Jennifer Perez is a speaker on loss, grief, and the quiet, powerful resilience that emerges in the shadows of heartbreak.
After the death of her older brother, Anthony - he was 25 and she was 15 - Jennifer’s world as she knew it cracked open. What followed was not only sorrow, but an awakening.
Grief did not arrive as something to “get through.”
It arrived as something that would change everything - her identity, her family, her understanding of love, and the way she moved through the world.
As a certified Life Coach and Grief Educator, Jennifer channels her pain into purpose, inviting others to open themselves to the hidden truths within grief.
With deep empathy and emotional honesty, she speaks to:
the shifting landscape of family dynamics after loss
the disorienting search for a new normal
and the tender, ongoing process of redefining who you are
She believes we can live with grief, not in it.
And that healing is not about letting go, but about staying connected in a different way.
Jennifer is the host of the Gritty Grief™ podcast, where she shares stories of heartache, healing, and hope.
Jennifer is also very involved philanthropically with The Compassionate Friends, serving as the sibling representative, a steering committee member, annual MC of the local candle lighting ceremonies, and writer of The Sibling Corner within the local Quarterly Newsletter for the Miami, Florida chapter; and at the national level, serving on the sibling committee and is a nominee for their Board of Directors.
Jennifer has also spoken on various panels to parent-only audiences on how to understand, support, and navigate the relationship with their surviving children; and to sibling-only audiences on shifting family dynamics and how to make sense of all they’re moving through. She also hosts an annual workshop on navigating the relationship with your surviving siblings after loss, and has served as the keynote speaker at The Compassionate Friends’ National Conference in Orlando, Florida (2018) and Regional Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii (2026).
Why Gritty Grief™ Exists
Gritty Grief™ was not created from a business idea. It was created from lived experience. From the kind of grief that doesn’t fit into timelines. The kind that reshapes families.
The kind that quietly isolates you, even when you’re surrounded by people who care.
Somewhere along the way, it became clear – there are not enough spaces that tell the truth about grief. Not the polished version. Not the “time heals” version.
But the real, complex, sometimes uncomfortable experience of what it actually means to live after loss. Gritty Grief™ exists to hold that truth. It is a space for the in-between moments.
For the questions that don’t have answers. For the versions of grief that don’t get spoken out loud.
It is also a space for connection – because even though grief can feel isolating, it was never meant to be carried alone.
The mission of Gritty Grief™ is to create spaces where grief is met with honesty, compassion, and room to exist as it is.
Not rushed. Not minimized. Not reshaped into something more comfortable for others.
Through speaking, coaching, education, and community, this work is about helping people:
find language for what they’re feeling
feel less alone in their experience
and begin to navigate life alongside their grief
The vision of Gritty Grief™ is a world where grief is not something people feel pressured to hide or “move past,” but something they are supported in carrying.
A world where:
families feel equipped to stay connected after loss
siblings are seen in their grief
parents feel supported in both their mourning and their relationships with their surviving children
and individuals are given permission to grieve in their own way, in their own time
Because grief does not end. But the way we hold it can evolve. And when people are given the space and support to do that –something shifts.
Not away from grief, but deeper into love.