experience, and foster a more grief-informed, hopeful world. Beyond the podcast, Nina extends her heart-centered support through The Community, monthly circles, 1:1 grief tending sessions, speaking engagements, active presence on social media, and forthcoming in-person retreats. She has been featured in various publications and podcasts, regularly contributes to Get Griefy Magazine, co-authored Resilient A.F.: Stories of Resilience (2025), and completed the Grief Care Professional Certificate Program under renowned psychotherapist and best-selling author of It's OK That You're Not OK, Megan Devine.
https://www.griefandlight.com/
About the Series “Surviving a Sibling”
The "Surviving a Sibling" series, presented by Reimagine in February 2025, offers a vital space for understanding and supporting the often-overlooked grief of bereaved brothers and sisters. Known as "forgotten mourners," siblings often find their grief minimized after a family loss, as attention naturally focuses on parents and other close relatives. This three-part series aims to change that, providing a platform for connection, healing, and education. Each session will explore different facets of sibling loss, from the lifelong impact across various ages and relationship dynamics to the unique challenges of sudden or stigmatized deaths. Through storytelling, expert guidance, movement, and facilitated discussions, the series will offer practical tools for navigating grief, maintaining connection with deceased siblings, and fostering growth and transformation.
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together to create a more compassionate world. We support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
