David Pierce, President Judy Pierce, Secretary and Treasurer
David and Judy Pierce of Fort Myers, Florida, created Friends Along the Road, Inc., after the death of Lilli, their only child and best friend. With Lilli gone, Dave and Judy no longer wanted to live. Nevertheless, they managed to hang on for five months without killing themselves. In May of 2000 they quit their jobs and embarked on a two-year journey through the backroads of the U.S. and Canada to see if they could find reasons to keep living. They needed good ones, because with Lilli physically gone, their former existence of living to make money no longer held interest for them. After visiting with family members, meeting many friends old and new, and doing much soul-searching, Dave and Judy came to realize that they had learned a few things about grief. Knowing that everybody dies, and that all us suffer the loss of loved ones, the couple finally found something worth living for: helping others in deep grief. The story of their odyssey is chronicled in David's book, "Looking for Lilli: Living With the Death of Our Only Child" (click here for condensed version).
In 2002, Dave and Judy embraced the philosophy of compassionate bereavement support. Finding that death in the U.S. is the culture's most taboo subject, and that there are many misconceptions about grieving, they came to understand that grief is an entirely personal experience, and that no one has the right to suggest how another ought to experience it. Dave found that catch-phrases such as "time heals all," and "just pour yourself into your work and you'll feel better," were often hurtful rather than helpful. Further, they questioned the notion of "being healed" when it applies to the deepest forms of grieving, which may not always be helped by orthodox psychological triage. The idea of "being healed" of a loved one's death can even be insulting to those who have lost their precious friend! Knowing that we are the sum of our experiences, grief included, and that to "get beyond" a loved one's death is a form of denying critical experience, Dave and Judy considered the idea of transformational grieving - of allowing our grief to make us into new, and possibly more sympathetic, people. They found that popular TV and radio counseling approaches focused on "process" and "closure" can be damaging to those who hurt so badly over a loved one's death that they may not even wish to live. However, they were encouraged by finding wonderful professional counseling organizations and healing networks that adhere to the ideas of safety, comfort, and unconditional positive regard. Dave and Judy realized that sometimes, the best thing one can do for a person in deep grief is to offer safe and comfortable spaces. That's why they created Friends Along the Road: to make such spaces available, and to be able to recommend similar spaces created by others.
Shauna Bocksch, Vice President
"Losing a child is a great tragedy. To forget the child is the greatest tragedy of all."
Shauna Bocksch graduated from the University of Colorado in 1993 with a degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She recently received certification as a primary level school teacher.
Her interest in Friends Along the Road, Inc. Stems from her friendship with David and Judy Pierce. The greatest tragedy, Shauna feels, is to lose a child. She hopes that her effort, commitment to and empathy for those feeling such a loss can help those suffering. Shauna understands that everyone has a unique way of grieving, yet her hope is that the joys and blessings of the lost child can be cherished and shared and that the uniqueness of each child be remembered.
In her free time, Shauna enjoys the outdoors. Telemark skiing, x-country touring occupy her in the winter, camping, biking, and watersports keep her busy in the summer.
Giulia De Vivo
Giulia De Vivo earned a degree in Foreign Languages from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Salerno University in 1985, and worked for 13 years as an executive secretary for multinational companies. In 1999, in order to devote more time to her family, she became a freelance translator and interpreter. Thanks to her mixed heritage -- Italian, British and Czech -- Giulia excelled in the area of interpersonal communication. The emphasis of her work has always been on helping people understand one another.
Giulia has an inborn desire to research and experience the spiritual side of life. Over a three-year period she worked as a translator in events organised by the Spiritualist National Union in Stansted, UK, as well as in Italy, during which she got to know several hundred bereaved individuals, and developed a specific interest in grief and bereavement support. She has since devoted a substantial part of her free time to researching the subject and comforting the bereaved, irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds.
J. Christopher Graham, Ph.D, Vice President for Research and Evaluation
Dr. J. Christopher Graham was awarded his doctoral degree in Social Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (for studying chronic neglect of children). He is a member of Sigma Xi (the scientific research society), The Association for Psychological Science, The Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and The American Statistical Association. As a statistician, consultant, and member of the Child Welfare Research Group of the School of Social Work at the University of Washington, he conducts applied research in the related fields of family violence, child and adolescent development, systemic crisis intervention, risk assessment and decision making. Among other reports, Dr. Graham is an author of The Texas Child Fatality Study (TDPRS, 1998). He has been a consultant to DePelchin Children's Center, Benedictine Health Resource Center, American Humane Association (Children's Services). His professional contributions have been recognized by his inclusion in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. As a way of promoting nonjudgmental grief support, he serves on the Board of Directors of Friends Along the Road. Apart from his professional life, he enjoys time with his family, cooking, reading, and walks in the woods or by the sea.