Grief Is My Side Hustle
After the death of her parents within 2 years of each other, trauma therapist, writer and podcast host Meghan, found herself on the receiving end of the same treatments she used with her own clients. In concert with her writing on the popular blog "Grief Is My Side Hustle," Meghan and her guests discuss how little education and support has historically been given to grief education and explore the question she hears most often in her office, "aside from crying, what does it mean to grieve?'
Thu, April 24, 2025
Ep. 152. Jessica Turner: How to Survive When Your Marriage Ends Using Honest Storytelling
This week, I am so thrilled to sit down with the lovely Jessica Turner! You may know Jessica from her incredible platform, The Mom Creative, or one of her many, many media appearances. Jessica is not just A content creator; she is one of THE content creators and a "tastemaker for busy moms looking for hacks to live life with more intention and less stress." Her energy and capability are unparalleled, truly. I first met Jessica at an Onsite retreat , where we were both wearing the same sweater (which let me know it was a good choice). We connected immediately, and I have to say, her recent book, I Thought It Would Be Better Than This, is raw, vulnerable, and an exquisitely honest look into what it is to grieve not just a marriage, but a LIFE that you built with someone. A life you'd thought you'd have forever. In 2020, Jessica's then-husband came out as gay, transforming her world overnight. Though they are now friends and committed co-parents, it's taken quite a lot of work, research, and fortitude to get to where the family stands today. Jessica's journey is beautiful and remarkable; but that's not to take away from the harrowing details of her family's transitional period. Listen in as we discuss her grief experience- and if it has, indeed, become better! To Learn More About Jessica: Visit: www.jessicaturner.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/jessicanturner/ Book: I Thought it Would Be Better Than This YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/themomcreative
Thu, April 17, 2025
Ep. 151. Tamsen Fadal: How to Survive Menopause Using a Cultural Change Campaign
Welcome back to Grief is My Side Hustle! In this episode, veteran journalist, writer and advocate Tamsen Fadal and host Meghan Riordan Jarvis explore how grief and menopause are intertwined. They discuss their personal experiences, cultural perspectives, and the importance of education around women's health. Tamsen shares how her own menopause journey unfolded, the challenges she faced, and how it related to grief and loss, particularly in the context of aging and societal expectations. Their discussion emphasizes the need for open conversations in order to reduce stigma and provide support for women going through these changes. Meghan and Tamsen explore how hormonal changes can inform (and, conversely, BE informed by) grief and loss, and the significance of a strong support system. This conversation really highlights how necessary it is to empower women with the education and tools they need to navigate milestone transitions comfortably and with confidence. To learn more about Tamsen: Website: https://www.tamsenfadal.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamsenfadal/ Book: How to Menopause YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TamsenFadalTV
Wed, February 26, 2025
Ep. 150. The Art of Losing: Barri Leiner Grant on The Grief of Divorce
The grief that results from losing relationships is profound, but it can feel especially isolating due to the guilt and shame often tied to it. Barri Leiner Grant has experienced the grief of divorce from many perspectives -- as a child whose parents split up, as a spouse whose marriage ended, and as a grief coach who helps others navigate relationship loss. In this conversation, Barri shares how her parents' divorce influenced her understanding of grief, shaped her approach to her own divorce, and how she uses these insights to support others. Barri Leiner Grant is a well-respected grief specialist, author and founder of The Memory Circle: for those learning to live with loss. As coach, educator and advocate, she holds transformative gatherings and workshops to explore grief tending tools and techniques that foster community, hope and healing. She combines her writing background and yoga/meditation training to craft meaningful modalities for clients and groups. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, and Psychology Today. Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper among others. Her mother Ellen died suddenly in 1993, and Dad this past year and she honors them in this work. She is Mom to Emma and Quinn and lives with her husband Alex and their pup Bean in NY. *Special Offer* Barri will be co-faciltitating a 3-day Learning to Live with Loss retreat with Meghan Riordan Jarvis at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY on May 23rd-26th. For early bird pricing before March 8th, use code EB2 at checkout: Register Here To connect with Barri and learn more about her work: IG: @ thememorycircle Website: https://thememorycircle.com/ Substack: Permission Granted
Wed, February 19, 2025
Ep. 149. The Art of Losing: Kelli Holloway on Following Where Grief Leads
After Kelli Holloway's mom died, she heard a very clear message from God: Build, Go, Rest. Her trust in this guidance not only shaped the way she grieved but also changed the entire trajectory of her life. Kelli Holloway is a Raleigh, North Carolina native with a passion for community, connection, and purpose-driven work. She is the creator and host of the Grief in the Raw Podcast, where she thoughtfully explores the role of grief in the Black community, and the CEO of Kelli & Co., a consulting firm that helps companies create meaningful community outreach initiatives. Kelli’s story is a testament to the power of transformation, resilience, and the choice to build a life that honors both personal healing and professional impact. To learn more about Kelli and her work, visit https://www.kelliandco.com/ To listen to her Grief in the Raw podcast, click one of the links below, and follow along on instagram at @ griefintherawpodcast . Apple podcasts: LINK Spotify: LINK YouTube: LINK
Fri, October 18, 2024
Ep. 147. Shelby Forsythia: Transforming Loss through Learning
Shelby Forsythia (she/her) is a grief coach, author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions. Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended questions, she guides her clients to welcome grief as a teacher and create meaningful lives that honor and include the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine.
Fri, August 09, 2024
Ep. 146. Dr. Edith Shiro : Author of the Unexpected Gift of Trauma
Trauma specialist and psychotherapist Edith Shiro sits down with Meghan to discuss loss, traumatic growth and the role of hope in healing. Focused on healing trauma and facilitating Posttraumatic Growth, Dr. Edith Shiro holds space for patients, communities, and individuals to achieve greater potential and higher consciousness. Dr. Shiro's influence extends well beyond her private practice. She frequently engages as a guest expert on national media broadcasts and publications, including TIME magazine, Oprah Daily, and Billboard. Her groundbreaking book has garnered significant recognition, earning her the Innovation Award in Science in 2022, the International Latino Book Awards in 2023, and both the International Impact Book Awards and Book Excellence Awards in 2024. Through her writing, speaking engagements, and media appearances, Dr. Shiro continues to contribute meaningfully to the discourse on mental health, individual and collective trauma. As a board member of the World Happiness Foundation, she is dedicated to promoting happiness, enhancing consciousness and well-being around the world. https://www.dredithshiro.com
Fri, July 26, 2024
Ep. 145. Helen Marie: Psychotherapist, author and podcast host
Uk based therapist Helen Marie is the author of Choose You: Gentle Words to Help You Heal and Grow. She sits down with Meghan to talk, grief, loss, healing and hope in this special episode. Learn more about Helen on her website: https://www.helenmariepsychotherapy.com/book
Fri, July 05, 2024
Ep. 144. When a Friend Dies by Suicide: Reporter & griever Jason Nark
Jason Nark is a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a freelance writer. He lives in New Jersey with his kids and a dog named Wanda and has written about grief and loss including about his own best friend's death by suicide. More here: https://jasonnark.com/about-me/
Fri, June 21, 2024
Ep. 143. Novelette Munroe: Living with Chronic Illness
Novelette is 38 year old woman, living with a life limiting illness, called Epidermolysis Bullosa. I have the Recessive Dystrophic form of Epidermolysis Bullosa, RDEB. I live in Canada. I have a specialist in philosophy from the University of Toronto. Since 2018, I have been a trained hospice and peer bereavement Volunteer. I co-facilitate a lot of peer bereavement groups. I do a lot of mindfulness for grieving loss groups. I also help with training new hospice and peer bereavement volunteers. I’ve also volunteered as a hospice care companion to others, living with a life limiting illness. I enjoy writing poetry and painting. Talking walks in nature. And I enjoy spending time with my nieces and nephew and caring for my cat.
Fri, June 14, 2024
Ep. 142. Jessica Fein: Author of Breath Taking
At the age of five Jessica Fein’s daughter Dalia was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease that would claim her life at 17. Before that moment came, and inspired by Dalia’s own irrepressible spirit, Fein and her family would discover how to live in the present when the future can’t be fixed. In this heartfelt yet clear-eyed memoir, Fein maps both her journey to becoming an adoptive mom and the roller coaster ride of loving and caring for a terminally ill child, persevering when the simple act of taking a breath can become an act of courage. Through it all, she discovers the need to be both relentless advocate and calm presence, to show vulnerability as well as strength, and to allow joy to be louder than sorrow. https://www.jessicafeinstories.com
Thu, June 06, 2024
Ep. 141. Lisa Keefauver: Grief is a Sneaky Bitch
Lisa Keefauver--Tedx speaker, consulatant, grief educator and host of the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast has written a book of the same name. Written in the tone of your "wise best friend" this book will keep you company, teach you, and support you as you navigate loss. Be sure to follow her https://lisakeefauver.com
Fri, May 24, 2024
Ep. 140. Jonathan Fleece: President and CEO of Empath Health
Jonathan Fleece is the president and CEO of Empath Health Empath Health is one of the country’s largest not-for-profit health systems delivering non-acute care and services through its skilled, medical and holistic programs to individuals with chronic, advanced and terminal illnesses and those experiencing grief. The Empath Health integrated network of care provides expert medical, counseling and support services including hospice; home health; palliative care; grief services; all-inclusive elder care; HIV/STI prevention services and support; primary care; physician services; and full-service pharmacy and durable medical equipment (DME). Empath Health is honored to have approximately 26,000 people enrolled in our Full Life Care services in north central, west central and southwest Florida. We have nearly 130 combined years of experience serving individuals during some of their most vulnerable times. Our wide variety of community-based programs reflects our commitment to the preservation of our charitable mission.
Thu, May 09, 2024
Ep. 139. Lindsey Kane Leaverton
Brutally Honest. Achingly Authentic. In her author debut, Lindsey Kane Leaverton , has written the book she wished she had as she navigated countless trips through despair. She shares her heart and healing journey to help you raise your awareness, add tools to your toolkit, and find a way to laugh while you cry your way through a messy life. https://www.notanotherselfhelpbook.com/shes-a-lot-interview-series
Fri, May 03, 2024
Ep. 138. David Ferrugio: Dead Talks Podcast Host
Host of one of the most popular podcasts on death, grief and loss, David Ferrugio comes into the work with a deep personal understanding of loss. His father (also David) died in the world Trade Center on 9/11 when David was only twelve years old. In this episode David shares some of his life philosophies, his appreciation for gallows humor and how critical supports helped him to process his loss. The subject matter may be heavy, but this conversation isn't. David's joy and love of life is infectious.
