WHO AM I?

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My Name is Katonya. My Story is One of Love, Loss, and Learning to Live Again.

Life isn't a straight path. It's a road full of bumps, turns, and unexpected heartbreak. My world has been shaped by a series of profound losses—more than what seems fair for any one person to carry. I lost my brother when I was 18. My mother when I was 21. My father, all of my grandparents, several cousins, and two close friends—one to suicide, one to a stroke. And more.

This was not an average share of grief. It was a cumulative tide that built upon each other, each new loss threatening to eclipse the light completely.

But the loss that forever changed the axis of my world came in 2020, with the passing of my 18-year-old son and his best friend. This was a cataclysm that echoed and amplified all the grief that came before. The pain was all-consuming, and I felt shattered beyond repair.

I know what it is to look at the weight of your grief and feel it is too much to bear. I know what it is to feel utterly alone in a world that seems to have moved on.

Yet, here I am.

A shattered vase, when put back together, never looks the same. The cracks remain visible, telling a story of survival. These cumulative losses have reshaped me. Through the depths of compounded grief, I was forced to discover a resilience I never knew I had—the enduring strength of love, the non-linear path of healing, and what it truly means to live with a broken heart and still choose joy.

This hard-won resilience revealed my purpose: to walk with others who are carrying what feels like an unbearable weight.

My Calling & My Promise to You

Opening Hearts, Co. is the embodiment of that promise. I provide a compassionate, safe harbor for those feeling lost in the storm of complex and overwhelming loss.

My approach isn't about fixing you—because you are not broken. It's about holding space for all of your grief, helping you integrate your losses into your life's story, and supporting you as you discover your own formidable capacity for resilience, joy, and meaning.

You will be heard. You will be understood. You will be supported. Your grief is not too much.

Together, we can find a way to help you not just survive, but truly live again.