Meet Tania Chomyk

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tania Chomyk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tania, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

After all these years, I can finally say, I have found mine.

I’ve always been in helping roles, guiding others through transitions and challenges. But today, my purpose feels clearer and deeper: I’m here to bring light to loss. To talk about a word I once shied away from; grief. In fact, I’ve redefined it in my book as:

Gratitude Reminds us of the Invaluable Essence from which growth Flourishes.

My journey into grief work began quietly, four years after my son Danylo passed away. While pursuing my Master’s degree, I was assigned a research paper. I thought I’d write about balancing career and family, but every visit to the library pulled me toward the grief section. That paper became my first attempt to share my story; not with the world, just with one professor. But it was a start.

Decades later, I revisited that paper and turned it into a speech, The Million Dollar Family, which won an award in 2022. That moment cracked something open in me. I began speaking, writing, and allowing myself to be seen in my grief, and in my growth.

Now, I’ve written a memoir, Bringing Light to Loss, in honor of Danylo. Through it, I’m keeping his name alive while giving back; supporting the Child Life Program at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. His short life is now the source of my greatest meaning and purpose.

Grief may have shaped me; but it doesn’t define me. Love does. Purpose does. And sharing our stories, even the painful ones, is how we begin to heal.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m Tania Chomyk, a life transition expert, award-winning resilience speaker, and grief educator. After spending over 30 years working in higher education and personal development, I now focus on helping people navigate life’s most difficult moments with clarity, courage, and compassion.

My work is rooted in both lived experience and professional expertise. I’ve gone through three major life transitions: the unexpected loss of my infant son, the dissolution of my marriage, and a sudden career shift. Each of these moments reshaped me, and led me to do the work I do today. I don’t just speak about navigating change; I’ve lived it.

My upcoming book, Bringing Light to Loss, (June 30th launch) is a reflection on grief, love, and the strength it takes to rebuild. It’s deeply personal, yet universal in its message of hope and healing. A portion of proceeds supports the Child Life Program at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, bringing smiles to young patients while keeping my son Danylo’s memory alive.

Through workshops, talks, and programs like Be the CEO of Your Career/Life, I help people feel, heal, and rise. Whether it’s rediscovering their purpose, moving forward after loss, or making meaningful career changes, I create space for people to reconnect with themselves and lead with intention.

Right now, I’m preparing for the 2025 EmpowerHer Summit—an experience designed to help women reclaim their voice, leadership, and vision, especially after seasons of burnout, loss, or life transitions.

https://empowerhersummit.ca/

I believe resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it’s something we build. And I’m here to walk alongside those who are ready to take that first hopeful step.

To learn more or connect, visit www.taniachomyk.com. I’d be honoured to support you or your group on the journey forward.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, three qualities have been most impactful in my journey: resilience, self-awareness, and compassion.

Resilience has been my anchor through life’s toughest moments, reminding me that while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. We get to decide how we move forward. My advice is to embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. When setbacks come, allow yourself to feel, be okay with not being okay, and then take a small step forward.

Self-awareness helped me understand my values, strengths, and limits. It allowed me to make conscious choices instead of reacting out of habit or fear. My advice is to regularly set aside time for reflection; whether journaling, meditating, or simply sitting quietly, to check in with yourself and reconnect with what matters most to you.

Compassion, both for myself and others, created space for healing. It showed me that vulnerability is a strength and that connection is essential to moving forward. My advice is to practice kindness inwardly as much as you do outwardly. Give yourself permission to be imperfect and to ask for support when you need it. No one is meant to travel this journey alone.

If I could offer one overall piece of advice, it would be this: Life is about movement. Despite the challenges it throws at us, it teaches us to keep going, because as long as there is life, there is a reason to continue. So keep at it.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

One book that has played a significant role in my development is My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. It introduced me to the powerful concept of “dirty pain” versus “clean pain,” a distinction that has profoundly shaped both my personal healing and professional work.

Dirty pain is the kind we avoid, suppress, or pass on to others—often without even realizing it. It’s deeply connected to generational trauma that was never resolved. So when we’re hit with a present-day loss or life challenge, it can feel overwhelming because we’re not just carrying our own pain; we’re also holding the weight of what came before us. Clean pain, on the other hand, is the discomfort we allow ourselves to fully feel and move through, the kind that leads to true healing.

This insight helped me better understand not only my own experiences with grief, loss, and major life transitions, but also the invisible burdens so many carry. I’ve come to see that grief doesn’t only belong to death. It shows up when we lose a job, a relationship, a dream, or a part of ourselves. Any time we’re asked to let go of what was, grief enters, and so does pain.

Grief is not a problem to be fixed. It’s a human experience to be felt, honoured, and integrated.

If we allow ourselves to face it, feel it, and move through it, pain can be clean. It can be healing. And that’s the wisdom that stayed with me: pain is part of life; but how we move through it is a choice, and one only we can make.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://taniachomyk.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taniachomyk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachtaniachomyk
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniachomyk

Image Credits

Image credit:

Cynthia Magliocco photographer

https://www.instagram.com/cynthiamagliocco/

Dan Shaikh, Co-founder Speaker Slam:

https://www.instagram.com/thedanshaikh/