Thu, April 25, 2024
Ep. 137. J.S. Park: As Long as You Need: Permission to Grieve
What a Day in the Life of a Hospital Chaplain who Sits with the Dying Teaches Us About GRIEF J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, author, and online educator. For eight years he has been an interfaith chaplain at a thousand-plus-bed hospital that is designated a Level 1 Trauma Center. His role includes grief counseling, attending every death, every trauma and Code Blue, staff care, and supporting end-of-life care. He also served for three years as a chaplain at one of the largest nonprofit charities for the homeless on the east coast. J.S. has a MDiv completed in 2010 and a BA in Psychology. He also has a sixth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. J.S. currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, a nurse practitioner, and his three-year-old daughter, newborn son, and their adopted dog. https://www.instagram.com/jspark3000/?hl=en X: https://twitter.com/jsparkblog?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNc6TwqBwxM
Thu, April 18, 2024
Ep. 136. Rhaina Cohen: Author of The Other Significant Others: Reimaging Life with Friendship at the Center
NPR’s Rhaina Cohen is the The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center , The Other Significant Others invites us into the lives of people who have defied convention by choosing a friend as a life partner—from friends raising a child together to best friends of 50 years who live together in their retiree years. Based on years of original reporting and striking social science research, Cohen argues that we undermine romantic relationships by expecting too much of them while we diminish friendships by expecting too little of them. At a time when many Americans are spending large stretches of their lives single, widowed or divorced, or feeling the effects of the "loneliness epidemic," Cohen insists that we recognize the many forms of profound connection that can anchor our lives. A groundbreaking book, The Other Significant Others challenges us to ask what we want from our relationships—not just what we’re supposed to want—and transforms how we define a fulfilling life The book looks at how friendship is woefully undervalued, and we do ourselves a societal disservice by believing that a lifelong romantic relationship is essential for having a full, meaningful adulthood. Cohen makes this case through the stories of people who've built a life with a friend—raising children together, buying homes together, and taking care of each other in old age. Amid a loneliness epidemic, declining marriage rates and changing family forms, she argues that we'd benefit from recognizing the variety of relationships that ground people's lives “Rhaina Cohen’s moving, intimate portraits of people in unusually devoted friendships upend our cultural narratives about which relationships matter. A perceptive and vivid reporter, she reveals that there are far more pathways to deep connection and fulfillment than we’ve been made to believe. The Other Significant Others is an arresting work of compassion and insight.” —Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and co-host of Dear Therapists podcast “In her lovingly written The Other Significant Others, Rhaina Cohen does crucial work by questioning easy social categorization and the hierarchies of recognition and privilege that too often put romantically coupled pairs at the top. The Other Significant Others is energetic, open, considered, and beautifully reported. It thrums with a passion for the subject, and is powered by a historically rich, intellectually serious curiosity about the relationships that provide b
Thu, April 04, 2024
Ep. 135. Anne Gudger: Author of the Fifth Chamber
Anne Gudger is an autobiographical essayist who writes hard and loves harder. She’s been published in Real Simple, Cutbank, Cutthroat, The Los Angeles Review, The Normal School, The Rumpus, and the Columbia Journal, among others, and has been a Best of the Net nominee twice. She is also the co-founder of Coffee and Grief, a reading series that’s been thriving since March 2020 and hosts five curated readers every month reading on grief. Anne lives in Banks, Oregon with her beloved husband. The Fifth Chamber is her first book.
Thu, March 28, 2024
Ep. 134. Claire Bidwell Smith: Grief Expert, Therapist and Author of Conscious Grieving
Recognized as one of today’s foremost experts on grief, Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the author of five books published in 22 countries. Led by her own experience in grief and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of loss. Claire has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Scientific American, Goop, Oprah and many more outlets. Her most recent books Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief and Conscious Grieving have provided groundbreaking and transformative approaches to the process of grief. Learn more at clairebidwellsmith.com or by following @clairebidwellsmith on social media
Fri, March 22, 2024
Ep. 133. Grieving Mother Nikki Mark Author of Tommy's Field.
In 2018, Nikki Mark’s healthy twelve-year-old-son Tommy went to sleep one night and never woke up. Nikki went into a state of shock and her body quickly started to deteriorate, but she had to be there for her remaining family. Without a religious or spiritual background, she relied on the one skill she could still access — the ability to figure it out. Along her unconventional journey, Nikki discovered something surprising: that if we’re open to the possibilities, grieving offers a unique opportunity to access life’s magic. From raising over $1,000,000 to build an athletic field in her son’s name, to working with diverse (and sometimes divisive) players in Los Angeles to get it approved, to exploring every kind of healing modality from mediation to mushrooms, Nikki now shares the intimate details of navigating grief with purpose and action – and a little coaching from beyond. Download Nikki Mark's personally-tested resources and invaluable advice for triumphing over grief (for you or someone you would like to support) — available for free at NikkiMark.com. Treat yourself to her memoir, "Tommy’s Field: Love, Loss, and the Goal of a Lifetime," the inside story about Nikki's transformation from deep despair to accessing the magic that life wants for us all.
Fri, March 15, 2024
Ep. 132. Jane Rosen: Author Of On Fire Island
Don't miss the wonderful episide with the the incredible ane L. Rosen author of On Fire Island as she explains how her personal exprience with grief informed her charachters in the book. Jane L. Rosen is an author, screenwriter and former Huffington Post contributor. Jane often takes inspiration from real-life stories and interviews to craft her novels. Her first novel Nine Women, One Dress was translated into ten languages. Her second novel Eliza Starts a Rumor has been optioned by NBC. A Shoe Story and On Fire Island are out now! She lives in New York City and Fire Island with her husband and three daughters.
Thu, March 07, 2024
Ep. 131. Amy Morin, LCSW :Author 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do
Amy's work went viral. Learn the story of how and why in this episode where Amy discusses her how her viral list, was really a reaction to compound grief and loss. In her own words: I’m a psychotherapist turned “accidental” author I started my career as a psychotherapist intending to help others build mental strength. I never imagined how much I was going to need mental muscle in my own life. My mom passed away when I was 23. Then, my husband died when I was 26. Losing the two most important people in my life sent me on a quest to learn as much as I could about how to be mentally strong. As I studied mental strength, I realized that mentally strong people don’t just have good habits. They also avoid any unhealthy habits that could hold them back. In 2013, during one of my lowest points in my life, I wrote a letter to myself about all the things mentally strong people don’t do. When I was done, I had a list of 13 things that could rob me of mental strength if I let them. That letter helped me so I thought maybe it could help someone else. I published it online expecting a few people would read it. But that list went viral and more than 50 million people read! Within a matter of days, a literary agent reached out to suggest I write a book. Nine years later, I’ve written six books that have sold more than 1 million copies around the globe. And my life has never been the same.
Thu, February 29, 2024
Ep. 130. The Art of Losing: Juliet Haas on Sibling Loss
What happens when someone whose job is supporting other people’s mental health is rocked by their own traumatic loss? In this episode, Juliet Haas LPC, LMHC, shares her story, including the personal and professional impacts of her loss. Juliet is an embodied trauma-informed counselor, registered dance-movement therapist, and owner of Mindful Counseling and Wellness LLC. Licensed in both Wisconsin and Massachusetts, Juliet supports adults through grief, both death and non-death loss, trauma, and anxiety. Her therapeutic approach is person-centered, mindfulness based, and integrative. Her approach includes a blend of traditional talk therapy, mindfulness tools, expressive movement and art, and humor. She has specialty training in Accelerated Resolution Therapy for Trauma and Mind-Body approaches to assist in nervous system regulation. Juliet is also certified in Laughter Yoga: bringing more laughter and joy to the Milwaukee area! To learn more, visit: https://www.mindfulcounselingandwellnessllc.com/ Instagram: @mindfulcounselingandwellness And to connect with Julianne, please visit www.juliannemanskerollefson.com
Thu, February 22, 2024
Ep. 129. The Art of Losing: Kathleen Wallace, creator of Grief: A Comedy
Is there room for humor in the world of grief and loss? According to Kathleen Wallace, creator of Grief: A Comedy, laughter can serve as a tool for connection as we navigate the losses in our lives. Kathleen is an actress, writer, producer, and facilitator whose work spans both the entertainment and corporate worlds. Her short film GRIEF: A COMEDY was recently selected for the Stowe Story Labs - Sidewalk Narrative Lab and the Stowe Story Labs TV Writers Room with Derek Simonds (showrunner, THE SINNER) and David Pope (co-founder, Stowe Story Labs). Notable work includes her series SETTLING UP, which is available on Amazon, and her feminist comedy series THE EVAGELISTS, about evangelists for feminism, which was a finalist in the Raindance Pilot Competition and won a Made In NY Women’s Fund grant. She has facilitated classes and conversations for organizations including the Yale Alumni Association, World50, and Google. To learn more about Kathleen and Grief: A Comedy, visit KathleenWallace.com and linktr.ee/griefacomedy And you can follow the project on Instagram @griefacomedy To connect with Julianne, please visit www.juliannemanskerollefson.com
Fri, February 16, 2024
Ep. 128. The Art of Losing: Molly Millwood on the Unexpected Losses of Motherhood
What is the cost of framing motherhood only in terms of its potential gains, without acknowledging its inevitable losses? That’s one of the questions that Molly Milllwood addresses in her brilliant book, To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma. A mix of research, client stories, and Molly’s personal experience, the book tells the truth about the realities of motherhood in an effort to normalize and validate the experience for women everywhere. In this conversation, Molly discusses the current state of parenthood, its impact on mothers and their marriages, the role that social media and shame play in its difficulties, and its capacity to expand our emotional experience. Molly Millwood is a licensed psychologist, author, speaker, singer-songwriter, mother, wife, and devoted advocate for women’s mental health and wellbeing. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Montana and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. After juggling an academic career with a part-time psychotherapy practice for over 15 years, Molly now practices therapy full time. She works with adult individuals and couples, helping women rediscover themselves within the metamorphosis of motherhood and helping couples of all sorts improve their relational health. Her 2019 book, To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma explores the emotional landscape of early motherhood and the inextricable link during this phase of life between women’s wellbeing and the wellbeing of their marriage or intimate partnership. Her work has been highlighted by The Washington Post, Mother Untitled, WNYC Radio, and numerous other media outlets, along with dozens of podcasts. She lives with her husband and two sons in the mountains of Vermont, where in her free time she can be found with a guitar in her hands, her nose in a book, or her feet on a steep dirt road. To learn more about Molly, visit www.mollymillwood.com To purchase her book, visit https://bit.ly/mollymillwood Follow Julianne on Instagram at @juliannerollefson And to learn more about Julianne or to get in touch, visit www.juliannemanskerollefson.com
Fri, February 09, 2024
Ep. 127. Introducing The Art of Losing: Laurel Braitman
Laurel Braitman PhD, is a writer, teacher and secular, clinical chaplain-in-training. She is the author of the memoir What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey through loss to love (March 13th, Simon & Schuster) and the NYT bestselling book Animal Madness: Inside Their Minds . She received her doctorate in History and Anthropology of Science from MIT and is the director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program. Laurel is also the founder of Writing Medicine, the global community of writing healthcare professionals. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, Wired, California Sunday , National Geographic, Radiolab, National Public Radio and many other places. She splits her time between rural Alaska and her family’s ranch in Southern California. In addition to Writing Medicine, she leads a variety of public writing workshops. To learn more and sign up, visit www.laurelbraitman.com IG: @laurel_braitman Substack: https://laurelbraitman.substack.com/
Fri, January 26, 2024
Ep. 126. Julianne Manske Rollefson: The Art of Losing
Julianne Manske Rollefson is a therapist, grief educator, and host of the new podcast, The Art of Losing. After the deaths of her parents, she left her career in corporate coaching and leadership development to pursue a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, with the goal of becoming a therapist specializing in grief and loss. She quickly realized that counseling graduate programs don't include grief-specific training and set out to learn as much as she could on her own, which is how she discovered my work and the Grief is My Side Hustle podcast. For the past year and a half, Julianne and I have partnered to form MRJ Consulting, designed to help individuals, companies, and mental health professionals establish a grief-informed approach to addressing all manner of loss. She provides individual and group therapy virtually and in-person in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To work with Julianne or learn more about her services, please visit www.juliannemanskerollefson.com IG: @juliannerollefson
Fri, January 05, 2024
Ep. 125. Benjamin May: Founder of the New Normal
In 2018, along with his friend Jack, Ben founded The New Normal Charity, after the death of their dads. A simple, free to access, group space where adults could speak openly about their grief, and about the people they’d lost. Having spent over two decades working in the hair industry, Ben finds connection where he is most comfortable, and as TNN developed, so has their work. Ben is spending more and more time focused on creating community through empathetic understanding, working with some of the hardest to reach communities in London, coproducing spaces for their community. Since launching in 2018, TNN has gone on to host over 1000 meetings to attendees from around the world, including in person and virtual meetings across Europe, Hong Kong and North America. To join The New Normal Charity peer support meetings, head to our website www.thenewnormalcharity.com and register to any meeting that is relevant to you. The meetings are free to access and available to anyone who needs space to speak. Instagram - @tnncharity @tnnamericas @tnn_ben LinkedIn - TNN - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-new-normal-charity/ Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-may-578381131?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Wed, January 03, 2024
