The Career Grief Compass: A 5-Part Workshop Series
If you’ve lost a job, a dream, or a sense of who you are, come hang with me.
This is a perk available to paid Moonshot Mentor Substack subscribers. Click below to sign up, or upgrade your current plan.
Don’t let anyone tell you your career grief isn’t real.
Most people think grief is only for death.
They’re wrong. Grief is a natural response to any meaningful loss.
We grieve relationships, homes, communities, life chapters.
A child leaving for college. A friendship fading.
So many things that have nothing to do with death.
Why? Because grief is a direct reflection of our love for a person, place, or thing.
And love knows no boundaries.
The hard truth—and why I’m inviting you to this workshop—is that not all grief is recognized.
There’s a term for this kind of unacknowledged loss: disenfranchised grief.
A very cool and highly respected bereavement expert, Dr. Kenneth Doka, coined the term. He says:
“Grief that persons experience when they incur a loss that is not or cannot be openly acknowledged, socially sanctioned, or publicly mourned.”
So now you may be wondering… “Does this really apply to me?”
Check these out. Any of them feel familiar?
🌀 You feel stuck, and can’t quite explain why.
🌀 Your career shifted—and you never had space to process what changed.
🌀 You’ve been trying to move on—without ever catching your breath.
🌀 You poured your heart into a project—and it never made it past the draft folder.
🌀 Your book, screenplay, or idea got close… but never quite landed or took off.
🌀 You took a creative risk and it was met with silence—or worse, harsh criticism.
🌀 You’ve watched others move forward—while your own work sits unseen.
I’m sure you get the drift.
You could probably add to this list.
And I’m really sorry about that. Truly.
Here’s the thing though:
You don’t need to justify your grief.
You don’t need to make it make sense to anyone else.
You don’t need to hide in shame because you’re sad about a setback.
A Little Bit About Me
I hid in shame for over ten years after I was fired from a job I was devoted to.
Totally blindsided me and broke me into a thousand pieces.
And despite going on to land other great jobs, I was a hot mess on the inside—filled with imposter syndrome, self-loathing, and no real sense of who I was.
Then, I stumbled upon the fact that I was grieving.
And it wasn’t just the job. I was grieving a sense of belonging.
My identity. My dream.
I don’t want anyone to go through what I did.
I don’t want anyone to feel broken because of a career setback.
Or less-than because of professional heartbreak.
That’s why I write the blog.
That’s why I record the podcast.
And that’s why I’m offering this workshop.
What to Expect
This isn’t your typical career webinar.
There are no “Top 10 Tips.” No one-size-fits-all templates.
Instead, I’m taking you through a primer on career grief—
helping you understand it, giving you a framework to process it,
and helping you identify your next best step.
Each 60-minute Zoom session includes:
✔️ A 25-minute talk with insights and tools
✔️ A reflective activity or small-group conversation
✔️ A 20-minute Q&A
🧭 Workshop Sessions
Understanding Career Grief & Why It Feels So Heavy
Moving Through Career Grief with the P.H.O.E.N.I.X. Framework
Releasing Career Grief Through Ritual & Reflection
Finding Meaning & Reframing Your Narrative
Taking Action & Redefining What’s Next
Bonus! You’ll also get:
📘 A downloadable workbook
🎧 A guided meditation to support your process
💬 What Past Participants Say
“By the end, I felt I had gained valuable coping skills, a renewed sense of hope, and a community built on trust and understanding.”
“I just want to thank Laverne for her excellence—the deep thought she put into this workshop, her intelligence, her kind and generous spirit, her ability to create such a safe environment... she really impressed me!”
“Very peaceful and user-friendly. Chock full of useful paradigms for positive change.”
“Laverne is incredible—supportive, thoughtful, and knowledgeable. She's always in your corner and brings a calm, grounding energy that helps you move forward with clarity.”
“It gave me space to process what I hadn’t even realized I was holding onto.”
So Why Is the Workshop Only for Paid Subscribers?
To be completely transparent—I usually charge big buckaroos for this kind of thing.
But it’s important to me to get the word out about career grief.
Because let’s face it: Work as we know it is changing—big time—thanks to industry contraction and AI. More people than ever are dealing with loss, uncertainty, and identity shifts.
I love publishing my blog and podcast. But I want to go deeper.
I also want to get paid for my work—so I’m keeping it simple:
$5/month or $50/year gets you in.
And not to sound obnoxious—but I can’t work with everyone 1:1. So if you’ve been thinking, “I need more than ideas—I need something I can really engage with,”
this is for you.
Bonus! Paid subscribers also get access to:
✔️ Co-working sessions for momentum and accountability
✔️ Guided meditations for career clarity and grounding
✔️ Exclusive journal prompts
✔️ A thoughtful community of professionals navigating big shifts
Workshop Details
🗓️ First session: Tuesday, April 29 at 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM PST
📅 Meets: Every other Tuesday through June 24
💡 Available to: Paid subscribers ($5/month or $50/year)
📺 Can’t make it live? No worries—replays will be available