Author Talk: Serina Dansker, "S.O.S., A Lesson on Love, Loss, and Survival"

Darien Library welcomes author, Serina Dansker, who will discuss her new book, S.O.S: A Lesson on Love, Loss, and Survival.  Serina will be in conversation with author and grief support expert, Jeff Kimball.

In the book, Serina invites you into the sacred space between heartbreak and healing—a raw, unfiltered memoir honoring her beloved son, Scott, who died by suicide just before his 17th birthday. Through a poignant braid of candid letters, unedited teenage poetry, and vulnerable reflections, this book becomes more than a story. It becomes a conversation—a lifeline between mother and son, between grief and grace.

Told with stunning honesty and profound tenderness, S.O.S. explores the messy terrain of mental health, the invisible weight of anxiety, and the enduring power of love that refuses to let go. Through Scott’s words, preserved exactly as he wrote them, we glimpse the inner world of a boy who felt everything deeply and dared to speak what so many hide.

The memoir is not just about loss; it’s about what comes after. It’s about community, connection, and the quiet strength it takes to keep showing up. It’s about the rocks painted in memory, the poems that echo like prayers, and the signs—dragonflies, dreams, sunsets—that whisper, I’m still here.

Join us for this very important discussion about help, hope, and healing.

About Serina Dansker

For years, Serina Dansker was a driven financial advisor focused on helping people build their futures. But her life changed forever after losing her 16-year-old son to suicide in 2021. It was a heartbreak that changed her life and led her to a new mission: empowering young adults to face the challenges of mental health and advocating for suicide prevention. In 2025, she published a memoir, S.O.S: A Lesson on Love, Loss, and Survival. This book isn’t just a story of grief and loss, it’s about finding her voice through the power of love, hope, and healing. 

Serina also hosts a radio show called S.O.S: Stories of Survivors, a streaming podcast found on SOSRadio.live dedicated to real-life stories of resilience and the transformative power of human connection. Each week, Serina creates a safe space for guests to share their journeys through mental health struggles, loss, and the ways they’ve discovered hope and strength. Above all, her goal is to spread kindness and to remind everyone she meets that they are more than enough, no matter what they’re going through. 

About Jeff Kimball

Jeff Kimball is recognized as one of the country’s leading experts in the provision of non-therapeutic grief support, having launched and scaled several innovative programs and shaped the direction of this burgeoning industry. A story-teller and award-winning writer and abstract painter, Jeff has written three books, including the official biography of James Tillman, who spent 18 years in prison in Connecticut, wrongfully convicted, the first person released through the use of DNA. Jeff has spent his career as an advocate for the disadvantaged, children, families and the issues that impact their lives, particularly health care and mental health. The current President of The Healing Center at Empower Change, Jeff has also served as the Executive Director of Empower Grieving Children, Elizabeth’s Smile Foundation for Grieving Families, Circle of Care for Families of Children with Cancer and Fairfield County’s United Way, where he pioneered the development of a new model focusing on seeding innovation. A longtime aide to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Jeff served as his 1996 campaign manager and press secretary, while also working on Senator Biden’s Press Staff and in Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell’s office. Jeff lives with his two dogs on a farm in Westport, Connecticut.