Benjamin May:Founder of The New Normal
In 2018, along with his friend Jack, Ben founded The New Normal Charity, after the death of their dads. A simple, free to access, group space where adults could speak openly about their grief, and about the people they’d lost. Having spent over two decades working in the hair industry, Ben finds connection where he is most comfortable, and as TNN developed, so has their work. Ben is spending more and more time focused on creating community through empathetic understanding, working with some of the hardest to reach communities in London, coproducing spaces for their community. Since launching in 2018, TNN has gone on to host over 1000 meetings to attendees from around the world, including in person and virtual meetings across Europe, Hong Kong and North America. To join The New Normal Charity peer support meetings, head to our website www.thenewnormalcharity.com and register to any meeting that is relevant to you. The meetings are free to access and available to anyone who needs space to speak. Instagram - @tnncharity @tnnamericas @tnn_ben LinkedIn - TNN - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-new-normal-charity/ Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-may-578381131?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Wed, January 03, 2024
Benjamin May: Founder of The New Normal
In 2018, along with his friend Jack, Ben founded The New Normal Charity, after the death of their dads. A simple, free to access, group space where adults could speak openly about their grief, and about the people they’d lost. Having spent over two decades working in the hair industry, Ben finds connection where he is most comfortable, and as TNN developed, so has their work. Ben is spending more and more time focused on creating community through empathetic understanding, working with some of the hardest to reach communities in London, coproducing spaces for their community. Since launching in 2018, TNN has gone on to host over 1000 meetings to attendees from around the world, including in person and virtual meetings across Europe, Hong Kong and North America. To join The New Normal Charity peer support meetings, head to our website www.thenewnormalcharity.com and register to any meeting that is relevant to you. The meetings are free to access and available to anyone who needs space to speak. Instagram - @tnncharity @tnnamericas @tnn_ben LinkedIn - TNN - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-new-normal-charity/ Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-may-578381131?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Fri, December 15, 2023
Ep. 124. Jeannine Bryant: CEO Changing Spacesm SRS
Rightsizing expert Jeannine Bryant is the owner and CEO of Changing Spaces SRS, a senior move management company in Lincoln, NE. She has helped provide rightsizing and relocation services to seniors since 2010. During that time, she has been actively involved in the downsizing and moving processes of thousands of older adults. Learn more about their services (and shop their online auctions!) at www.ChangingSpacesSRS.com . In 2019, Jeannine created a sister brand to Changing Spaces SRS called Easy Rightsizing. This platform allows Jeannine to educate anyone and everyone about the rightsizing process, no matter their location. At her website www.EasyRightsizing.com she provides blog articles, video tutorials, links to podcasts she has been featured on, downloadable resources, and links to purchase the books she has written on the downsizing process. Ready to Rightsize? A step-by-step guide to your rightsizing journey: For older adults and their loved ones was Jeannine’s first book, published in 2019. It is the essential guidebook to anyone undergoing a transition and moving to a smaller space. Jeannine prides herself on offering the kinds of practical tips and inspiration to get people motivated to start sorting through their belongings and undergoing their own rightsizing journey. In 2021, she published her second took titled Keep the Memories, Not the Stuff to serve as a helpful guide for anyone who has trouble letting go of keepsakes (that’s most of us!). This practical how-to book will help readers gain a new perspective on life, love, memories, and our stuff. The book offers thoughtful insights into the grieving process, as well as practical tips and hands-on advice for letting go without the guilt. In 2022, Jeannine released her first online downsizing course, which people can take on-demand from the comfort of their own home. The course features a downloadable workbook and over three hours of video content featuring Jeannine as she coaches participants through the process of downsizing and moving. In 2023, Jeannine published A Year of Letting Go, a rightsizing planner to help readers declutter throughout 2024. Learn more about these books and her online course at www.EasyRightsizing.com
Fri, December 01, 2023
Ep. 123. Pamela Blair & Bradie Hansen: Authors of The Long Grief Journey
Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D., ( pamblairbooks.com ) was a psychotherapist for thirty years. She is the co-author of I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye now considered a classic in bereavement literature. She is also the author of The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond and Getting Older, Better . She has appeared on national television, been a guest on dozens of radio shows, and has spoken at the Virginia Festival of the Book, the Vermont Women’s Expo, Women’s Images Conferences, and was filmed for a television special entitled “Widowsville." She lives in Shelburne, Vermont with her husband and two mischievous cats. Bradie McCabe Hansen, M.A. is a clinical psychologist-master in private practice who has been working in the field for over twenty years. Bradie is also a fiber artist and crafter and teaches children and adults about the wonderful world of handcrafting, both for its creative and healing possibilities. Fiber art has become an integral way that she works with people who are interested in visually expressing their lived experience. She lives in Shelburne, Vermont with her husband, two children, one dog and two cats. ABOUT THE BOOK An essential grief guide and recovery workbook for those who have said, “I thought I’d feel better by now.” Grief does not follow a timeline or a set path. It is nonlinear and messy, doubling back on itself just when you thought you were out of the woods. Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one know this unequivocally, but Western society still seems to think that grief should only last six months to a year—tops—when in fact, grief can last throughout a person’s entire life and manifest as serious mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, anger, and despair. The Long Grief Journey , co-written by a psychotherapist and a clinical psychologist who have both worked with grieving individuals for decades, is for the people who are past the acute pain and effects of a sudden loss and are now learning to live beyond that. It is for those who by all appearances seem to have “moved on.” They’re working, carrying out their responsibilities, showing up for important life events, yet they quietly bear the weight of their sadness and longing for their loved one. There’s a name for this type of long-term, unresolved grief. In fact, there are several: complicated grief, traumatic grief, complex bereavement, prolonged grief, extended grief, abnormal grief, exaggerated grief, and pervasive grief disorder. If you feel "stuck" after experiencing the death of a loved one, even if much time has passed, this book is for you. With exercises, journal prompts, and rituals that will further help readers along their grief path, The Long Grief Journey , co-written by one of the authors of the classic grief book, I Wasn't Ready to Say Good
Thu, November 09, 2023
Ep. 122. Kelly Cervantes: Grieving Mother and Grateful Caregiver
Kelly Cervantes is an award-winning writer, speaker, and advocate best known for her blog Inchstones, where she shared the stress, love, and joy that came with parenting her medically complex daughter, Adelaide. Since Adelaide’s passing, Kelly has continued to write candidly about her arduous and, at times, contradictory grief journey. She has been published in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Cosmopolitan, as well as quoted in the New York Times, CNN, and People. She is the current board chair for the nonprofit CURE Epilepsy and also hosts their biweekly podcast, Seizing Life, where she interviews scientists, doctors, and individuals affected by epilepsy. Kelly currently resides in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband, four children (two physically, two spiritually), and their two dogs, Tabasco and Sriracha.
Fri, November 03, 2023
Ep. 121. Alexandra Wyman:Partner loss by suicide
Alexandra Wyman is an advocate and public speaker for resources in the aftermath of suicide. After she lost her husband to suicide in August of 2020, Alexandra found a need to change the language around suicide, and decided to write about it. Her memoir, The Suicide Club: What To Do When Someone You Love Chooses Death is an Amazon best seller. She has spoken at a variety of conferences including Bridging the Divide Suicide Prevention and Awareness Summit 2022, 2023 Northwest Conference on Childhood Grief, and has been accepted to present at the 2023 Military Social Work & Behavioral Health Conference and the International Association of Suicide Prevention Conference 2023 in Piran, Slovenia. Alexandra has also been a guest on a variety of podcasts including The Unlock Moment , Author Hour , Resilience Unravelled , She Persisted , and My Wake Up Call with Dr. Mark Goulston . Alexandra has her own podcast called The Widow’s Club , as well. She practices pediatric occupational therapy and lives in Colorado with her son. To learn more about Alexandra and her work, visit her website at www.forwardtojoy.com .
Thu, October 12, 2023
E. 120. Author Dina Gachman: Sorry for Your Loss--How I Learned to Live With Grief and Other Grave Concerns
Dina Gachman is an award-winning journalist, a Pulitzer Center grantee, and a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Texas Monthly, Vox, Teen Vogue and more. Her second book, So Sorry For Your Loss: How I Learned To Live With Grief, and Other Grave Concerns was published in the US and the UK this year. She's a bestselling ghostwriter, and she writes a monthly movie column for the New York Times. She lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband and son. Don't miss this Texas Monthly piece Dina wrote about grief and talks about in the episode. website Twitter instagram
Fri, September 29, 2023
Ep. 119. Ashley Jones: Grieving Mother & Exec Director of Love Not Lost
Ashley Jones is the founder and executive director of Love Not Lost, a nonprofit on a mission to revolutionize the way we heal in grief. From losing her daughter to a terminal illness to growing Love Not Lost to a national level (soon to be Momento Foundation), Ashley has a lot of experience in death and grief; something she never thought would be in her bio. Yet, she's learned how to process, heal, and grow through the pain and wants to help others do the same. She’s a TEDx and keynote speaker on 'how to heal in grief', and has been featured by various media outlets, including the BBC. And here are some helpful links -- feel free to include any or all of them: Join our community: http://lovenotlost.org/lovewell Support our cause: http://lovenotlost.org/donate Find helpful grief resources: http://lovenotlost.org/library Use our support tool to help others: http://HowCanILoveYouBetter.com Apply for a portrait session: http://lovenotlost.org/apply Apply to be a photographer with us: http://lovenotlost.org/photographers --
Fri, September 08, 2023
Ep. 118. Asa Merritt: Creator of Six Sermons--An Audible Original Series
*episode discusses suicide ASA MERRITT : A former international reporter for NPR, VICE Sports, The Guardian, and ESPN’s “30 for 30” podcast, Asa brings a compassionate documentary eye to ambitious fictional projects. His one-woman play about mass movements, True Believer , had a sold-out run in New York City. To research that piece, Asa traveled to Cairo to meet with underground performers who helped ignite the Arab Spring. With longtime collaborator Matt Kagen, Asa started First Rodeo (@firstrodeoaudio), an audio fiction studio dedicated to pushing the boundaries of genre, combining techniques of journalism and theater. His new Audible original podcast Six Sermons stars Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu ( Everything Everywhere All At Once ) and is dedicated to the actor and musician Caz Liske, who died by suicide in Moscow in 2017. Asa lives with his family in Mexico City. In the Audible Original Six Sermons, Pastor Alexis (Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once ) has huge shoes to fill: those of beloved Pastor William Hoyt (Tony winner Bill Irwin), whose suicide rocked their small-town Ohio congregation. With impassioned sermons and awkward community work (hello, donuts and bowling), Alexis tries to shore up the congregation's faith... even as her own is crumbling. The question haunts her: why'd you do it, Will? I have a feeling you'll be thinking about it, too, long after the audio fades. Stephanie's performance is flat-out mesmerizing, and the story deals with so many pressing issues: mental health challenges, women rising to leadership roles in church, and generational divides. To learn the rhythms of church-running, Asa embedded himself in a Lutheran community for a month, and he enlisted psychologists and pastors to help him write with care about self-harm, the Good Samaritan, and more. (One of many things he learned is that people of different faiths have lots in common with literature students: through rigorous close readings of texts, they find meaning.) Between this knowledge-gathering and Asa's own mental health challenges, Six Sermons is steeped in both painstaking research and lived experience. The resulting story resonates whether you're a believer or not. https://www.audible.com/pd/Six-Sermons-Audiobook/B0CCK3MGTC
Thu, August 24, 2023
Ep. 117. Amber Jeffrey:Creator and Podcast Host of the Grief Gang
Amber Jeffrey was just 19 when her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Confused and heartsick Amber found herself consumed with anger which further separated her from her old friendships. In this episode Amber talks about becoming the trusted voice she needed at her most painful time, why talk therapy didn't work for her, and how she created her own community amongst the world of grievers. Amber also lovingly let's us in to her worry about her treasured friend Poppy, creator of the Grief Case, who is fighting a serious illness. As a griever first, Amber reflects on what its like to support a loved one through a serious illness. @thegriefgang
Thu, August 17, 2023
Ep. 116. Laura Cathcart Robbins: Author of Stash
Laura Cathcart Robbins is the best-selling author of the Atria/Simon & Schuster memoir, Stash, My Life In Hiding, and host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Her recent articles on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2022 TEDx Speaker, and LA Moth StorySlam winner. Currently, she sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival. Find out more about her on her website, or you can look for her on Facebook, on Instagram , on Tiktok , and follow her on Twitter .
