A Little About Me
My Story
I did not set out to become a grief coach. For more than 20 years, I worked as a drug and alcohol counselor, walking alongside people and families through some of the hardest seasons of their lives. Then, on April 28, 2023, my daughter Samantha's sudden death changed everything I thought I understood about grief, love, and life after heartbreak.
Nice To Meet You
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm Lisa, a certified grief coach, a mother, and someone whose life has been forever changed by loss.
For more than 20 years, I worked as a drug and alcohol counselor, sitting with people and families through some of their hardest moments. Then, on April 28, 2023, my daughter Samantha “Sam” Miller was killed by a drunk driver on her wedding night. Grief stopped being something I understood from the outside. It became something I had to live through.
That loss changed how I understand love, trauma, family, time, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going when the life you knew has been completely altered.
This Work Is Not Something I Chose Lightly. It Came From Love, Loss, And The Desire To Help Others Feel Less Alone.
If you've found your way here, something in your life may have shifted too. Maybe you are grieving someone you love. Maybe you are carrying a loss that others do not fully understand. Maybe you are simply trying to make it through the day.
Wherever you are, you do not have to have the right words. You are welcome here.
Let's TalkThe Loss That Brought Me Here
The day everything changed.
On April 28, 2023, my daughter Samantha “Sam” Miller was killed by a drunk driver on her wedding night in Folly Beach, South Carolina. What should have been one of the happiest nights of our lives became the night that forever divided my life into before and after.
Sam was so much more than what happened to her. She was my daughter, my love, my light, and an enormous presence in the life of everyone who knew her. Nothing can prepare a mother for that kind of loss. In the months that followed, I learned how grief can make even ordinary life feel unfamiliar: how hard it can be to answer simple questions, to move through daily routines, and to keep going when the life you knew has been completely altered.
“I did not need grief to be explained away. I needed it to be witnessed, honored, and held with care.”
That experience is part of what brought me to grief coaching. I cannot take away another person's loss, but I can offer steady presence, compassionate support, and a place where grief does not have to be carried alone.
The Long Way Here
From personal loss to meaningful support.
My professional experience taught me how to support people through pain and change. My own grief taught me something no classroom ever could: what it feels like when getting through the next hour can feel like an accomplishment.
In the years after Sam died, I tried many forms of support. I walked a lot. I spent time in nature. I learned to breathe through moments I thought might swallow me whole. I allowed myself to feel anger, sadness, love, laughter, and even joy again, without believing that one emotion canceled out another.
What I learned mattered: grief does not need to be fixed. Grieving people need to be supported. Sometimes what helps most is someone willing to sit beside you, listen without judgment, and remind you that you do not have to figure out everything today.
That realization became the heart of Hold My Hand Grief Coaching. I pursued certification so I could offer a steady place to bring grief, without pressure to move quickly, explain it perfectly, or carry it alone.
Work With Me
What I Bring To This Work
My guiding beliefs
Grief is love.
The depth of grief often reflects the depth of love, attachment, hope, or meaning. Grief is not weakness. It is evidence that something mattered deeply.
There are no timelines.
You do not graduate from grief on a schedule. We meet your grief where it is, whether it is new, old, complicated, quiet, or still hard to name.
Witnessing before fixing.
My role is not to rush you forward or tell you how you should feel. It is to offer steady presence, compassionate reflection, and support that honors your pace.
All grief deserves care.
Whether your loss is widely recognized, privately carried, named, unnamed, recent, or years old, it deserves space, language, and tender care.
Training & Credentials
Grounded in study, shaped by lived experience.
My approach is shaped by grief education, ongoing study, and the lived experience of sudden, life-altering loss. Training offers language, structure, and care practices. Lived experience brings humility, tenderness, and respect for how personal grief really is.
I am a certified grief coach, not a licensed therapist. Coaching and therapy serve different but complementary needs. If you are unsure what kind of support is right for you, we can talk it through together during a complimentary call.
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20+ Years as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor
More than two decades spent walking alongside people and families through some of the most difficult seasons of their lives.
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Certified Grief Educator
Training in grief support, compassionate presence, and client-centered coaching practices.
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Continuing Grief Education
Ongoing study in grief, traumatic loss, meaning making, and the ways support continues to evolve.
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Lived Experience With Sudden Loss
A deeply personal understanding of how grief can affect daily life, identity, relationships, and the way we move through the world.
When I'm Not Coaching
Beyond the work, I'm still learning to live gently.
Outside of this work, I am usually drawn to the simple things: time with people I love, quiet spaces, fresh air, and small routines that help me feel grounded. Walking and spending time in nature became part of how I stay steady, practices I first leaned on in my own grief.
After loss, ordinary moments can become surprisingly sacred. A morning cup of coffee. A walk outside. A conversation with someone who really listens. A memory that brings both tears and gratitude. These are the places where life slowly begins to feel tender again.
- Time with family
- Quiet mornings
- Remembering Sam in everyday ways
- Fresh air and long walks
- Meaningful conversations
- Simple rituals
A Note Just For You
I don't know what brought you to this page. Maybe you lost someone you love in a way that still feels impossible to put into words. Maybe you are grieving something quieter: a relationship, a chapter of your life, or a version of yourself that no longer exists.
Whatever it is, I want you to know this: I see the courage it takes to look for support when your heart is tired. The fact that you are here, reading these words, is not small.
I don't come to this work as someone who has grief all figured out. I come as a mother who loves and misses her daughter, a woman who has experienced profound loss, and a coach who believes deeply in the power of human connection. I believe Sam is still very much a part of this work I am doing. Hold My Hand was born from my love for her, from my own journey through grief, and my belief that none of us should have to walk through our darkest days completely alone.
If we work together, I will not rush you. I will not ask you to feel better, or to make your grief more comfortable for anyone else. I will meet you with care, honesty, and respect for your pace.
And if we are not the right fit, I hope you find someone who can hold your grief with the tenderness it deserves. You are worthy of that kind of care.
So wherever you are in your grief, you don't have to have the right words. You don't have to be strong for me. And you certainly don't have to have a plan for what comes next.
Sometimes you just need someone to walk beside you.
With warmth,
Lisa Miller
If This Resonates
Let's talk, whenever you're ready.
You do not have to know exactly what you need before reaching out. A complimentary call gives us space to talk, answer your questions, and see whether this support feels right for where you are.
Hold my hand. Together, we can make it.
Let's Talk