Writer. Speaker. Grief & Pressure
Literacy
I work at the intersection of grief, loss, meaning, and major life transitions, as they shape how we live, work, and lead.
My work also focuses on pressure and performance, cumulative load, and the language systems that help teams recognize what’s happening before it becomes a problem.
Grief and major life transitions don’t follow timelines, and they don’t stay neatly contained outside of daily life. They shape how we work, love, lead, and understand ourselves, especially in moments of responsibility, uncertainty, and change.
Pressure works the same way. It builds over time, often quietly, accumulating into what I call cumulative load, and without language, those shifts in behaviour and capacity can go unrecognized until they impact performance, relationships, or wellbeing.
My work creates space for honest, grounded conversations about loss, pressure, and transition, without platitudes, pressure, or fixing. Through storytelling, lived experience, and reflection, I help individuals, teams, and leaders find language for what they’re already carrying, so they can recognize it earlier and respond differently.
Nature often plays a supportive role in this work, not as an escape, but as a stabilizing presence. Time outdoors, stillness, and perspective offer space to settle, reflect, and reconnect, especially in environments where load has been building for a long time.
Book
Death Taught Me How to Love. Love Taught Me How to Live.
A memoir about grief, resilience, and learning how to live again
She didn’t set out to write about death...
but grief kept writing itself into her life until she finally wrote back.
This memoir is for anyone who has lost someone they loved and is still learning how to live with what remains.
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Speaking & Workshops
I speak to organizations, leadership teams, and communities about how grief, pressure, and major life transitions show up in real life and work.
My sessions focus on how pressure builds over time, how cumulative load begins to shape behaviour, and how leaders and teams can recognize what’s happening before it impacts performance, safety, or wellbeing.
Each talk or workshop is grounded in lived experience, storytelling, and practical insight, creating space for honest, thoughtful conversation without platitudes, pressure, or quick fixes.
Sessions are adapted to the context, from corporate and safety-critical environments to community and public settings, with a focus on clarity, resilience, and meaningful leadership.
In the room
Excerpt from a live community grief literacy workshop.
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About Shannon
I’m a writer, author, speaker, and photographer with more than twenty years of experience as a journalist and columnist, as well as a long career building and leading businesses across multiple industries.
I’ve written extensively for Black Press and founded and published a national magazine, with work reaching local, national, and international audiences. My background in storytelling, leadership, and entrepreneurship informs everything I do.
Today, my work focuses on grief, loss, and major life transitions as they show up in real life and work and how pressure builds alongside them. I speak to organizations, leadership teams, and communities about navigating change, responsibility, and identity shifts, creating space for honest, grounded conversations rooted in lived experience and language that helps people recognize what they’re carrying.
What I believe
I believe there is no single or “right” way to experience grief, loss, or transition, only a need for language, space, and understanding. These experiences are not problems to be fixed, but human realities that shape how we lead, relate, and show up at work and in life.
The same is true of pressure. It builds over time, often unnoticed, accumulating into what I call cumulative load. Without language, those shifts in behaviour and capacity can go unrecognized until they begin to affect performance, relationships, and wellbeing.
My work is grounded in honesty, compassion, and respect for complexity, particularly in times of change, responsibility, and uncertainty. I create space for thoughtful, grounded conversations that help individuals, teams, and leaders recognize what’s happening in real time, and respond without defaulting to pressure, platitudes, or timelines.
In the Media
Hear Me Out Podcast — February 1, 2026
On the Hear Me Out with Belinda Waits, Shannon Hurst shares a candid conversation on grief literacy, language, and why learning to live with grief creates space for more meaningful, human connection.
Okotoks Online — February 1, 2026
Okotoks-based speaker Shannon Hurst explores grief literacy and why grief isn’t something to fix, but something we learn to live with, creating space for more honest, human conversations around loss and transition.