Fri, July 28, 2023
Ep. 115. Sarah Conover: Author of Set Adrift–My Family’s Disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle
In January, 1958, a renowned sailing family was lost in a storm in the Bermuda Triangle. The youngest of two daughters, Sarah, suddenly an orphan, grew up never knowing her parents and grandparents. As an adult, she began to pursue the mystery of her family and their disappearance, and discovered that their stories were far different from the versions she was told. Sarah Conover’s memoir follows the national media’s investigation of the Revonoc’s vanishing, and exposes the truths that led her to “unstory” the family history, creating a new understanding of their lives, and hers. About Sarah Conover: Sarah Conover holds a BA in comparative religions from the University of Colorado, and an MFA in creative writing from Eastern Washington University. She has worked as a television producer for PBS and Internews (an international media NGO), a social worker for Catholic Charities, a public school teacher, and taught creative writing through the community colleges of Spokane, Washington. She is the author of six books on world wisdom traditions and spirituality published by Skinner House Books, the educational publishing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Her poetry, essays and interviews have been published in a variety of literary magazines and anthologies. sarahconover.com https://55fathoms.com/set-adrift/
Thu, July 20, 2023
Ep. 114. Katie Joy Duke: Author of Still Breathing: My Journey with Love, Loss& Reinvention
Katie Joy Duke is an author, attorney turned life coach, mom, and stage IV breast cancer survivor. Her memoir Still Breathing: My Journey with Love, Loss, and Reinvention was a #1 Amazon best seller in Family Health and Pregnancy and Childbirth. Read her blogs, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter, and order a personalized signed paperback of her book at www.katiejoyduke.com . Her audiobook, which she narrated, will be released on Audible later this month—stay tuned! https://www.amazon.com/Still-Breathing-Journey-Love-Reinvention/dp/B0B2T4XWHH/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=still+breathing+katie+joy+duke&qid=1689777744&sprefix=katie+joy+duke%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-1
Thu, July 13, 2023
Ep. 113. Amy Smith Green: life coach, hypnotherapist, grieving daughter
Amy Green Smith is a certified and credentialed life coach and hypnotherapist, masterful speaker, and personal empowerment expert. Amy uses her roles as coach, writer, podcaster, and speaker to move individuals beyond limiting beliefs and sabotaging mindsets to a place of radical personal empowerment and self-worth. With acute focus on helping people “find their voice”, Amy uses her popular weekly podcast, The Bold-Faced Truth , to address issues of worthiness, self-confidence, and letting go of people-pleasing to assist listeners in creating and living radically joyful lives. Amy has been instrumental in aiding thousands of women in stepping into their authentic power and crafting lives they desire. She is highly sought after for her uncommon style of irreverence, wisdom, and humor and has been a featured expert in Inspired Coach Magazine and on Fox 5 San Diego. Start stalking Amy at www.AmyGreenSmith.com and grab a free copy of her eWorkbook/Audiobook, Stand Up for Yourself Without Being a Dick: 9 Proven Challenges to Radically Improve Your Self-Confidence and Self-Worth Links to reach Amy: Grab Amy's FREE-SOURCES at: http://amygreensmith.com/free Connect with Amy on Social Media: http://instagram.com/heyamygreensmith http://facebook.com/heyamygreensmith https://www.linkedin.com/in/heyamygreensmith http://twitter.com/heyamygreen
Thu, July 06, 2023
Ep. 112. Kelly S Thompson: Taking Sibling loss and Addiction with the author of Still I Cannot Save you
Kelly S. Thompson writer, educator, and retired veteran from the Canadian Armed Forces. She has an MFA and PhD in Creative Writing and works as a mentor at the King's MFA Nonfiction program. She has won several awards for her writing, and was longlisted for the 2021 CBC Nonfiction prize and a 2021 National Magazine Award. Her essays, fiction and poetry have appeared in Chatelaine, the Globe and Mail , and Macleans, as well as literary magazines and anthologies. Her memoir, Girls Need Not Apply , was an instant bestseller and named a top 100 Books of 2019 by the Globe and Mail . Her next book, Still, I Cannot Save You , was also an instant bestseller.
Thu, June 29, 2023
Ep. 111. Julia Samuel, MBE: Psychotherapist, Author, & Grief Expert
Julia Samuel is a leading UK psychotherapist. At St Mary’s Hospital Paddington, she established the post of psychotherapist for Paediatrics, where her role for 25 years involved seeing families who have children or babies who die, and where she trained and supported the staff. In 1994 she worked to help launch and establish Child Bereavement UK and as the Founder Patron was involved and in many aspects of the charities work, having a key role in fundraising, strategy and training. She has stepped back from active involvement now. In 2016 Julia was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to bereaved children and in 2017 Middlesex University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate. In 2017 Julia published Grief Works which was a Sunday Times bestseller in the UK and has been published in 17 countries. In March 2020 she published This Too Shall Pass: stories of Change Crisis and Hopeful Beginnings and is also a Sunday Times bestseller. In 2022 Julia published Every Family has a Story to wide acclaim. In 2021 Julia produced a 5* rated app for those who grieve, Grief Works – a 28 day course to soothe your pain, build your strength and heal . She also has a private practice where she sees families and individuals for many different issues. https://juliasamuel.co.uk
Thu, June 22, 2023
Ep. 110. Hospice Nurse Julie: End of Life Educator
Julie McFadden, BSN, RN is a passionate educator, who uses her social media following, which reaches 1.3M on tiktok alone, to normalizing death and dying. Found under the name Hospice Nurse Julie, she spent years working in the experienced ICU, and serves as a well respected, sought after now Hospice/Palliative expert who has been featured in Newsweek, USA today, The Atlantic, The Business Insider, Medscape, People, Buzz feed, and media outlets worldwide. You can find Julie on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube , or at her website: www.hospicenursejulie.com If you would like to do some in-person learning, don't miss the opportunity at the Art of Living Retreat: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/penny-smith-julie-mcfadden/changing-our-views-on-the-end-of-life/?fbclid=PAAaaPYqhOyCTobGEvGdw9fDh7u076hn9_V8w9H5Njv1B7gP1qM1O8acKN9ns&utm_campaign=Penny%20Julie%20Referral&utm_medium=Referral&utm_source=Faculty
Thu, June 15, 2023
Ep. 109. Luke Russert: Author of Look For Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself
“Look for me there,” news legend Tim Russert would tell his son, Luke, when confirming a pickup spot at an airport, sporting event, or rock concert. After Tim died unexpectedly, Luke kept looking for his father, following in his footsteps and carving out a successful career at NBC News. After eight years covering politics and winning an Emmy Award, Luke realized he had no good answer as to why he was chasing his father’s legacy. At a crossroads in his early thirties, feeling the pressure of high expectations as the son of two accomplished parents, Luke decided to leave the familiar path behind and set out on his own to find answers. What began as several months of travel to decompress and reassess morphed into a three-plus-year odyssey across six continents to find himself and his place in the world in the face of crushing expectations and grief. Look for Me There offers a vivid narrative of that journey, chronicling lessons learned from travel and how Luke finally grieved his larger-than-life father, who died too young. See Luke in DC: https://www.sixthandi.org/event/luke-russert/
Fri, June 09, 2023
Ep. 108. Candin Phillips: Humanity Hive Creator talks about ADHD and Grief
In this episode Meghan Sits down with Humaninty Huve creator Candin Phillips. Candin is a licensed therapist and supervisor in South Carolina who also has ADHD. She has studied and worked in the mental health field for nearly 15 years with focuses in trauma work and ADHD. She shifted to primarily ADHD education and coaching through her business, Humanity Hive, in the last few years. As her understanding of the diagnosis increased she became more passionate about helping others learn how to understand and manage their ADHD better. Candin lost her mother to suicide in March of 2022 and speaks about her experience with grief on her Humanity Hive page. Her page is a place where she can better process and express her grief through images words and music when needed.
Thu, June 01, 2023
Ep. 107. Addison Brasil: Author of First Year of Grief Club: A Gift From A Friend Who Gets It
TW: This episode includes in depth conversation about suicide. Meghan sat down with Addison Brasil to discuss his compound loss of losing his brother to a brain tumor, his father to suicide and a friend in a tragic car accident that left him deeply physically and emotionally injured. Addison talks about the communities of friends, family and health care practioners that helped him survive and the role of wrting and sharing his story and wisdom in his own ability to move forward after loss. Addison Brasil shows up in the world as a writer, award winning producer, and speaker after finding himself Just to the Left of Death three times during his formative years. In response to the loss of his brother, father, and friend, he has worked to share his bestselling book First Year of Grief Club: A Gift From A Friend Who Gets It and is also the host of Grief Club: The Podcast with Addison Brasil. www.addisonbrasil.com @addisonbrasil and @sharemygriefclub on IG.
