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Long Bio

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and loss. His decades of experience with thousands of people on the edge of life and death has taught him the secrets to living a happy and fulfilled life, even after life’s tragedies. He is the author of seven books including his latest bestselling book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, as well as a new Finding Meaning Companion Workbook. He co-authored two books with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving. He co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart with Louise Hay and also wrote Visions, Trips and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die. 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. He facilitates talks, workshops, and retreats for those experiencing grief. However, despite his vast knowledge on grief, his life was turned upside down by the sudden death of his twenty-one-year-old son. It inspired him to write his newest and most personal book, Finding Meaning.

His article in the Harvard Business Review, titled, The Discomfort you are Feeling is Grief went viral and was named one of “The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review’s First Century. His talk with Brené Brown was the #1 podcast in the world. He also hosted his own Spotify Podcast called Healing with David Kessler.

He is Chief Empathy Officer for the Empathy.com app. David’s volunteer work includes being a founding member of Project Angel Food, a well-known and loved non-profit organization. He also serves as Specialist Reserve for the Los Angeles Police as well as having served on the Red Cross’s disaster services team. He speaks frequently for local cancer organizations, grief organizations as well as large organizations such as General Mills, Verizon, Dow Jones, and The Wall Street Journal. He has a unique place in pop culture as one of his books being the premise for the season premiere of The Walking Dead and he was a question on Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy.   His new online model of grief support, Tender Hearts, offers over twenty-five groups. Additionally, David leads one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs. He is the founder of Grief.com.

Medium Bio

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and loss. His decades of experience with thousands of people on the edge of life and death has taught him the secrets to living a happy and fulfilled life, even after life’s tragedies. He is the author of seven books including his latest bestselling book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, as well as a new Finding Meaning Companion Workbook. He co-authored two books with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving. He co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart with Louise Hay and also wrote Visions, Trips and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die. His first book, The Needs of The Dying received praise from Saint (Mother) Teresa. He also hosted his own Spotify Podcast called Healing with David Kessler.

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. He facilitates talks, workshops, and retreats for those experiencing grief. However, despite his vast knowledge on grief, his life was turned upside down by the sudden death of his twenty-one-year-old son. It inspired him to write his newest and most personal book, Finding Meaning.

He is the Chief Empathy Officer for the Empathy.com app. David’s volunteer work includes being a founding member of Project Angel Food, a well-known and loved non-profit organization. He also serves as Specialist Reserve for the Los Angeles Police as well as having served on the Red Cross’s disaster services team. His new online model of grief support, Tender Hearts, offers over twenty-five groups. Additionally, David leads one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs. He is the founder of Grief.com.

Short Bio

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and loss. His decades of experience with thousands of people on the edge of life and death has taught him the secrets to living a happy and fulfilled life, even after life’s tragedies. He is the author of seven books including his latest bestselling book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, as well as a new Finding Meaning Companion Workbook. He co-authored two books with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving. He co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart with Louise Hay and also wrote Visions, Trips and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die. His first book, The Needs of The Dying received praise from Saint (Mother) Teresa. His new online model of grief support, Tender Hearts, offers over twenty-five groups. Additionally, he hosted his own Spotify Podcast called Healing with David Kessler. David leads one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs. He is the founder of Grief.com.

One-line Bio

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost expert on grief and loss.

End-of-Life Focused Bio

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and end-of-life care. For decades, he has worked alongside thousands of dying patients and their families, helping bring greater compassion, dignity, and understanding to the experience of death and loss.

His first book, The Needs of the Dying, originally published in 1997 and praised by Mother Teresa, is considered a foundational work in the field of end-of-life care. A 30th anniversary edition will be released in 2027. Kessler is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He co-authored Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart with Louise Hay. His book Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die explores the experiences many people report as they approach death. He has also written articles on end-of-life care for The Boston Globe and The San Francisco Chronicle.

In 1985, Kessler founded Progressive Health Care and Hospice Services, an award-winning organization that helped pioneer modern hospice care by providing comprehensive medical services in the home for people living with life-challenging illnesses. His work helped advance the integration of hospice and palliative care within healthcare systems.

In 2001, he served as founding chair of the Hospital Association’s first palliative care committee and was instrumental in launching one of the first multi-hospital palliative care programs. His palliative care program has been featured as a case study by The Center to Advance Palliative Care and the Association of Community Cancer Centers. The program also received a $448,000 grant to expand palliative care services, with a special focus on providing culturally sensitive care to diverse communities.

Kessler served on the board of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, a statewide collaborative that helped introduce POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms and build systems to support hospitals and healthcare organizations in developing successful palliative care programs. He is also a certified trainer through the EPEC (Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care) program developed by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

He also served on a National Education and Health Care Advisory Committee with Dr. Jonas Salk and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

In addition to his writing, Kessler has trained thousands of healthcare professionals in end-of-life care and grief support. He is the founder of Grief.com, creator of Tender Hearts—an online model of grief support offering more than twenty-five support groups—and leader of one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs.

General Audience Bio

David Kessler is the world’s foremost expert on grief and loss. He is the author of seven books including his latest bestselling book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He co-authored two books with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and one with Louise Hay and also wrote Visions, Trips and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die. His first book received praise from Saint (Mother) Teresa.

His article in the Harvard Business Review, titled, The Discomfort You Are Feeling Is Grief, went viral and was named one of “The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review’s First Century.” His talk with Brené Brown was the #1 podcast in the world. He also hosted his own Spotify podcast called Healing with David Kessler.

He is Chief Empathy Officer for the Empathy.com app. David’s volunteer work includes being a founding member of Project Angel Food, a well-known and loved non-profit organization. He has a unique place in pop culture as one of his books being the premise for the season premiere of The Walking Dead and he was a question on Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy!. He was recently called in to lead the audience discussion in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit on Broadway with the cast after the show. His new online model of grief support, Tender Hearts, offers over twenty-five groups. Additionally, David leads one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs. He is the founder of Grief.com.

Bereaved Parent Bio

David Kessler is a bereaved father as well as one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and loss. After the death of his younger son in 2016, his work took on an even deeper personal meaning as he began helping other parents navigate the unimaginable loss of a child.

He is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief and the Finding Meaning Companion Workbook. He co-authored Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart with Louise Hay. He also authored Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die. His first book, The Needs of the Dying, received praise from Saint (Mother) Teresa.

His article in the Harvard Business Review, “That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief,” went viral worldwide and was later named one of the most influential and innovative articles from the publication’s first century. His conversation with Brené Brown became the #1 podcast in the world.

David is the founder of Grief.com and creator of Tender Hearts, an online model of grief support that offers more than twenty-five groups for people living with loss. Many bereaved parents have found community and understanding in these groups.

He leads one of the most respected Grief Educator Certification programs and has trained many leaders of bereavement organizations, including chapter leaders from The Compassionate Friends and Helping Parents Heal. He is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences supporting bereaved parents and those who care for them.

David also serves as Chief Empathy Officer for the Empathy app and has devoted much of his life to helping people find compassion, connection, and meaning after profound loss.