Beautifully entangled with nature, spirit, and nonhuman animals, Debra traverses the wild terrain of soul as a psyche-soma grief practitioner, heart activist, grief/nature ritualist, Somatic Archaeologist and heart activist. Debra has been on a life-long journey exploring the emotions and somatic language of grief—her own, her clients, and that of nonhuman animals. She developed a deeply healing approach of working with grief called Sacred Sorrowing, which synthesizes nature-based grief rituals, eco-mourning, depth writing, expressive art for grieving companion animal loss and meditation, breath and rewilding practices. All these methodologies are powerful expressions that honor the love that remains after our losses.

Debra is the author/editor/designer of the multi-award winning book, The Chimpanzee Chronicles: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope from Behind the Bars, which has garnered 15 national awards for best narrative nonfiction, new nonfiction, anthology and animal/nature book. (Unrelenting grief over the grave mistreatment of captive chimpanzees drove her to create this book.)

Working as an advocate for captive chimpanzees for more than twenty years, Debra’s pioneering voice for animals in peril continues to raise awareness of the rights of nonhuman animals. Her advocacy includes developing children’s educational programming that fosters deep respect and empathy for nonhuman animals, while inspiring actions that make measurable differences in their lives.

Debra also works as a story mentor and book coach, supportng clients in writing memoirs and nonfiction books that orient readers towards a more inclusive humanity. She loves helping writers fully embody their writing by digging deep into the emotional depth and rich marrow of their life stories. Her coaching sessions focus on content that is honest, expressive and ultimately, wildly alive on the page.

The originator of Sacred Sorrowing, Story Power and Voices for Wild Souls, Debra lives in the high desert mountains of New Mexico. Her beloved elder dog, Freida Heart, pictured in the image to the left, passed away December 23, 2022.