When we are affected so deeply by grief, it is difficult to find the words to begin the healing journey. Not only are we suffering, but so are our loved ones around us. It is the lack of connection and understanding that can sharpen the edges of grieving, making it even more painful to maneuver.

Leslie’s deeply thought-out series of questions and activities not only brings out the joy and love we had for our loved ones, but also initiates heartfelt conversation, invoking connectivity and love. Bringing forth healing through a “game” is a brilliant way to draw out a conversation that can be uncomfortable to begin. With these doors open, healing is finally possible.”

“It is impossible to fathom losing a child. Whether the loss of a child was expected or not, the anguish that follows is likely to feel crushing and eternal.  My name is Jovanna Marc. In 1984, I attempted to remove my son’s body from King County Hospital morgue in Brooklyn, NY after he died in a New York City daycare facility. I spent many years in and out of psychiatric hospitals. And just when I was beginning to feel like things were turning around, I lost my second son in 2015 at a correctional facility.

The death of my boys had a profound effect on my well-being, both mentally and physically. There was major anxiety about the heightened suicide risk. I went through a series of physical changes that couldn’t be prevented or remedied. Despite the passage of time, the crushing sorrow I felt after the loss of my firstborn son and then my second never faded. The death of my sons was devastating and has left an enormous void in my life. I experienced sadness, numbness, and sometimes guilt and fury. I still have a hard time getting over my grief and moving on with my life because the negative feelings linger. Eventually, I stopped trusting other people. I struggled to complete even mundane tasks. I even cut myself off from friends and family.

After years of receiving mental health services from numerous providers, I completed the Howie the Harp Peer Specialist Training Program, and I am now a Certified Peer Specialist. As someone who has faced and overcome similar challenges in their own lives and who has trained to provide services to others in need, I am able to help others achieve greater levels of independence and self-sufficiency through facilitating their own recovery, strengthening their own capacity for resilience, and facilitating their own successful community integration.

Ms. Leslie Robinson is someone I met during a community outreach event. Ms. Robinson, after hearing my story, introduced me to the Remembrance game and explained that she created this for individuals like me.  Curious, I went home and played the game with my children. The soft guided conversation questions, comforting quotes on grief, and art ideas for group discussions are all included in Remembrance. Ms. Robinson learns via her game Remembrance that just as every life is different, so, too, is every person’s experience of loss.

By creating an atmosphere of trust and acceptance, Remembrance is able to tap into profound states of soulfulness that promote healing for everyone who takes part. Remembrance is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reflect on the life of the departed, remember the many ways in which they touched your own, and speak openly about the many ways in which their life changed your own. Ms. Robinson has learned the hard way that healing can take as long as it takes. To bring you through a hard patch, I used what I learned about the power of memory.  The soothing guided conversation questions, healing quotes on loss, sketching suggestions for group interactions, and activities in Remembrance have helped my children and I grow closer to one another. To take advantage of these rare occasions to reflect, communicate, and discourse on many facets of my boys’ lives, we have agreed to keep playing the Remembrance game.”

Jovanna Marc, Founder, Multi-Assistance Resource Center, Inc.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Remembrance game. I played the game with my family as we recently suffered multiple losses in our family. My husband’s mother passed in the last six months, a friend of my daughters in the last two years, and my own mother in the last three years.

I noticed that after the services everyone went back to life as usual and no one really talked about their feelings of sadness, loss or grief, or about the person. My family members were not open to grief counseling. Playing Remembrance provided a safe environment to begin the healing process. There was laughter and tears, as well as memories and storytelling. We learned about one another in the process. Anyone who has ever suffered from grief and loss should own and play this game to help with the grieving process and begin healing. Thank you for creating this masterpiece

There is no personal growth without a willingness to ask ourselves questions. Often, we fail to do so with respect to our loved ones that have passed.

Remembrance is a powerful set of questions about our loved ones, our response to experiencing their loss, and how we may honor, now and in the future, the gifts they gave us.

While playing Remembrance, I found myself thankful for being gently guided by the questions presented and the internal searching, if you will, that was healing and revealing. Henry David Thoreau once said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. I say the right question has the power to liberate and guide us out of desperation and barrenness.

Being asked a question that requires reflection is often our best friend. I recommend Remembrance to everyone. See for yourself.

“A gentle and powerful way to honor those who have moved on from your life, Leslie has created an extraordinary opportunity for players to truly process the subtle layers that accompany loss. It’s easy to think it is all one note—grief—when in reality, it encompasses the full spectrum of the human experience. The game teases out the complexities of your inner life, allowing new tones to be brought forth, whether those be gratitude, love, anger, humor, or celebration. Remembrance is a beautiful and playful way to embark on the healing journey. It even worked for people who are still alive! Those who play this game will walk away with jewels of memories, revived feelings, and vivified expressions that will bring color to their lives.”

                            LAURA VOGELS

 COACH + CEREMONIALIST

Strategic Intervention Coach

             Power of Story Guide

Meditation Teacher

            Altered States Specialist in Training