Question 1

What is Holding Space?

Accepted Answer

Holding Space is a 75-card conversation deck that helps people talk about grief, loss, memory, and the life that continues after someone dies. Each card holds a single question — some gentle, some deep — designed to give a hard conversation somewhere to start. It was created by Amber Landeau Keinan, LMSW, a grief counselor and end-of-life doula, and it can be used alone, with family, with a friend, or in professional grief and end-of-life settings.

Question 2

Who is Holding Space for?

Accepted Answer

Holding Space is for anyone who wants to talk about a loss but isn't sure how to begin. That includes people grieving on their own, families who keep circling the subject at dinner, friends who want to show up without saying the wrong thing, and professionals who sit with grief for a living — therapists, counselors, social workers, hospice and palliative care teams, chaplains, and end-of-life doulas. No experience with grief work is needed to use it.

Question 3

What's included in the deck?

Accepted Answer

Each deck contains 75 prompt cards and a Quick Guide, packaged in a rigid box with a magnetic closure. Cards are printed on 350 gsm stock with a matte finish and rounded corners, so they hold up to repeated use in groups and sessions.75 prompt cardsQuick Guide with suggestions for getting startedRigid keepsake box with magnetic closure

Question 4

What kinds of questions are on the cards?

Accepted Answer

The prompts range from light and memory-based to genuinely deep, so you can meet the moment you're actually in. Examples include "A funny memory I have of them is…", "The song that makes me think of them is…", "The best advice they gave me was…", "What I miss most isn't what people expect. It's…", and "The hardest part about losing them has been…" The deck moves across themes of memory, meaning, connection, and hope, so a conversation can stay gentle or go as far as it needs to.

Question 5

Do the cards need to be used in order?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no sequence, no required number of cards, and no wrong place to start. Pull one card, or ten. Skip anything that doesn't fit. Many people shuffle and draw at random; others read through and choose deliberately. The deck is built to follow the conversation, not lead it.

Question 6

Who created Holding Space?

Accepted Answer

Holding Space was created by Amber Landeau Keinan, LMSW — a grief counselor, end-of-life doula, and the founder of LifeStorms. She wrote the prompts after years of sitting with people in their hardest moments, drawing on what she saw actually help: not advice, not fixing, but a good question asked at the right moment.

Question 7

Is Holding Space religious or tied to any tradition?

Accepted Answer

No. The prompts are written to work across faiths, cultures, and belief systems, and none of them assume a particular view of what happens after death. People of any tradition — or none — can use the deck without having to translate around it.

Holding Space

A Gentle Place to Begin

A Glimpse Inside

For Every Kind of Conversation

Individuals

Families

Friends

Therapist & Counselors

Support Groups

Hospice & Palliative Care Teams

End-of-Life Doulas & Chaplains

How People Use Holding Space

Around the dinner table

With a friend

In therapy

In a grief group

Quiet reflection & journaling

Created by a grief therapist.

Frequently asked questions