About

Robert

Although there is certainly no denying that grief is a sad and serious topic, I approach it with enthusiasm, and often with humor. I always consider my work to be life affirming.

My Expertise and qualifications

I have the lived and learned experience to help on every step of your journey

Of course everybody grieves, and grief “experts” are no exception. Like many of you, I’ve suffered tremendous losses, and each time, after falling apart, I have emerged with a deeper appreciation for grief, caring, and resilience. I’ll be sharing some of my own life stories here on my website, in my blogs, video talks and in excerpts from my forthcoming memoir. But if you’re just getting to know me, I’d like to share a few examples here of some of the personal challenges I’ve faced and what they’ve taught me.

Forty six years ago, well before I ever dreamed of being a grief counselor, my dad died of a massive heart attack. Looking back now, perhaps the greatest lesson in the early days of my loss came from Dad’s friend, Edith who told me that as hard as I was hurting, my grief would never completely go away. The pain softens over time, but grief only changes.

My greatest loss since Dad’s death happened in 2017. I’d been a grief specialist for well over thirty years, when my wife died of complications from pancreatic cancer. As I continue to grieve her death, I am inspired everyday by clients and patients, new and old. They are my heroes and teachers – women, men, teens and children I have visited in emergency rooms, children’s hospitals, at their death beds on hospice, in their homes, in classrooms, their places of work, at my seminars and retreats, and in my counseling office. Their suffering, honesty, love of life, courage, wisdom and perseverance have taught me that we’re all in this together. Knowing them has helped me find the courage to keep my broken heart open as I listen and learn.

Fourteen months after Andrea died, I fell in love again. Finding love after a long and good marriage, is nothing less than miraculous, humbling, and wonderful. But as Edith taught me many years ago, our grief never ends. It only keeps changing. So I’ve been learning that even while celebrating my new relationship, I’m also grieving. This isn’t easy to do and its given me a new appreciation and deeper respect and compassion for others that dare to love again. I’ll be writing more about this in future blogs. Stay tuned.

What people say about me

Below are some anonymous evaluations I’ve received at seminars across the country

"You are delightful, respectful and the best lecturer in all of my 59 years. Your pace, material and presentation is flawless and always comprehensive and complete. Thank you so very much for your passion and life's work. As a trauma specialist, I am so appreciative!"

"This spontaneous, knowledgeable expert described in detail the dynamics of grief and loss. An excellent presenter."

"This is one of the best workshops I have ever attended. I appreciated so much the examples of language to use with children through the many case examples and modeling. Thank you so much! I was also in the workshop on adult grieving. It was just as outstanding."

"Rob Zucker is a true master at communicating. Additionally, his professionalism, warmth and empathy enhance his teaching and make it come alive to his audience."

"Every part of this workshop was informative and well-presented. Zucker is delightful. The interaction with the audience was terrific."

"Wow! Simply wonderful, informative, experiential, and practical."

"Great speaker, very empathetic. I wish he were on the West Coast!"

"It was humanistic, informative, organized, but it left room for thoughts and processing. Loved the trumpet!"

"Very engaging, intellectually and spiritually. I appreciate his humor, warmth and use of music and poetry as he taught about this heavy content. He was right on target; poignant. Really appreciate his examples from his own professional and personal life. Also, appreciate his attention to cultural differences. P.S. I loved the Klezmer trumpet music- it really connected me to a sweet place in time with my ancestors from Eastern Europe."

"I loved his presentation style, so warm and kind, relaxed and a great speaker. In particular, I liked the examples that he used from his own work with clients - absolutely excellent! Thank you, Stephanie, for introducing him to this conference- a must to invite back again!"

Connection is Oxygen

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