Thu, May 25, 2023
Ep. 106. Rachel Donnelly:Founder of After Light Consulting-Resources for Death Planning
After many experiences with loss, including the death of her parents, Rachel founded After Light (formerly Black Dress) Consultants, a consulting firm that offloads the administrative tasks that come with legacy planning and after loss, so clients can focus less on the logistics and more on creating space to live worry- free and grieve peacefully. Rachel is the co-founder of Professionals of After Loss Services (PALS), which is a training and support network for industry professionals who provide services to individuals and families after the loss of a loved one. Prior to starting Black Dress Consultants, Rachel had a career in higher education fundraising, working for institutions such as Agnes Scott College, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Rachel is a graduate of Agnes Scott College and serves on the Board of Directors on Love Not Lost, an Atlanta non-profit that provides grief tools and free photography sessions for families facing terminal diagnoses. She now lives in Atlanta with her husband Zack and their two amazing children. https://www.myafterlight.com
Thu, May 18, 2023
Ep. 105. Dr. Peggy DeLong-The Gratitude Psychologist and Compound Loss
Dr. Peggy DeLong is a psychologist, known as The Gratitude Psychologist. She teaches people how to harness the power of gratitude and joy to live their best lives, especially through difficult times. She does this through psychotherapy, her on-line monthly membership Feeling Good with Dr. Peggy, on-line courses, speaking engagements and programs for colleges, books, and bracelets. Peggy is the author of: 1) I Can See Clearly Now: A Memoir about Love, Grief, and Gratitude, 2) The Gratitude Journal: A 365 Day Gratitude Journey, and 3) Feeling Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times. She is also the owner of LOVE in a Bracelet, where she designs bracelets for coping with grief and loss, mental health, and inspiration. She hosts women’s hiking events for spiritual growth and personal development. When she’s not focused on her businesses, you’ll find Peggy in the mountains, downhill or telemark skiing, kayaking, hiking, or mountain biking. Margaret ("Peggy") DeLong, Psy.D. The Gratitude Psychologist drpeggydelongpsych@gmail.com Keynote Speaker | Monthly Membership | Courses | Books | Gratitude Journal | Gratitude Heals Bracelets | Counseling Feeling Good: 35 Proven Ways to Happiness, Even During Tough Times
Thu, May 11, 2023
Ep. 104. Stylist Karen Harrow talks to us about Funeral Clothes
Meghan sits down with the extraordinary stylist Karen Harrow to talk about how to dress for a funeral, why clothes matter and what emotional needs we should to take into account when we get dressed. All social media links can be found in link below https://harrowstyle.com/about/
Mon, May 01, 2023
Ep. 103. Good Mourning Podcast Hosts: Imogen Carn & Sally Douglas
In this episode Meghan sits down with then dynamic duo Sal and Im from Good Mourning Podcast. These two amazing women met at a support group shortly after Im's mother died by suicide and Sal's from an undiagnosed seizure disorder. With their charm, and curiosity they have built a huge supportive community of grievers who are learning from the experts they bring on their podcast, as well as each other, the truth of what it takes to carry profound loss. Sal and Im wrote an extraordinary book that publishes in the US on May 2nd. DO NOT MISS IT. It conveys all the warmth and curiosity you have come to expect from their podcast, with the hard fought wisdom of two incredibly intelligent women determinded to change the conversation on how we grieve. https://www.amazon.com/Good-Mourning-Honest-conversations-about/dp/1922616311/ref=asc_df_1922616311/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=642162216434&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9870191713307570455&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007768&hvtargid=pla-1934235927738&psc=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwxr2iBhBJEiwAdXECwx6Zhp35des-VEU6fT2FB8B1w8cHvN7FPcKkahiI1E1R4QsS4328NBoCiDAQAvD_BwE https://www.goodmourning.com.au https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-mourning-grief-podcast/id1529978129?i=1000601303937
Thu, April 20, 2023
Ep. 102. Angela Morris: Grief and Neurodivergence.
Today Meghan sits down wththe extraordinary author Angela Morris. She talks about how her ADHD diagnosis impacts her understanding of her own grief, and the profound secondary loss of friendship particularly in non-death loss. More about Angela: After the death of her father, friend and grandmother in quick succession, Angela needed a channel to grieve these profound losses. Writing has always been her lifeline through hard times, and grief from the loss of her loved ones was no different. Seeing how this helped her, Angela began to help others with their grief through her reflective writing on her social media channels. Angela offers people a soft space to land as they navigate their grief without judgement. She provides reflective writing for grievers who have lost something or someone dear to them. They walk together differently through their healing journey of learning to grow with their grief, not move on from it. Love Notes to Grievers is available for pre-order and comes out on June 13th, 2023 WWW.ANGELAEMORRIS.COM INSTAGRAM: @ANGELAEMMAMORRIS
Thu, April 13, 2023
Ep. 101. Poet and Writer and Maggie Smith: Writing the Grief of Divorce
The extraordinary poet and writer sits down with Meghan to discuss her new memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful (The title a nod to her viral poem Good Bones). Maggie explores the concepts of partnership, marital roles, and how writing helps us find out truth. https://maggiesmithpoet.com
Thu, April 06, 2023
Ep. 100. Laura Zigman: Author of Small World
Meghan sits down with one of her favorite authors–Laura Zigman to discuss ther widely celebrated most recent novel Small World. Laura decribes how she fused the emotional experiences of the death of her sister into the story of two divorced sisters who come to live in the same house for the first time in decades. Laura Zigman is the author of five novels, including Separation Anxiety (which was optioned by Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip (Mare of Easttown) for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie Someone Like You , starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird , Her , and Piece of Work . She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard's New York Times bestseller, Believe Me ; been a contributor to the New York Times , the Washington Post , and the Huffington Post; produced a popular online series of animated videos called Annoying Conversations; and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. Her sixth novel, Small World , was published in January 2023. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. https://www.laurazigman.com
Thu, March 30, 2023
Ep. 99. Cyndie Spiegel: Author of Microjoys- Finding Hope (Especially) When Life is Not Okay
This week Meghan Sits Down with the delightful Cyndie Speigel to talk about Microjoys and how she coped with the murder of her nephew, death of mother, and own diagnosis with breast cancer. Despite the heaviness of the topic Cyndie offers us laughter, hope and deep wisdom that comes from facing the hardest of times. About Cyndie: Cyndie Spiegel is a born storyteller–turned–writer; she’s an aspirational voice and an igniter of powerful conversation around self-acceptance, integrity, and joy. She is a former fashion executive, adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology, and holds a masters of professional studies. She is also a TEDx speaker and a certified yoga and meditation teacher. Her honest storytelling, vulnerable self-inquiry, and penchant for swear words have made her a sought-after speaker for conferences, brands, and organizations, and she has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and HuffPost . She currently lives in New Jersey with her (very handsome) photographer husband, two cats, way too many patterns, and an excessive number of houseplants. She is the founder of Dear Grown Ass Women, an inclusive and highly relatable social community for women 35+, and she is also the author of A Year of Positive Thinking . https://www.cyndiespiegel.com
Thu, March 23, 2023
Ep. 98. Alessandra Olanow: Artist/Author of Hello Grief, I’ll be Right With You
Meghan sat down with Alessandra Olanow, NY based artist, mother and grieving daughter. In their hour together Alessandra talks bout her new book, Hello Grief: I'll Be Right With You, and how the writing helped her address her own feelings of loss. Alessandra is a New York-based illustrator. Her broad roster of clients includes major brands such as Bergdorf Goodman, Clinique, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo, Yahoo, and West Elm, and her work has been featured in top publications such as Vogue , Oprah Magazine , Wall Street Journal , Variety , Bon Appétit , and Goop . Additionally, she is the Founder of A.OK Body Oil and the Co-founder of a children’s pajama line, Dodo Banana. Through her unique illustrations, Olanow explores the themes of self-forgiveness, vulnerability, and resilience. Alessandra's newest venture- A.OK body oil can be found here: https://www.feelingaok.com Full disclosure--She sent Meghan a bottle and it's heaven. https://www.alessandraolanow.com
Thu, March 16, 2023
Ep. 97. Anna Whitson Donalson: Author Rare Bird-Child loss
Meghan Sits down with Anna, who talks about the impact of her mother's death when she was just 18, and the tragic death of her son Jack when he was just 12. In this hope filled conversation, Anna gives us a glimpse into what her grief feels like eleven years later, and graciously lets Meghas ask a question that had pagued her since she was 9. Anna's Bio Anna Whiston-Donaldson is a popular author and speaker whose New York Times bestselling book, Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love chronicles the raw, early grief of losing her 12 year old son in an accident. Selected one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014, Rare Bird resonates with readers looking for hope in impossible circumstances. Her children’s book, A Hug from Heaven, speaks to grieving children from the point of view of a loved one who died. Anna has been featured in The Washington Post, Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day, Time Magazine, and other publications both print and online. She lives with her family in the Virginia suburbs and blogs at An Inch of Gray. website: annawhistondonaldson.com https://www.facebook.com/aninchofgray instagram: @annawhistondonaldson
Thu, March 09, 2023
Ep. 96. Colin Campbell: Author of Finding The Words and Grieving Father
In 2019, Colin Campbell's two teenage children, Ruby and Hart, were killed by a drunk driver. In the thick of this tragedy, Colin turned to the many books on grief that line shelves but ultimately realized they were unhelpful and failed to provide the insight he desperately sought. Channeling his grief, he wrote his new book (out March 14th) FINDING THE WORDS and a solo performance piece titled Grief: A One Man Shit-Show In LA (March 17-19) and NYC (March 29-April 16). You can find that info here . In FINDING THE WORDS (3/14/23; Hardcover; TarcherPerigee), Colin offers practical advice on how to survive in the aftermath of loss. By actively reaching out to their community, performing mourning rituals,and finding ways to express their grief, readers will learn how to live more fully while still holding their loved ones close. Campbell shines a light on a path forward through the darkness of grief. While processing his own grief, Colin realized that much of the common wisdom about coping with loss was unhelpful—that it is a private and mysteriousprocess and that the pain is so great that there “are no words.”While detailing his beautiful and personal account, Campbell also provides practical and actionable methods he and his wife took to navigate their profound grief. Inside, you can expect both a series of journaling prompts as well as concrete action plans to practice active grieving. Unlike in other books about grief, Campbell articulates certain truths such as the act of leaning into the pain, becoming an active protagonist in our journey through grief, and more. To learn more about Colin: ( https://colincampbellauthor.com/
Thu, March 02, 2023
Ep. 95. What’s Your Grief: Grief Clinicians Eleanor Haley & Litsa Williams
Sit down with Meghan as she talks with the outstanding duo fo Eleanor Haley and Litsa Williams to talk about the publication of their recent book–What's Your Grief: Lists To Help You Through Any Loss Eleanor Haley, MS and Litsa Williams, MA, LCSW-C are the co-founders of the online community What’s Your Grief, one of the largest online grief and bereavement support organizations. Both are mental health professionals with a collective 25+ years of experience working with people coping with all types of complicated losses and life transitions. Eleanor and Litsa met while supporting families who had lost loved ones to traumatic andunexpected deaths in Baltimore, MD. Drawing on their personal and professional experience with grief, WYG was built as a resource offering concrete, practical, creative, down-to-earth, and relatable support, founded on the values of psychoeducation and creative coping. It has grown to serve more than 5 million visitors each year. Eleanor holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD and Litsa received her master's degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, as well as a master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Warwick (UK). They have been interviewed as grief experts for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and New York Times. They co-authored the book What's Your Grief: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss.
