Friends of the California Grief Center,

In This Issue:
🎨 A Quiet Revolution: Jo van Gogh-Bonger
📺 Spectacle vs Solidarity
💔 Upcoming Events (Live & Virtual)
🌊 About the California Grief Center

🎨 A Quiet Revolution

Some lives are quiet revolutions.

When Johanna van Gogh-Bonger—known as Jo—lost her husband Theo and brother-in-law Vincent within a year, she could have faded from history. A grieving widow with a baby in her arms and a home full of unsold paintings.

Instead, she became the steward of Vincent’s legacy—translating sorrow into story and elevating work once dismissed as madness into modern art history. She read his letters by lamplight, arranged exhibitions across Europe, and insisted that the heart behind the brushstroke mattered just as much as the paint.

At the California Grief Center, we believe healing often begins in the hands of those underestimated. Jo reminds us: grief can be generative. A broken heart can also be a birthplace.

May her work remind us that grief is not the end of the story—it’s a doorway.
A crack where light can enter.
A silence that calls for a new kind of voice.

🧨 A Call to Conscience: From Spectacle to Solidarity

What kind of society turns desperation into entertainment?

A reality show called The American, where immigrants reportedly compete for citizenship, is currently under review by the Department of Homeland Security.

We believe there's another way.

Catharsis Theater is the antidote to cruelty dressed as content. We don’t exploit pain—we honor it. We don’t ask people to perform—we invite them to be real. Our workshops create space for story, truth, and transformation.

Offered across the U.S., abroad (including Paris in February 2025), and virtually—Catharsis Theater is a return to what matters:

🫂 Connection over cruelty
🕊️ Healing over harm
🌍 Community over competition

👉 Learn more about Catharsis Theater

💔 Upcoming Events (Live & Online)

🪑 The Empty Chairs of Love

Virtual Catharsis Theater for Grief, Loss & Meaning
“Grief is the price we pay for love.” — Queen Elizabeth II

Grief doesn’t always wear black. Sometimes it’s the silence in the kitchen. A version of yourself that vanished. A promise packed in a box.

This gathering is for anyone mourning a person, a path, a homeland, or a self they once knew.

🗓 Saturday, May 24
🕐 1:30–4:00 PM PT / 4:30–7:00 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Sliding Scale (Green Bottle Model)

✨ Facilitated by:
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Emma You, Grief Counselor & Death Doula

🌍 We'll also honor May’s quiet sorrows—Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Mental Health Awareness, and AAPI Heritage Month.

👉 Register Here – come as you are.

😰 Breathless

In-Person Catharsis Theater for Anxiety & Fear
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” — Søren Kierkegaard

This event is for anyone feeling stuck—in panic, overthinking, or quiet dread.

We’ll explore anxiety’s many faces through story, movement, and gentle (optional) participation.

🗓 Sunday, June 1
🕐 1:30–4:00 PM PT
📍 Blue Door Theater, Downtown Culver City
💵 Sliding Scale | Adults 21+

☕️ Light refreshments provided.

✨ Facilitated by:
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Emma You, Grief Counselor & Death Doula

👉 Register Here – you belong here.

💫 Hope on the Horizon: Upcoming Events You Won’t Want to Miss

🌿 HOPE Group: Healing Ourselves through the Present Experience

Spotlight on Suicide (SOS)
with Dr. Jamie Gamboa & Brian Stefan, LCSW

Since 2020, HOPE Group has been a quiet harbor for sorrow—a place where silence is sacred, and presence is enough.

This month, we gather not to escape grief, but to meet it—with breath, honesty, and care.

🗓 Saturday, May 31
🕐 10:00–11:30 AM PT / 1:00–2:30 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Donation-Based | Open to All

🕯️ No grief too sharp. No breath too shallow.
👉 Register Here

🌊 About the California Grief Center

Grief isn’t a problem to fix—it’s a truth to live with. Like the sea, it rises and retreats. We don’t outrun the tide. We tend the flame.

Through one-on-one support, grief groups, and the transformative power of Catharsis Theater, we help people find footing again—wherever they are.

🌀 Learn more at www.caligrief.com

With heart,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center