Jaya Saxena is a devoted mother of two spirited girls, a champion of inclusion, and an aspiring death doula. Her journey through grief began in 2002 with the profound loss of her mother, a pivotal moment that shaped her understanding of life after loss.

In recent years, particularly during the Covid pandemic, Jaya’s view on grief has deepened. She recognizes that loss transcends the death of loved ones; it encompasses the loss of friendships, health, livelihoods, and even the versions of ourselves we leave behind. This broader perspective has informed her approach to navigating life’s challenges.

Professionally, Jaya serves as an inclusion strategist, leveraging nearly 20 years of advocacy and professional development experience. She is passionate about the intersection of grief and identity, believing that it can lead to feelings of marginalization. Jaya advocates for greater empathy and compassion in both personal and professional realms, emphasizing the need to create space for grief in our conversations at work and in everyday life.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayasaxena/

Instagram: @being.jaya

Show Highlights:

• Exploring Grief Through Conversation: Jaya reflects on her reluctance yet yearning to share her experience with grief and the importance of creating spaces for open dialogue.
• Family and Cultural Legacy: Jaya recounts her parents' immigrant journey to the U.S., navigating dual cultures, and the values she strives to instill in her daughters while honoring her mother’s memory.
• The Impact of Illness and Loss: Jaya shares memories of her mother, who lived with ulcerative colitis, and the transformative year she spent with her during her health's decline, leading up to her passing in 2002.
• Marking Milestones After Loss: Jaya discusses the emotional weight of milestones without her mother present and how these moments, including becoming a mother, continue to shape her grief journey.
• Transitions and Identity: Reflecting on motherhood and life changes, Jaya speaks about the shedding of one identity for another and the evolving nature of grief through life’s transitions.
• Curiosity About Death and Becoming a Death Doula: Jaya shares her deep fascination with death, her journey toward understanding it, and her inspiration to train as a death doula, finding beauty in the process of transitioning out of life.
• Broader Perspectives on Grief: Jaya broadens the lens on grief, discussing its manifestation beyond the loss of loved ones to include identity shifts, workplace changes, and friendships, encouraging empathy and support for shared experiences.

Contact Kendra Rinaldi to be a guest on the podccast or for infroamtion about coaching with her. 

https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/