Beautifully entangled with nature, spirit, and nonhuman animals, Debra traverses the wild terrain of soul as a grief practitioner, grief/nature ritualist, heart activist, wild beauty forager and Somatic Archaeologist. Debra has been on a life-long journey exploring the emotions and somatic language of grief—her own, her clients, and that of nonhuman animals. She developed a deeply healing approach of working with grief, which synthesizes nature based rituals, meditation, breath work, writing and expressive art. All these methodologies support powerful emotive expression that help the grieving person honor the love that remains after loss.

Debra is the author/editor/designer of the multi-award winning book, The Chimpanzee Chronicles: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope from Behind the Bars, which has garnered 15 national awards for best narrative nonfiction, new nonfiction, anthology and animal/nature book.

Working as an advocate for captive chimpanzees for more than twenty years, Debra’s pioneering voice for animals in peril continues to raise awareness of the rights of nonhuman animals. Her advocacy includes developing children’s educational programming that fosters deep respect and empathy for nonhuman animals, while inspiring actions that make measurable differences in their lives.

Debra also works as a story mentor, book midwife, developmental editor and ghost writer, supportng clients in writing memoirs and nonfiction books that orient readers towards a more inclusive humanity. She loves helping writers fully embody their writing by digging deep into the emotional depth and rich marrow of their life stories. Her mentoring sessions focus on content that is honest, expressive and ultimately, wildly alive on the page.

The originator of Sacred Sorrowing, Story Power and Voices for Wild Souls, Debra lives in the high desert mountains of New Mexico. Her beloved elder dog, Freida Heart, pictured in the image to the left, passed away December 23, 2022.