Thu, February 23, 2023
Ep. 93. Christie Tate: Losing Female Friendship--B.F.F a Memoir
One of the luckiest things is my life is counting the extraordinary Christie Tate amongst my friends. She is warm, brilliant and an incredible writer. In this discussion we cover all the aspects of what makes female friendship so beautiful and complicated. Christie shares the story of the death of her dear friend, which she chronicles in the book, and how that impacts life now. From the author of Group , a New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club Pick, comes a moving, heartwarming, and powerful memoir about Christie Tate’s lifelong struggle to sustain female friendship, and the friend who helps her find the human connection she seeks. After more than a decade of dead-end dates and dysfunctional relationships, Christie Tate has reclaimed her voice and settled down. Her days of agonizing in group therapy over guys who won’t commit are over, the grueling emotional work required to attach to another person tucked neatly into the past. Or so she thought. Weeks after giddily sharing stories of her new boyfriend at Saturday morning recovery meetings, Christie receives a gift from a friend. Meredith, twenty years older and always impeccably accessorized, gives Christie a box of holiday-themed scarves as well as a gentle suggestion: maybe now is the perfect time to examine why friendships give her trouble. “The work never ends, right?” she says with a wink. Christie isn’t so sure, but she soon realizes that the feeling of “apartness” that has plagued her since childhood isn’t magically going away now that she’s in a healthy romantic relationship. With Meredith by her side, she embarks on a brutally honest exploration of her friendships past and present, sorting through the ways that debilitating shame and jealousy have kept the lasting bonds she craves out of reach—and how she can overcome a history of letting go too soon. But when Meredith becomes ill and Christie’s baggage threatens to muddy their final days, she’s forced to face her deepest fears in honor of the woman who finally showed her how to be a friend. Poignant, laugh-out-loud funny, and emotionally satisfying, B.F.F. explores what happens when we finally break the habits that impair our ability to connect with others, and the ways that one life—however messy and imperfect—can change another. https://www.amazon.com/B-F-F-Memoir-Friendship-Lost-Found/dp/1668009420/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37RCYO7UH0X95&keywords=b+FF+Tate&qid=1675950529&sprefix=bff+tate%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-1#customerReviews
Thu, February 23, 2023
Ep. 92. Katie Reilly: Writing Through Double Parent Loss
In this episode, Katie C Reilly sits down to talk double parent loss with Meghan. The two parentless daughters discuss the hard lessons learned and role grief has played in life changes. A Former Lawyer found her priorities shifting along with her emotions after her mother's death from ALS and then her father's death from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma soon after. Katie made a shift to writing, and hasn't looked back. Katie C Reilly is a freelance writer based in Oakland, CA. Her writing primarily focuses on women's health, mental health and parenting and has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Elle Magazine and The Cut, among other publications. You can find more of her writing here .
Thu, February 16, 2023
Ep. 91. Father Loss with Author Natasha Sizlo: All Signs Point to Paris--A Memoir of Love, Loss and Destiny
All Signs Point to Paris is the true story of my search for a second chance at love and it all happened because of a wild astrology reading. Natasha had hit rock bottom in almost every way in the fall of 2018: She was a divorced single mom struggling to make ends meet, she'd just broken up with the boyfriend she thought was The One, and, worst of all, her beloved dad was dying. Natasha's life seemed to be going from an all time low to worse. And then her occasionally woo-woo but always there for me best friend stepped in with an answer: a reading with her astrologer, who happened to be one of the most sought-after astrologers in the world. Natasha decided to try it, skeptical though she was. Why the f*ck not? , she thought. Whatever else had been guiding me was NOT working. We don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but that reading led Natasha to search, very seriously, for hot soulmate: a man born in Paris on November 2, 1968. That date was aligned with her astrological point of destiny. It also happened to be Natasha's ex boyfriend’s exact birthday and birthplace. But she’d decided (for very good reasons) he could not and would not be The One. She became hell-bent on finding every other man who might be. It took almost a year, and a lot of help from friends, family, and even strangers around the world, but finally, in October of 2019, she was ready to pack my bags for Paris. She had found, if you can believe it, fifteen potential soulmates to meet. Natasha's older sister and two of my best friends (including the one who started all this in the first place!) came with her to Paris, riding shotgun on her search for love, each for their own reasons. It was the perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong? https://natashasizlo.com
Tue, February 07, 2023
Ep. 90. Shane Phillips: Transforming Loss Into A Comprehensive To Finacial Matters After Death
First Steps Founder & Creator Shane Phillips has over 27 years of experience in banking and financial services, and two decades of community service in grief care, Shane Phillips offers a unique perspective on financial issues and death. At the age of 16, Shane experienced the loss of his parents and sister in a plane crash. His parents had no life insurance, no estate plan, a lot of debt, and few assets. Despite the loss of his family and the ensuing financial challenges, Shane graduated from high school and college. He went on to a successful career in financial services for both regional and international financial institutions. In 2004, Shane co-founded The Children’s Grief Education Association (CGEA). For over six years, the CGEA provided free grief counseling to over 400 Denver area children. The CGEA was merged into The HeartLight Center in 2011. From 2011 – 2014, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The HeartLight Center. Shane and his wife Valerie live in Castle Rock, CO. They have five children ranging in age from 12-21. https://firststepshelp.com https://heartlightcenter.org/first-steps-seminar/
Thu, February 02, 2023
Ep. 89. Ondi Timoner: Daughter Documentarian–The Last Flight Home
In this podcast Meghan talks with Ondi Timoner, a documentary film maker and daughter of Eli Timoner about her beautiful, revolutionary film The Last Flight Home. "Behind a white picket fence, on an unremarkable suburban street, we discover Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida, the fastest growing airline in the world in the 1970's. During his final days, we discover his extraordinary life filled with incredible success and devastating setbacks, and most importantly, an innate goodness which won him the enduring love and support of his family. Through stunning verité footage recorded by his middle child, LAST FLIGHT HOME takes audiences on a heart-wrenching ride through Timoner’s life, illustrating a modern day success story built on the power of human connection. Two-time winner of the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC) Ondi Timoner returns to the festival with an intensely intimate verité film about her family’s harrowing journey to find closure. As they open up their lives to offer an enlightening view of a universal experience, they demonstrate the grace and connection that can emerge from embracing death. Through laughter and joy, they share a lasting legacy which demonstrates how we might live, even as we die."
Tue, January 31, 2023
Ep. 88. Denise Tordella: Trauma Therapist discusses Grief in Coercive Relationships
In this podcast Meghan sits down with Denise Tordella, a trauma informed therapist from the DC metro area who works with women who have experience domestic violence and coercive relationships. Denise highlights the many losses that come living from being isolated in relationships and the complicated grief that can arise as survivors begin to heal. https://denisetordella.com https://www.theferentzinstitute.com
Wed, January 25, 2023
Ep. 87. Jay Newton Small: Founder of MemoryWell
Jay Newton-Small is CEO and founder of MemoryWell, a patient engagement platform and SaaS that is personalizing how health insurers connect with their members. Previously, Jay was Washington correspondent for TIME Magazine, where she remains a contributor. At TIME she covered politics as well as stories on five continents from conflicts in the Middle East to the earthquake in Haiti and the November 2015 Paris terror attacks. She has written nearly a dozen TIME cover stories and interviewed numerous heads of state, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. She authored the 2016 best-selling book, Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works . Before TIME, Jay was a reporter for Bloomberg News, where she covered the White House and politics. Jay received an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and undergraduate degrees in International Relations and Art History from Tufts University. She is a 2017 Halcyon Incubator fellow, a 2016-2017 New America fellow and a 2015 Harvard Institute of Politics fellow. She is the 2016 winner of the prestigious Dirksen Award for congressional reporting and the 2016 Deadline Club award for community service reporting. https://www.memorywell.com
Fri, January 20, 2023
Ep. 86. Sibling and Pregnancy Loss: Dr. Julie Shaw of Hello I’m Grieving
Dr. Julie in her own words: "Like every grief story starts.... My sister, Jennifer lost her battle with Lupus February 2020. I was not prepared to lose her even though I whispered to her so many times that I would be ok if she had to leave us. When grief hits, you can never be prepared for the grief tsunamis that bring difficult emotions from the depths of your soul to the soft waves of beautiful memories. I am on my grief journey and figuring out what my life will be like and who I am without my most favorite person, my big sister, in my life. She was/is a mom of two, the glue of our family, a dedicated nurse practitioner, loyal friend, and one of the toughest warriors you could have by your side. She will forever be my why to giving grief a voice and building a community through grief awareness and visibility. Thank you for being here and saying hello to grief." https://helloimgrieving.com
Tue, January 17, 2023
Ep. 85. Author: Jessica Faith Kantrowitz: Good Morning Friends-Gentle Suggestions for The Start of the Day
About Jessica I’m a writer. I write poetry as well as creative non-fiction, essays that examine aspects of my life or the world around me and try to find the deeper meaning and connection in what I observe. I also write about media and culture, faith, and the intersection of the two. I wrote a sort of sermon once and it went viral. I write for places like Sojourners , Think Christian , The Good Men Project , the Madeleine L’Engle Blog , Our Bible App, and Together Rising . I’m an author. I have three published books and am working on my fourth. The Long Night, Readings and Stories to Help You Through Depression came out on May 19th, 2020 through Broadleaf Books, and its companion book, Blessings for the Long Night: Poems and Meditations to Help You through Depression will be out on April 19th, 2022, also through Broadleaf Books. In between those I self-published the “peace poems” I’d been writing into Twitter every evening for a year as 365 Days of Peace: Benedictions to End Your Day in Gentleness and Hope . I also created a journal to go with 365 Days of Peace . I’m a theologian. I have a BA in World Religions and a Master of Divinity in Christianity. I’ve traveled to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and Europe to study Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I did part time ministry for many years — leading worship, teaching the Bible, leading discussion groups, working with teens, and teaching English as a second language. After I graduated I went to work for a campus ministry, doing interfaith outreach, but burnt out after a year and a half of fundraising and training. I try to use my education and experience in my writing, both to deepen my perspective and to minister to my readers. I’m an editor. In my editing work I help scholars from all over the world who are working on academic dissertations. I’ve also edited books, journal articles, newsletters, cover letters, and more. Find out more here
Thu, January 12, 2023
Ep. 84. Death Doula: Mangda Sengvanhpheng
Mangda Sengvanhpheng is an artist, healing practitioner, and the founder of BACII - a digital space that focuses on end-of-life topics such as loss, grief and death while providing services and offerings that renew our engagement to life. Her life and death work is guided by her Laotian last name, which means “the light of the full moon.” Mangda’s work has been featured in Vogue, Brydie, NY Mag’s Curbed, Chacruna Institute and more. https://bacii.co
Thu, January 05, 2023
Ep. 83. Charlene Lam: The Grief Gallery Founder/Curator
Charlene Lam is a certified grief coach, speaker and the founder of The Grief Gallery. After her mother died suddenly in 2013, she leaned into her creativity and instincts as a curator to guide herself through grief. That work led her to help other people to process their grief and losses. Charlene believes we are ALL curators after a loved one dies. Her Curating Grief coaching framework is designed to be a creative and accessible way to process grief. She provides grief coaching to help bereaved people to feel less alone and better equipped to deal with the practical and emotional aftermath of losing a loved one. And when they’re ready, to transform their pain, loss and grief into something beautiful so they can move forward with living their own fullest lives. As curator of The Grief Gallery, she presents exhibitions exploring death and grief during international design events and festivals, including NYCxDESIGN, DesignTO (Toronto) and the London Design Festival. She speaks about the power of art, creativity, story and meaning making for healthy grieving and post-traumatic growth. She’s the author of the forthcoming book Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies. Her podcast guest appearances include Late Bloomer Living, and the What Works podcast with Tara McMullin. A proud Chinese-American New Yorker (like her mother!), she's currently based in Lisbon, Portugal and works with clients worldwide.
