Featured Speaker:

Russell Friedman, Author & Grief Recovery Coach

Russell Friedman is the coauthor of the bestselling Grief Recovery Handbook, When Children Grieve, and Moving On. He and his co-authors, Cole James and John James, are also the creators of The Grief Recovery Method®. Cole James left a successful career in the entertainment industry after discovering his passion for helping people and now works alongside his father and Russell. Together, the three run The Grief Recovery Institute in Los Angeles, which has helped more than one million people rebuild their lives after crippling losses.

Russell joined John at the Institute in 1986, on the heels of a second divorce and a devastating financial meltdown. After applying the principles and actions of The Grief Recovery Method to his own losses, Russell began learning how to help others. He and John co-authored the Revised Edition of The Grief Recovery Handbook and later the 20th Anniversary edition; and then they wrote When Children Grieve, and later Moving On and Moving Beyond Loss. 

Russell and John have also written scores of articles on recovery from loss that have been published around the world. Along with John, Russell has pioneered more than 2500 Grief Recovery Outreach Programs throughout the world. He has appeared as the Grief Recovery expert on CNN following 9/11 and after other national and international grief producing events, as well as on the Today Show with Matt Lauer as an expert on helping parents guide their children in dealing with losses of all kinds.