Exploring Life & Business with Robin Chodak of GriefHealing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Chodak. 

Hi Robin, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
The experiences of tragedy and grief have molded me into who I am today.  I don’t believe I would exist as is without them.  My grief started early while growing up without a father present in the formative years.  Much responsibility was placed upon me as a young child due to taking care of three siblings while my mom worked.  Not surprisingly, I longed for love and attention and at 15 I found myself pregnant.  I learned then that life throws a lot of punches at people.  I faced a daunting decision about the baby.  I realized that each choice I would make from that point on would create a consequence that I had to live with—not an easy task for a 15-year-old.  The result: I became a mother at 16 and married the boy.   Yet, I held onto the belief that life had more to offer me.  I raised my daughter, earned a degree in computer science, and worked successfully in that field.  The marriage ended at 15 years.

Grief continued to enter my life; my 16-year-old sister was diagnosed with bone cancer.  The insidious disease sucked the life out of her beautiful youth for four years until she succumbed to it.  I watched my mom suffer from losing a child.  Once again I saw that bad things happened to good people. But it didn’t cause me to give up hope.

In 1995, I felt that life still produced goodness when I met my second husband Steve.  We fell madly in love and married seven months later.  But, the grief reared its ugly head again when he was diagnosed with a rare incurable non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1999.  A bone marrow transplant, full body radiation, and chemotherapy brought him to near death. I vacillated between joy and fear during those years.  I was joyful he was alive, but fear lurked within that cancer would take his life like it did my sisters.

In 2005, the unthinkable happened and changed the course of my life forever.  Steve couldn’t fight his mental and physical pain any longer and lost all hope. The tragedy occurred 17 years ago.  Shockingly, I found him dead by suicide in our home. The grief arose from the shadows once again to strangle me.  I remembered from my youth that each choice determined my destiny.  Did I want to survive this tragedy?  Could I?  Did I have enough strength?  I believe that the resilience and the forces of the universe provided what I needed.  During those years of processing my grief is when I had my spiritual transformation.  I knew I had to do something to help others.  I started a Facebook Suicide Support page and became a support group facilitator with AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). 

 In 2006, I felt that life was sending good to me. I started Tango dancing and met Dr. Gerald Chodak.  We married in 2011.  In 2015 I realized my purpose was to help others more deeply with one-to-one coaching and started Robin Chodak Coaching. Life was amazing with love, tango, and travel until 2019. The throes of grief entered again when my husband unexpectedly died in our home of an aneurysm.   My survival depended on everything I had learned and taught.

My goal is to help others through grief and empower them to live their life with hope, purpose, and love.  I do this by writing books, creating online courses, one-on-one coaching, and training individuals for grief certification.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My life’s journey has been far from a smooth road. But, I wouldn’t have changed any of it, not even the most horrific parts. In the absence of those experiences, love would cease to exist.  Pain is often the price we must pay for love and I wouldn’t have traded those moments for anything.  I believe the more you love, the deeper you shall grieve and the opportunity for transformation is knocking at your heart’s door.

I have my own Grief Coaching business.  It brings in the mind, body, and spirit components, and teaches about mindfulness and energy, which is unique. I am very proud to offer my certification program, which trains individuals to become grief coaches. This program sets itself apart from other online programs because the individual has live sessions with me. I also am the author of four books available on Amazon and three Udemy courses.

Any big plans?
Yes, to promote my Grief Certification Program, to live my passion for travel outside of the U.S, improve my golf game, become the best version of myself, and find someone to share all the beautiful moments that life has to offer us.

Pricing:

• $85 = 50 min coaching session
• $411.11 Grief Certification Program

Contact Info:

• Website: www.robinchodak.com
• Instagram: robinchodak_coach
• Facebook: facebook.com/suiciderecovery
• Twitter: suiciderecovery
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHczIrJBXfgSl9S8w1HVGQ