Kindred Coaching

sara rian is a poet, self published author, mother, wife, licensed therapist, & griever.

she is the epitome of what i imagine when i describe to people what makes the Midwest so special - an authentically kind & real individual.

i had the absolute privilege of being in conversation with her on The Kindred & Brave Project podcast & we kept it real & raw.
we talked about grief, being motherless mothers, continuing bonds for us & our kiddos, & her beautiful work.

y’all she read a new poem. live. for the first time.

i cried.

listen 🔗 in bio. as well as all the ways you can read her words & purchase her art.

my oh my. what a beautiful thing to have a rich, juicy, meaningful, emotional conversation with someone.

someone who you consider a hero, at that. whose work & works changed the way your brain computes & your body experiences.

in these weeks each year I tend to cocoon - knowing i’m tender & raw. grateful for the kindred spirits who are afraid to also be tender & raw.

stay tuned 🐞🤍🪐

I am so proud to say that I am a published author ✨ The book is LIVE

I wrote a chapter in the book Resilient A.F. Stories of Resilience Vol. 3 - my chapter is called Remothering 🫶🏼

this story has been inside of me since I found out I was pregnant with Zoey Diana after my mom died 🤍 it has grown over the years, an exploration af how to Remother with resilience after loss.

the book is filled with stories of resilience from voices around the world put together by & 🌎

I’d be honored & grateful if you purchased a copy & left a review 📖

🔗 to purchase in bio

my mama always told me I’d write & I believe this is just the beginning 💫
she is proud & she is with me.

The Universe Has Your Back
🙏❤️✨

a heavy weight has been on my heart since something hard happened with my son in our neighborhood. ive spent too much time ruminating, have definitely been grieving for him as ive watched him try to navigate the biggest “hard” friendship thing he’s experienced so far.

im not naive enough to think that at almost 12 this is the end of these sorts of experiences but im not too proud to talk about how much it sucks.

much of the time as a mom i feel like im winging it - anyone else?

id be honored if you read this piece & shared your thoughts.

🔗 in bio under “wannacryaboutit”Substack

reflections on the ordinary memories.
things we loved - pizza 🍕
things we loathed - cancer

love & rage

started this piece in a writing class with & took it deeper in another class with

what is the thing you remember doing with your person?

link in bio 🫶🏼

the 6 weeks is upon me. the weeks I watched my mom actively dying (though I didn’t know that then) in 2019.

grief szn. most of us grievers have these seasons - sometimes it’s a death day, a birthday, the last hug day… this is year 6 & it’s hitting hard.

when I sat down to journal & do the I realized this year my daughter will be the age my son was when she died. that felt like a sucker punch - what is time?! my son is on his way, living life longer now without her than he had her.

inspired by a reel I saw from I wrote about the everyday, ordinary things I miss about her that feel extraordinary, especially this time of year.

in a micro moment on the latest episode of the pod I talked about what it can do for your body & your brain when you learn about your grief - how it feels, where you feel it, what thoughts it brings. an invitation to get to understand something you will carry forever ❤️‍🩹

links to read & listen in my bio ✨

welcome to my Substack 2.0 🤩


after neglecting any sort of plan for what I wanted to create with my first Substack- it came to me. with the help of wordsmith 🥳

i’m ready to stand in my full big feel power & cry about it.
not everything i write will be about tears - just the acceptance of having a lot of feels.

i’ll share musings on midlife, grief (duh), being a part of the 🥪 generation,
motherhood (all the ⬆️ + ⬇️) communication, & things that bring me glimmers (plz note: i cry when i’m happy too 🥹 🌈🐌)

i’d be honored if you followed along by clicking “subscribe” - these lil love notes 💌 will go straight to your inbox. my goal is 3x per week ✨ themes rolling out soon 🛼

if you feel inclined to pay for subscription you can get some coaching sessions with me 👏🏼 the subscription funds will help cover the cost of my podcast production 🎙️(you can 🎧with the 🔗 in my bio)

i hope to see you in the comments section - sharing our stories matters 🌀

🔗 to read + subscribe in bio 🫶🏼

I am proud to share my story of resilience will be featured in The Global Resilience Project’s fifth book -
Resilient A.F.: Stories of Resilience Volume 3.
the book will be published NEXT MONTH 📖

an absolute dream come true for me as I take the steps toward becoming an author to share & honor my experience with caretaking, grief, empathy, being a motherless daughter, & resilience.

our stories matter. our stories heal.

as you can see - there are two special ladies in my story: my mom & my Zoey Diana. thank you to for this 3 generations picture 🤍🫶🏼🪽✨

was my mom’s queen 👑

I had the absolute honor of interviewing my mentor & teacher, renowned grief author & therapist

✨ Claire defines grief & its many forms

✨ we discuss collective grief & how it’s showing up in our country right now

✨ Claire distinguishes how grief & loss are different - we don’t choose our losses, we CAN choose how we grieve

✨we talk about disenfranchised grief & the ways our black & brown communities & immigrant neighbors are being robbed of their grief because in order to grieve we need safety

✨Claire reminds us that empathy & the step of perspective taking is what will lead us to healing

🦦keeping it real - I cried when this was over. I felt my mom with me & know she’s proud that after she died I chose to learn about what I was feeling & that I have the passion to help others understand it too.

🔗 in bio - please share this important episode. it is a timely & vital conversation 🤍

happy birthday - my soul sister & longest love. it has been 33 years of doing life side by side & I’m so grateful.

you are wise, witty, & the tough love that i need from a chosen sister. you’ve helped me learn to (re)mother myself in the past 6 years & have also taught me so much through watching you as a mother.

our memories are some of the greatest of my life - & in this time of midlife we still put in the work to make time for each other. it’s my greatest honor to watch my children with you - you treat them like your own 🥹

i still remember lighting my cigarette the wrong way during the snow storm when you had to pullover because my skirt was on fire in your car. i remember driving around Boulder with the parking break on & sunflower seeds out the sunroof (so I thought) on our way to Ohio. too many shows to count & belly laughs for years.

this is your year my love - embrace all that is to come. I’m already so proud of you. love you to this full snow moon 🌕 & back.

I wrote something near & dear to my heart. something that reflects what I want the US American education system to embody.

this piece shares the how & why I of sharing the story of losing my mother with every class I teach.

the impact has been immeasurable - students do not drop their grief (loss of a loved one, fear of deportation, loss of safety, loss of friendships) at the door of their classrooms.

educators need to understand that grief IS social emotional learning - learning about & understanding their own grief will help their students cope & support each other.

this isn’t going to put out the flames we are feeling right now but I believe in my bones that grief education is schools is the answer for a more resilient, competent, & empathetic world of communicators.

please hit the ❤️ & share the 🔗 link in my bio. our voices, education, & small actions matter.

this season we are in, winter, feels different this year. we are cold & weary for reasons behind the lack of sunshine & darkness.

❄️🧊🪾

the world is hard right now. it makes hibernating & caring for ourselves even more difficult.

in the episode I talk about the heaviness of it all & share some of the small daily rituals I do to keep myself upright.

🎧 with 🔗 in bio