Thu, December 29, 2022
Ep. 82. Candace Cahill: Author Goodbye Again–A story of Childloss
Candace reunited with the son she'd given up for adoption when he turned 18. Primarily In contact through calls and letters, they met once when he was twenty. Candace worked hard to allow her son to drive the nature of their new connection, only to have him die unexpectedly in his sleep at age 23. In Candance's beautiful book Goodbye Again, she shares with us her experience learning to greive losses that are disenfranchized in our culture. She talks us through pain upon pain, only to ultimately leave the reader holding an incredible story of hope and love. You can learn more about Candace on her website: https://candacecahill.com Candace Cahill is a first mother and an LDsA, late discovery step-adoptee or NPE . She grew up in rural Central Minnesota with no running water or electricity, and by the time she graduated from high school, she’d learned books were an oasis and her guitar a good friend. After earning a Social Work degree, she embarked on a year-long bicycle trip across North America before settling in Alaska. An artist at heart, she is a self-taught silversmith, singer/songwriter, and plays the guitar, banjo, bass, and saxophone. Candace resides with her husband, Tom, in Denali, Alaska, and works as a Park Ranger during the summer months
Thu, December 22, 2022
Ep. 81. Priya Soni: Caring for the Care Givers
Join Meghan for this heart felt discussion where two time caretaker, griever Priya Soni reveals how her own experience caring for her parents through their end of life experiences informed how she approaches grief and loss. Priya's thoughtful approach of how to support grievers, approach memories and create a grief care group a beautiful concepts that can teach us all. Learn more here: https://www.priyasoni.net
Fri, December 16, 2022
Ep. 80. John Worsley: A Widower Writes his Grief
When writer John Worsley's wife Amy died, he processed his grief through the written word. He's the author of My Heart Has No Home: A Journal of Grief and Healing , a moment-by-moment account of his experience grieving the sudden death of his wife, Amy K.W. Heil – what he felt, how he healed, and what he learned. Where to buy My Heart Has No Home : Amazon paperback and Kindle / Apple Books / Kobo / B&N and Nook http://www.johnworsley.name
Thu, December 08, 2022
Ep. 79. Jon LeFrandt: Caring for Siblings after the Death of His Father
Jon Lefrandt is Co Founder and CEO of For Grief After more than seven years in real estate, Jon took a leap of faith and began his career in the funeral industry in 2011. Jon experienced the passing of his father and the emotional stress of planning his funeral — through that experience, Jon understood the need for individualized pre-planning and aftercare services. At For Grief, they've built a better way for people to navigate loss by offering unprecedented and direct access to the country’s most preeminent grief experts and authors. Whether you join our monthly conversation series or participate in one of our new and forthcoming innovative GriefCalendar™ events, the first such on-demand community resource in the country, you’ll be welcomed into a circle of support unlike any other. Depending on your needs and schedule, our on-demand video courses, Grief Guide, information-rich blog, and downloadable resources are always available to you, anytime https://www.forgrief.com
Tue, November 29, 2022
Ep. 78. Author Debbie Weiss: Available As Is: A Midlife Widow’s Search for Love
Debbie Weiss is a former attorney who earned her MFA in creative nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2020. A native of the Bay Area, she turned to writing after George, her husband and partner of more than three decades, died of cancer in April 2013, and she found herself single and living alone for the first time in her life. Weiss’s essays have been published in The New York Times' “Modern Love” column, HuffPost, and Woman’s Day, among other publications. Available As Is: A Midlife Widow’s Search for Love is her first book. She currently lives in Benicia, CA.
Thu, November 17, 2022
Ep. 77. Amanda Held Opelt: Bereaved Sibling & Author of A Hole in the World
Amanda Held Opelt is an author, speaker, and songwriter. She writes about faith, grief, and creativity, and believes in the power of community, ritual, worship and shared stories to heal even our deepest wounds. Amanda has spent the last 15 years as a social worker and humanitarian aid worker. She lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina with her husband and young two daughters. http://amandaheldopelt.com
Thu, November 10, 2022
Ep. 76. Melissa Lunardini: Help Text Chief Bereavement Officer
Melissa Lunardini, MA, MBA, FT, is the Head of Bereavement for Help Texts (previously known as Grief Coach). Melissa has 17 years of experience in program design and development in grief, loss, and trauma for healthcare, academia, youth-based, NGOs, and grief and loss-based industries. She holds a fellow in Thanatology from the Association for Death Education and Counseling. A recognized specialist in childhood bereavement, Melissa strives to remain current with trends and research in the industry. She is a sought-after presenter on trauma, grief, and loss both locally and nationally. Melissa is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in international psychology with a focus on trauma. She holds a MA in psychology from Chapman University and an MBA and BA from California State University San Bernardino. www.griefcoach.com
Tue, November 01, 2022
Ep. 75. Allison Gilbert: Journalist, Author, double parent loss and 9/11 survivor
Allison Gilbert is an award-winning journalist and co-author of Listen, World!, the first biography of American writer Elsie Robinson, a newspaper columnist who came from nothing and became the most-read woman in the country and highest-paid woman writer in the William Randolph Hearst media empire. The New York Times raves “One does not tire of spending time with Elsie Robinson” and the Wall Street Journal proclaims the book “an important contribution to women’s history.” Susan Orlean effuses the biography is “the rarest of things — a lively piece of unknown history, a marvelous story of a woman’s triumph, and a tremendous read.” Gilbert is host of “ Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories ,” a 20-part documentary series produced in collaboration with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. For this, she interviewed such luminaries as Savannah Guthrie, Maggie Haberman, Dana Bash, and Linda Wertheimer. She is co-executive producer of the companion 2-hour film that featured, among many others, Tom Brokaw, Rehema Ellis, Ann Thompson, Scott Pelley, Byron Pitts, Ann Compton, and Cynthia McFadden. Gilbert is the official narrator of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s historical exhibition audio tour, the only female journalist to be so honored. Allison Gilbert writes regularly for the New York Times and other publications. On her blog, she features Q & A’s with some of the most notable names in our culture today including, Arianna Huffington , Jon Stewart , Henry Louis Gates Jr. , Dani Shapiro , and Gretchen Rubin . Allison is co-editor of Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report September 11 and author of <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Always-Too-Soon-Support-Parents/dp/1580051766/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=allisongilber-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=PKJ
Thu, October 20, 2022
Ep. 74. Tembi Locke: Actress, Producer, Author of From Scratch--A New Netflix Series
New York Times best-selling author, TV producer, actor, and screenwriter Tembi Locke has a passion for connecting with an audience both on the page and on the screen. After going through a monumental rollercoaster life experience, Tembi put pen to paper and began the cathartic experience of writing down her personal story. This turned into Simon and Schuster’s’ New York Times-bestselling memoir, “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home,” which was chosen as a 2019 Reese’s Book Club pick, and was quickly scooped up by Reese’s Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Netflix as a limited series. Inspired by the memoir, From Scratch is a cross-cultural love story that follows Amy (played by Zoe Saldana, based on Tembi) an American student studying abroad in Italy, as she meets and falls in love with Lino, a Sicilian chef. Their whirlwind romance faces many unforeseen challenges, including their very different cultural backgrounds of which Lino’s family is not accepting of Amy’s. But when Lino is faced with unimaginable health challenges and the couple’s future is threatened, the two families come together to create an extended family unlike any they could have imagined, proving that love crosses all borders. Tembi is an accomplished actor with over sixty film and television credits, most recently recurring on Never Have I Ever . Offscreen, Tembi is a nationally recognized speaker for her keynotes on resilience, loss, and motherhood; her TEDX talk has been viewed by individuals and nonprofits worldwide. https://www.tembilocke.com
Thu, October 13, 2022
Ep. 73. Patricia Montoya:Energy Healer, Psychic Medium & Death Doula
Patricia offers Energy Healing Services and Spiritual Guidance for those experiencing Anticipatory Grief, Trauma, or Recovering from Grief. As an Energy Healer, Psychic Medium, and Death Doula, Patricia has been focused on using her gifts to help those living with anticipatory grief, working through past trauma, or healing from the death of a loved one. https://www.titipoza.com
Tue, October 11, 2022
Ep. 72. Author Jessica DuLong: Saved at the Seawall: Stories From the September 11th Boat Lift
Join Meghan as she talks with the brilliantly warm, trauma informed author, Jessica DuLong, about her extraordinary book: Saved At The Seawall. A deeply emotional, and personal telling of one of the greatest stories of hope from 9/11, that you may have never heard before. Jessica and Meghan talk PTSD, brain science and the ways in which writing can help manage trauma and allow us to tell some of the most important stories of hope. “The greatest 9/11 story you’ve never heard.” — Garrett M. Graff, The Only Plane in the Sky “No one has told this incredible story better than Jessica DuLong . Saved at the Seawall is a moving page-turner.” — Kenneth T. Jackson, president emeritus, New-York Historical Society The definitive history of the largest ever waterborne evacuation, when ferries, dinner boats, and other vessels spontaneously converged to rescue nearly 500,000 stranded people from Manhattan on September 11, 2001 SAVED AT THE SEAWALL reveals the dramatic story of how the New York Harbor maritime community heroically delivered stranded commuters, residents, and visitors out of harm’s way. Even before the US Coast Guard called for “all available boats,” tugs, ferries, dinner boats, and other vessels had sped to the rescue from points all across New York Harbor. In less than nine hours, captains and crews transported nearly half a million people from Manhattan. Anchored in eyewitness accounts and written by a mariner who served at Ground Zero, SAVED AT THE SEAWALL weaves together the personal stories of people rescued that day with those of the mariners who saved them. Jessica DuLong describes the inner workings of New York Harbor and reveals the collaborative power of its close-knit community. Initially published as Dust to Deliverance , this edition, released in time for the 20th anniversary, contains new updates: a preface by DuLong and a foreword by Mitchell Zuckoff. https://bookshop.org/books/saved-at-the-seawall-stories-from-the-september-11-boat-lift/9781501759123 https://jessicadulong.com/saved-at-the-seawall/
Thu, October 06, 2022
Ep. 71. Roshni Kavate: Artist, Healer, Activist
Roshni Kavate is an Artist, Healer, and Activist. Roshni Kavate is the Founder and Creative Director of Cardamom and Kavate, a wellness platform dedicated to reclaiming nourishing practices rooted in ancestral wisdom for collective liberation. She believes grief is a portal to wholeness. Through rituals and storytelling, we can reconnect to our origins and be our wild selves. She sees the path to being whole as a radical art and political practice. The question that guides her is What is our grief craving? and how can we nourish and feed it? Social Media Handles www.instagram.com/cardamomandkavate www.instagram.com/mangoandokra www.instagram.com/wearemarigolde Links: www.cardamomandkavate.com https://www.cardamomandkavate.com/feedyourgrief https://www.cardamomandkavate.com/shop/p/mending-a-broken-heart-zine https://www.kqed.org/news/11859088/covid-19-and-personal-grief-advice-from-experts www.wearemarigolde.com https://www.wearemarigolde.com/books Roshni earned a B.S in Nutritional Sciences from UC Berkeley, a B.S in Nursing from NYU with honors and Ayurveda Post Partum Caregiver Training from The Center for Sacred Window Studies. Roshni is also the co-founder of Marigolde, a revolutionary postpartum and pregnancy loss platform rooted in radical empathy, empowered education and ancestral rituals. She has published a community cookbook: Mending a Broken Heart, Recipes and Rituals for Nourishing Grief and co-author of upcoming book: Bloom, A modern guide to pregnancy loss and abortion post partum care.
