Free Live Event
The author of The Grieving Brain now tackles
The Grieving Body
A conversation with David Kessler and Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor
Free Online Discussion
Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor and David Kessler
Join David Kessler and Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor for a compelling live discussion on the profound connection between grief and the body. In her latest book, The Grieving Body, Dr. O’Connor—renowned neuroscientist, psychologist, and grief expert—explores how loss doesn’t just affect our hearts and minds, but also takes a measurable toll on our physical health.
In this conversation, David and Mary-Frances will discuss groundbreaking research on how grief impacts the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems, and why we are more prone to illness during times of immense stress.
Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor
Mary-Frances O'Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab in investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body.
O’Connor earned a doctorate from the University of Arizona in 2004 and completed a fellowship at UCLA. Following a faculty appointment at UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, she returned to the University of Arizona in 2012.
Her work has been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and Psychological Science, and featured in Newsweek, New York Times, and Washington Post.
Having grown up in Montana, she now lives in sunny Tucson, Arizona.
David Kessler
David Kessler is a grief specialist, speaker, and author of six books, including his latest bestselling book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He co-authored two books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross. His first book, The Needs of The Dying received praise from Saint (Mother) Teresa.
David’s personal experience as a child witnessing a mass shooting while his mother was dying in a hospital helped him begin his journey. For most of his life, David has taught physicians, nurses, counselors, police, and first responders about the end of life, trauma, and grief. However, despite his vast knowledge of grief, his life was turned upside down by the sudden death of his twenty-one-year-old son.
He now facilitates a new model of online grief groups that are attended by people worldwide and he leads one of the most respected online grief certificate programs. He is the founder of Grief.com which has over five million visits yearly from 167 countries.
