Kind Words from People I’ve Worked With

  • mai is fluent in the language of grief, which is to say they are fluent in the language of love. Guided by a deep understanding of earthly energies, and oriented by a clear and competent poetics, mai crafts circles where the whole self can show up fully, in whatever state of being we might find ourselves. mai tends the individual spirit while reaffirming that we are all part of a whole, a community, a cosmology of people living with longing and loss.”

    Jaye Elizabeth, 13 Names for Grief Workshop

  • mai is a magic facilitator and brought together an amazing group of creators working through grief in overlapping + distinct ways -- there were times when i didn't want to come to the session (because of other life things) but every session felt so healing + cleansing -- it's special to leave a zoom meeting feeling nourished and tended to.

    13 Names for Grief Workshop Participant

  • mai's facilitation style is gentle, thoughtful, affirming, and ever-patient. through 13 names of grief, mai taught me how to tend to my grief, to let it take up all the space it needs. for all of us to do so together, in an intentional container every month, also taught us how to hold each other's grief, how to listen intently, how to offer affirmation, how to relate and be in community. i came into this space wanting deeply to stop ignoring or pushing aside the big pain that is grief, and am now equipped with so many words and stories to paint portraits of grief that feel liberating and healing. thank you mai, for everything!

    13 Names for Grief Workshop Participant

  • mai's 13 Names for Grief writing series has supported my grieving process in profound ways that i did not even know to imagine. the space they carefully curate, nourish, and sustain over the course of several months is full of healing and grace. i've learned so much about myself during these sessions and have been cracked wide open by the generosity of the fellow participants, writers, and grief tenders. i am so grateful to be experiencing the kind of personal and collective transformation this group has created. building altars, writing poetry, crying together, being quiet, listening, growing, feeling deeply, breathing together, leaning into grief's magnitudes in creative and reflective ways are just a few of the gifts that mai has offered. to feel so held, seen, cared for, and part of a whole, amidst great sorrow and despair, is a true gift.

    Sonja S., 13 Names for Grief

  • mai created a beautiful space for a group of writers to meet each other, dive into their imaginations and ancestral stories, generate poetry, and share their experiences and art. mai was incredibly mindful and tuned into the group's collective heartbeat and made so much space for people to express themselves. In three short classes, a community was formed and I got a sense of everyone's voice, and a deeper sense of my own.

    Liliana, Writing with Ancestors Workshop

  • mai was beautiful for reaching out when I was too anxious to join the video meetings. I felt cared for by the unknown, she wrote back with care package of encouragement and I felt soothed. Their care for my wellbeing gave me courage to come on and be a participant, without having to participate in sharing with the group, and I really appreciated it. It felt good to work together on prompt-writing, to be intentional and help through the process of writing, & think of creative ways to process grief.

    13 Names for Grief Workshop Participant

  • mai, you're amazing, and this space has been a gift -- i felt supported in my agency + autonomy within my relationship to grief, while feeling part of a community of care + healing -- thank you for the intention and love you pour/ed into this space. this workshop series transformed // is transforming me still -- it is continuing to shape my spirit / relationship to the world / art practices / relationships -- i'm so so grateful i got to sign up and participate, and hope to be able to participate more in the future.

    13 Names for Grief Workshop Participant

  • mai's workshop is so grounding. the container they built over the course of only four sessions helped me to feel so intimate and connected to the others in the space; by the end it felt like a space we had co-created. i loved learning from and witnessing the others in their grief and writing practices. highly recommend for anyone seeking to deepen in their writing and exploration of loss and healing.

    13 Names for Grief Workshop Participant

  • [The Writing with Ancestors] class was a generous offering of pathways and portals in imagining and expressing connection to our ancestors. When it comes to my ancestors, I hold both explicit messages and feelings as well as a lot of silence and uncertainty. I learned how to embrace these contradictions and gained new tools for exploring their coexistence. mai provided a grounded and nurturing virtual writing space where people from several different time zones very quickly bonded in this exploration together.

    Emily

  • mai is such an inspiring and helpful mentor, teacher and writer. I would recommend their guidance to anyone and hopefully will continue to keep working with them in the future.

    Writing with Ancestors Workshop Participant

  • mai gave us a set of wonderful strategies for writing, that seamlessly worked their way into a finished piece. I will continue to use these valuable tools in my own writing and visual art practice.

    Nicole

  • I wrote a poetry collection and asked mai to read it and give me feedback. Her feedback was extremely helpful and she covered a lot of different aspects of my poetry collection with depth and relevant knowledge about the matter. The support made me feel seen and heard in my writing.

    Paige Chung, Writing Consultation