Kenna P. Marriott

Kenna Marriott knows how catastrophic illness and the death of a loved one dramatically affect someone’s life. When her daughter and closest friend, Jeannine, passed away after seven and a half years battling cancer, Marriott’s life was altered.

Grieving propelled her to make major changes. Marriott closed her successful Organization Development Consulting firm in Pennsylvania, and moved to Florida. Although trying to adapt, she found herself deep in grief and reflecting on the precious gift she had been given…forty-seven years with Jeannine. Emotionally buffeted, she journaled over 2,000 pages of writing about what she and her daughter had gone through together. Only her writing kept her daughter’s memory close to her. She struggled with how to make sense of the loss of her child. And then, something strange happened.

The Impact of the Book...

With every keystroke, Marriott felt her Jeannine beside her and that they had been given a purpose, a calling.to write the lessons, learnings and insights about what they had been through and to share it with others who had cancer or a life-threatening illness, especially their families and friends. The book was born and began getting recognition and media attention and then winning national and international awards. These confirmed for Marriott that the mission had been given to her by someone much more powerful than she was.

Motivational Speaking...

Marriott’s personal journey changed again, with radio, television, and speaking engagements, becoming a highly sought after speaker. While the subject of her book may have sounded like a sad topic, her speeches were anything but!

“We cannot control how we react to circumstances beyond our control such as illness or even death, but we can control how we deal with them.” she said. Her talks were full of inspiration, hocpe, coping skills for helping an ill loved one and learning how to lift oneself out of the despair and take charge of what is happening. Writing and speaking had always been a gift for Marriott…and she still feels Jeannine beside her.

Support Groups for Families and Friends ...

The next step in Marriott’s journey was to organize support groups for friends and family of patients with life-threatening diseases, recognizing that most areas don’t have this type of support group, while there are numerous groups for patients themselves. Marriott knew from experience that families and friends need their own champion.

Dawn Center and NAMI...

Marriott’s desire is to advocate for other people who are facing tragedies they cannot control, and not of their own making. She is on the Board of Directors of both NAMI (National Association for the Mentally Il) and Dawn Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence. Using her writing, blog and speaking as her tools she helps to gain support for these organizations by helping people understand their special needs.

Marriott’s Thoughts Today...

“My life has had many different turns since owning my own firm and working for 35 years as a business consultant for national companies. Since Jeannine’s passing, I realize my mission in life all along was to help people who are in crisis or don’t have a choice in what happens in their lives. Every time I do something for another person and champion valuable causes, I feel Jeannine beside me, saying ‘We’re doing a good job Mom’”.