Our People. Their Stories.

The Mosaic Project

Louella Richer
Shared by Louella Richer

Growth From Grief

I always say I got my master’s degree for myself, not for my future career.

After my parents both died of cancer in 2009, I needed to learn new ways to process what I’d been through. I chose to study how to release grief and trauma using embodied practices. This work became my passion, and I soon found myself reading every book imaginable on how the body and mind react to stress and loss.

While at Goddard College, one of my advisers suggested I incorporate memoir writing into my research. I studied autobiographical writing and started doing it myself. I learned about narrative healing, trauma and how the brain works when we experience grief and trauma. Soon I started meditation and became a certified yoga instructor, tools that helped me heal from these experiences.

That’s when I became involved with End of Life Services, a hospice care agency that was integrated into Porter Medical Center in 2021 and which I now lead. As a student at Goddard, I asked End of Life Services if I could facilitate workshops using expressive arts and writing as a part of their grief support services. They agreed but also suggested I do their 30-hour hospice volunteer training program. So I began running these workshops and volunteering. It became my whole life.

Over time I became friends with the woman who ran the more traditional, talk-based grief support groups. She’s the main reason I moved out of retail management, which had been my career for 25 years before Porter. She told me about the position I’m in now when it was posted. I was hesitant because I didn’t think I had the right management experience, but she used her stern voice and said, “You will apply.”

I’m glad I listened because now I’m in this unique position where my hobbies and personal passions are my job. What do I do outside of work? That’s tricky. There’s no “outside” for me, not really. My interests, my intellectual life, my creative endeavors – they’re all connected to helping people cope, heal and grow as they navigate these fundamental but very challenging parts of life.

Louella Richer is the manager of palliative support services at Porter Medical Center. She joined the organization in 2021.