Sandi Derby was born in a naval hospital in Portsmouth, VA. Her family moved many times before settling back with the remainder of the extended family in Upstate New York. Her childhood was tumultuous and she suffered physical, sexual and verbal abuse from the time she was 2 until the age of 15. The dynamic in Sandi’s home was that all bad things were to be kept behind closed doors and so to the outside world her family looked happy and normal. To deal with the stress and abuse Sandi developed the same coping skills she learned from her caregivers, denial and repression.

As an adult, Sandi moved to Florida and then settled in California in 1998. Her life revolved around moving up the corporate ladder and fitness. Childhood wounds that had left an internal feeling that something was terribly wrong with her fueled her drive. If she could just “make it” in business and have the perfect body then perhaps that terrible feeling would go away. It didn’t work. Neither did drugs or alcohol. By 2003 Sandi was a Vice President of Sales and Marketing and smoking crystal meth every day. In 2005, after facing the abuse of her childhood Sandi walked away from drugs. She discovered Grief Recovery in 2006. The Outreach Program gave her the structure and tools to heal from the inner wounds. After using the tools for several years, Sandi became certified as a Specialist in 2010. Sandi is now an Author, Speaker, Life Coach and Advanced Certified Grief Recovery Specialist® & GRI Trainer. She is also the founder of Grief Unchained. Her journey to healing from childhood trauma had given her a deep understanding of the pain and bondage this kind of trauma can have on an individual’s life. Sandi resides in southern California and has a BS in Business Administration.