General Audience
Keynotes/Interview questions
Crafted for: anyone seeking to find meaning and purpose in the midst of suffering. Communities processing collective trauma
I stand before you as both a mother who has walked through unimaginable loss and a chaplain who has sat beside countless others in their darkest valleys.
Explore speaking Keynote and Interview questions
Keynote 1
"Dancing Through Darkness: The Sacred Choregraphy of Love and Loss"
When chaplain and bereaved mother Raewyn Elsegood lost her 19-year-old daughter Amy to aplastic anemia, she discovered that even when life's music changes, our hearts can find new rhythms of hope. In this powerful 20-minute keynote, Raewyn weaves her personal journey through grief with the stories of fifteen lives lost in the Bondi tragedy of December 2025, where she was a chaplain.
She reveals how grief and love are dance partners—and how we honor those we've lost by living out their gifts. Raw, hopeful, and deeply moving, this talk offers anyone navigating loss a chance to discover we're never dancing alone.
Key Messages for Interviews
1. Grief and faith are not opposites—they’re dance partners.
21 Gifts shows that sorrow and belief can move together in sacred rhythm. God doesn’t stand at the edge of our pain. He steps into it with us.
2. Loss can become a bridge of hope.
Raewyn’s story of losing her daughter Amy reveals how love, legacy, and faith can transform heartbreak into healing—helping others find purpose amid pain.
3. There’s power in vulnerability.
Through her unique perspective as a chaplain, Raewyn reminds readers that healing begins when we stop performing strength and start sharing our truth.
4. Every ending contains a beginning.
The “21 gifts” help readers discover that grief isn’t just about letting go; it’s about learning to live differently, to dance again even when the music changes.
5. Presence matters more than answers.
From her chaplaincy work, Raewyn teaches that the greatest gift we can give the grieving is not fixing their pain, but faithfully walking beside them through it.
6. Joy can rise alongside sorrow.
21 Gifts invites readers to believe that joy isn’t a betrayal of grief but a quiet testimony that love still lives, even when loss lingers.
7. Amy’s legacy lives on.
Raewyn’s daughter’s courage and faith continue to inspire others through the Amy Elsegood Legacy Scholarship; proof that one life surrendered to God can ripple far beyond its years.
8. We are both soldiers and dancers in grief.
Life’s hardest seasons require us to march with military discipline while dancing with spiritual grace. 21 Gifts shows that these are not contradictions but complementary rhythms that help us survive and thrive through loss
Key Questions for Interviews
1. What moment first inspired you to begin writing 21 Gifts and how did that writing process become part of your healing journey?
2. The book’s structure includes three distinct voices: A Daughter’s Dance, A Mother’s Tribute, and A Chaplain’s Reflection. Why did you choose this unique format, and how does each voice serve the reader?
3. You’ve described 21 Gifts as “a sacred dance through grief and healing.” What does that metaphor mean to you personally?
4. Many readers may wonder how to reconcile faith with deep loss. What would you say to someone who feels abandoned by God in their grief?
5. You share that Amy’s legacy continues through the scholarship in her name. How has seeing others “dance in her footsteps” impacted your own journey?
6. As a chaplain, you’ve walked alongside many people in crisis. What lessons from your professional ministry shaped this book’s message?
7. How did you navigate writing about such a personal and painful experience while also offering encouragement to others?
8. You write that “grief doesn’t silence faith—it reveals it.” What does that look like in everyday life?
9. What are some of the most surprising “gifts” that emerged from your loss, those moments of unexpected grace?
10. What encouragement would you offer to friends and family members who want to support someone grieving but don’t know what to say?
11. How has your understanding of worship and God’s presence changed since Amy’s passing?
12. If readers remember one truth from 21 Gifts, what do you hope it will be?
Explore more speaking pathways
Fors Grieving Hearts
Find honest companionship through the valley of loss with talks that offer permission to grieve at your own pace, practical tools for unwrapping grief layer by layer, and hope that doesn't deny the pain but shows you how to keep dancing anyway.
For Professional Development
Navigate the sacred intersection of personal grief and professional calling with practical frameworks for supporting others while honoring your own wounds, including the DANCE model and strategies for sustainable, authentic ministry.
Book Raewyn
I provide grief support, memorial talks, and workshops for individuals and communities navigating loss, inspirational talks for women's groups, and professional development for chaplains and caregivers through training, podcasts, and panels. Please select the path that best fits your need.
Raewyn Elsegood | Sydney, Australia