The Emerging You — A New Approach to Grief and the Griever

When someone close to us dies, it can be devastating, turning our entire life inside out, making it difficult to return to previous ways of life. The Emerging You session presents a new way of understanding the process of grieving based on neuropsychology — how the brain responds. The focus is not on “getting over it,” but rather on understanding that a new you emerges from the experience.

This presentation is for all grievers, regardless of where they are at in their grief journey. Since 2020, Nate has presented this powerful session at The Compassionate Friends National Conference, where he also provided the keynote in 2024.

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ABOUT NATE MCCLENDON:

Nate McClendon’s world ended in 2014 when his 18-year-old daughter Naomi died after falling from a ten-story building. After intense soul searching, he was shaped by Naomi’s life and death, and he realized our need to “live better.” As an educator, musician, and pastor, he has spent his career in roles of service to others. Now he is reinvigorated to being a community builder, promoting new ways of understanding ourselves and the world around us. He currently works at KSU’s Beach Museum of Art, focusing on community engagement, and he is a sought-after musician and presenter on topics such as community, democracy, diversity, mental wellness, neurology of perception, and grief. He is becoming a leader on issues of grief, especially child loss, which has led to his first book, The Emerging You.

Host or Publisher Union Hall