Mary Yamamoto's article in The Crazy Wisdom Journal
Posted
-
- May
- 11
- 2026
by Elizabeth Boisson
*The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal* May through August 2026 Page 37
NEW PRACTITIONERS
& BUSINESSES
In June of 2023, Ann Arbor resident Mary Yamamoto started a local chapter of Helping Parents Heal, an international nonprofit group focused on assisting parents whose children have passed away.
There are about 175 chapters throughout the United States and other countries. Yamamoto explained that what sets this group apart from others is their emphasis on spiritual experiences and parents connecting with their children through signs, synchronicities, and other means.
When Yamamoto’s daughter, Katherine, passed away in 2019 at the age of 29 from cardiac arrest due to a heart arrhythmia, she felt “splintered into a million pieces.” She knew she would need some help dealing with her grief, but she didn’t resonate with the local support groups she came across. In the early days, she really wanted to know where her daughter was, which was not something other groups were talking about. She came across Helping Parents Heal while searching the internet for information about near-death experiences and theories about the afterlife. HPH was focused not so much on leaving her child in the past, but on moving forward in connection with her in her new existence as an
“active energetic being” who is “very much alive.” Yamamoto said she has experienced many signs
from Katherine.
HPH, she explained, goes beyond many other grief groups by allowing the open discussion of spiritual experiences and evidence of the afterlife in a non-dogmatic way. It focuses on helping individuals to become “Shining Light Parents” (as opposed to “bereaved parents”) enabling a shift from a state of emotional heaviness to one of hopefulness and greater peace of mind. “Our children shine through us,” said Yamamoto. “They want us to be happy, and healthy, and to heal.” She said the group is very positive, speaking of the children of these parents as still here, just in a different way. They “helped me so much in processing my grief and giving me hope when my daughter died... that I decided to start a local chapter,” she said.
In preparation to run a chapter, Yamamoto became certified as a grief educator through David Kessler
Training, as well as going through training provided by HPH. The Ann Arbor chapter meets monthly
and welcomes everyone regardless of religious or non-religious background. Open dialogue is encouraged. Meetings usually draw between four and ten people. They begin with introductions, followed by a short meditation, and open discussion. Parents often share signs they've seen from their
children, tools they’ve found helpful in their healing, and discussion of the afterlife and spirituality.
After a break, parents share snacks together and engage in more one-on-one interactions.
There is no cost to participate.
Yamamoto said, “Grief is on some level always with you. There are waves of grief. We'll always miss
our children and having them physically here, but people can find a lot of peace and joy in life. It’s pretty amazing to hold grief and joy in the same moment.” She said that healing is a lifelong process
with no end date, and that people are permanently changed after such a devastating loss. But they do have the capacity to feel peace and enjoy life again, and to eventually appreciate life, nature, and love on a much deeper level.
She feels that there is greater potential for healing when one has community. “It’s very hard to heal
sitting at home,” she said. “As hard as it is to reach out, and it is hard,” she said, “there’s a lot of healing power” in gathering with other parents who have been through the same tragedy.
More information about the Ann Arbor meetings is available on Facebook at
facebook.com/groups/helpingparentshealannarbor. The organization's website is helpingparentsheal.org.
Mary Yamamoto can be reached by email at hphannarbor@gmail.com or by phone at (734) 223-3208.