Thu, September 29, 2022
Ep. 70. Lydia Fenet: Auctioneer, Author, and Traumatic Accident Survivor
LYDIA FENET is a global thought leader who has led auctions for more than six hundred organizations raising over half a billion dollars for nonprofits globally on behalf of Christie’s. Lydia spent over two decades at Christie’s most recently as the Global Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships. In 2022, Lydia transitioned to a role as Christie’s ambassador where she will continue to take auctions on behalf of Christie’s while continuing to grow her media brand as an author, speaker and executive producer on the upcoming Netflix series, Sold . Lydia is represented by CAA and travels internationally as a keynote speaker helping people unlock their sales potential and empowering women in the workplace. She was named one of New York’s most influential women by Gotham magazine and has been featured in the New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , Forbes and Crain’s , and has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar , Vanity Fair and Town & Country . Her widely acclaimed book, ‘ The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You’ was published by Simon & Schuster and purchased by Netflix in February 2022. Lydia has recently finished writing her second book, Claim Your Confidence which will be published in Spring 2022. She is working on her podcast, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is… which is slated to launch in summer 2022 in collaboration with Newstand Studios in Rockefeller Plaza. https://lydiafenet.com
Thu, September 22, 2022
Ep. 69. Pet Loss: Lindsey Whissel Fenton-Director/Producer Speaking Grief.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton is an Emmy award-winning storyteller who is passionate about using public media to build empathy. She is currently a senior producer and director at WPSU where, most recently, she developed, produced, directed, and wrote Speaking Grief , a multiplatform initiative that works to create a more grief-aware society; she continues to produce content for the initiative’s presence on Facebook and Instagram . You Can’t Say That , which Lindsey produced, was among eight U.S. programs selected to screen at the 2013 International Public Television Screening (INPUT) conference; it was also honored with a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award. Some of Lindsey’s other projects include A Time to Heal , Pennsylvania Folklore: Woven Together, and The First Step . She also served as a host for the WPSU-FM series Take Note . Lindsey is heavily involved with WPSU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Her dedication to making the station’s culture and content more inclusive was recognized with the 2020 Penn State Outreach and Online Education Inclusiveness Award. https://lindseywhisselfenton.com/about/ https://speakinggrief.org
Thu, September 15, 2022
Ep. 68. Jacob Moore: Podcast Host & Founder of No Stigmas/5 Bridges
Jacob Moore is the founder of NoStigmas and creator of the 5 Bridges to Wellness system. He has been internationally recognized for his speaking, writing and advocacy work in mental health and suicide prevention. As a childhood suicide loss survivor, Jacob's work is focused on trauma, holistic wellness design and thriving despite mental illness. In addition to being an avid user of both nature and dog therapy, Jacob practices meditation, yoga and martial arts to support his mental wellness. https://www.jacobmoore.com
Thu, September 01, 2022
Ep. 67. Gina Moffa: Therapist and Author
Gina Moffa in her own words: I want to help people understand, explore, and heal from painful experiences. This includes grief and loss, trauma, life patterns that just aren’t working, anxiety that feels debilitating, and transitions that have been more challenging. Perhaps you know you have to make a change in your life, but just don’t know what it is or where to begin. I’m truly humbled by my work in helping people to find their way. Every day I’m moved and thankful for the trust and faith people put in our work together. I feel so fortunate to be the travel companion on one of the most important journeys someone will ever take— the journey of healing, finding meaning, and seeing joy in their life." https://ginamoffa.com
Tue, August 23, 2022
Ep. 66. Giving Hope: Elena Lister, MD & Michael Schwartzman, PhD
In this episode I talk with Dr. Elena Lister and Michael Schwartzman, PhD about their New Book–Giving Hope: Conversations with Children About Illness, Death and Loss. The book is for any adult who may be taking care of a child. It offers compassionate and comprehensive guidance on how to understand oneself and the child facing impending loss or a loss that has occurred. We discuss how to have conversations with a child about death itself and many kinds of losses including of an immediate family member, of a pet, of someone in your community or extended family and in the media whether by illness, suicide, environmental events or violence when they occur and in the years after. It offers sample conversations and practical guidance. It will help a caregiver handle decisions about participation at school, at funerals, burials and memorials when there is illness or death in a child’s life. Our approach creates opportunities for more connection with your child while building hope and resilience. https://www.amazon.com/Giving-Hope-Conversations-Children-Illness/dp/0593419154 https://www.elenalistermd.com https://michaelschwartzmanphd.com
Wed, August 10, 2022
Ep. 65. Jenny Lisk: Author & Podcast Host of The Widowed Parent
Jenny Lisk is an award-winning author and widowed mom who is dedicated to helping widowed parents increase their family's well-being. Her book, Future Widow , and her show, The Widowed Parent Podcast , bring much-needed resources to widowed parents, helping them feel less lost and alone. https://jennylisk.com
Thu, August 04, 2022
Ep. 64. Tracey Schors, PhD: How the Brain and Body Drive feelings and Behavior
In Everyday Trauma , neuroscientist Dr. Tracey Shors examines trauma with a focus on its pervasive nature—how it can happen at any time, through big or small events, and how it often reappears in the form of encoded memory. Her research reveals that when we are reminded of our trauma, reliving that tragic moment copies yet another memory of it in our brain, making it that much more difficult to forget. Dr. Shors also explores the neuroscience behind why women in particular are more vulnerable to stress and traumatic events, setting them up to be three times more likely than men to suffer PTSD. With potential long-term consequences such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, trauma can have a lasting impact on both the brain and body. Dr. Shors illuminates the effective tools that can reduce the repetitive thoughts that reinforce our traumas, including cognitive-based therapies and trauma-informed care such as her own groundbreaking program, a combination of mental and physical training called MAP Training. https://sites.rutgers.edu/tracey-shors/about/
Thu, July 28, 2022
Ep. 63. Rebecca Woolf: All of this-A Memoir of Death and Desire
Writer Rebecca Woolf had just asked her husband for a divorce when he is suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer. In this stunning memoir she invites us in to the complicated truth coming into yourself and a new understanding of love, sex, and living forward after loss. Learn more about her here: https://rebeccawoolf.com https://www.romper.com/profile/rebecca-woolf-63961506
Wed, July 20, 2022
Ep. 62. Returning to Work after Loss: Aaron C
Join my conversation with Aaron C as he shares his experience returning to work after the death of his wife Tiffany from Covid at age 46.
Wed, July 20, 2022
Aaron C
Widower Aaron C., shares with Meghan his experience going back to work after the death of his 46 year old wife from Covid 18 months ago. Meghan and Aaron talk discuss how well meaning, caring people can get grief so wrong, and the importance of creating grief informed workplaces.
Tue, July 12, 2022
Ep. 61. Stephanie Foster: Comedian--Without Rhyme Nor Reason TouEE
Without Rhyme Nor Reason Comedy Tour Kicks Off in Support of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Among Young Women Led by Stephanie Foster, the Tour's Lineup of Female Comedians Will Perform at Sorority Houses Across the Country Comedian and mental health advocate Stephanie Foster 's comedy tour boasts an all-female lineup includes Xazmin Garza, Courtney Bee, Brittany Schmitt, Dicey, Jalisa Robinson, Ryan Rogers, and Nicole Tran – comedians with diverse viewpoints who are all coming together around the critical issue of supporting mental health and suicide prevention among young women. The tour will stop exclusively at sorority houses across the country. Compelled to make a difference after losing a close friend and sorority sister to mental health challenges, Foster has created a program that will address critical mental health issues with a mix of humor and informative dialogue. "This tour is in honor of my incredible friend and aims to address mental health issues head-on," said Foster. "As someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, I believe that when we make extremely tough topics and challenges more approachable, there is a much greater likelihood of connecting individuals and encouraging them to reach out for support when needed. I'm so grateful for the talented women that are a part of this tour and am hopeful that we can help start a much-needed conversation.” The Without Rhyme Nor Reason comedy tour launches as the U.S. faces a mental health crisis among children and young adults. Fueled by pandemic era challenges, recent data shows that suicide attempts among young people have dramatically increased over the past two years. A 2021 U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory report stated that Emergency Room visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same period in early 2019. Also, in 2021, the American College Health Association released the National College Health Assessment that stated one in four students had relayed to have had suicidal thoughts, whereas two percent of those had attempted suicide within the last year. https://www.instagram.com/withoutrhymenorreason/ https://www.instagram.com/slufoster/
Thu, June 30, 2022
Ep. 60. Nancy Green: Pet Loss
Today Meghan Talks with Nancy Green, RN, BS, CPC, ELI-MP, Grief Coach, Pet Chaplain, Ordained Minister, ELI-MP Nancy shares with us her own experience with pet loss, loving animals and serving the pet loss community. She is trained across multilevel grief work platform and brings spiritual seeking to her work. You can find more about Nancy at her platform Speaking of Grief https://www.instagram.com/speakingofgrief/ Sowing Seeds of HOPE after Loss. Grief is about more than death. Grief is not a problem to be solved. It is a story of LOVE and loss and my heart is open to hear your story
Tue, June 21, 2022
Ep. 59. Mark Chesnut: Author of Prepare For Departure
At an early age, award-winning travel writer, Mark Chesnut, learned to dodge discomfort by jumping on the nearest plane, bus or car. That tactic proved especially useful when his single mother made it clear that there was no room for discussion about his gay identity. Mark, overwhelmed with wanderlust, shoplifts in airports, avoids Southern Baptist salvation, acts like Hillary Clinton in a nursing home, and dresses in drag with his grandfather. He even creates an imaginary airline and flies away. Now, as 89-year-old Eunice Chesnut moves to a New York City nursing home to be near her son, Mark's obsession with travel takes a backseat as he embarks on the most emotional journey of all. More than an end-of-life memoir, more than a collection of childhood memories and travel stories, Prepare for Departure showcases what happens when a permissive mother and a mistfit son face death while revisiting life. Buckle your seatbelts for a witty, touching and darkly humorous trip—through time, loss, forgiveness and acceptance. https://www.markchesnut.com
Tue, June 14, 2022
Ep. 58. Joe Meyer: A CEO who talks about Mental Health
Joe is Founder & CEO of ExecThread , a VC-backed crowdsourcing platform and premium job-sharing network that enables 225k+ professionals to access the “hidden job market”. ExecThread is the largest global aggregator of unpublished executive-level job opportunities. Joe has been a successful start-up CEO and operating executive at high-growth tech companies including HopStop (acquired by Apple), Quigo (acquired by AOL) and eBay (EBAY) with a strong track record of recruiting teams, launching new products, raising venture capital, growing traffic, eliciting engagement, scaling revenue and achieving liquidity. https://execthread.com
Thu, June 09, 2022
Ep. 57. Jennifer Blackburn: Fitness trainer, family impacted by gun violence
*Trigger Warning* This episode contains reference to death by gun violence and suicide Jennifer Blackburn is a dynamic group fitness instructor, cycling coach and personal trainer. She holds multiple certifications and her classes are customized using the latest conditioning technologies which are the backbone of her results driven programs. She is an ambassador for Lululemon and has appeared in NBC4, Discovery Health and written articles for Business Insider, Washington Post, Self. Jennifer was named on of Dc's top trainers by Washingtonian Magazine. She resides in Maryland with her husband and 5 children.
Thu, May 26, 2022
Ep. 56. Rabbi Steve Leder: Author of For You When I am Gone
In this episode I talk with the incomparable Rabbi Steve Leder about his new book "For You When I Am Gone" and the emotional legacy we leave our loved ones. I was so touched by his warmth intelligence and spirit of hope. http://steveleder.com
Tue, May 03, 2022
Ep. 55. Hope Edelman: Motherless Daughters
Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking, and leading workshops and retreats in the bereavement field for more than 25 years. She was 17 when she lost her mother to breast cancer and 40 when her father died, events that inspired her to offer grief education and support to those who cannot otherwise receive it Hope’s first book, Motherless Daughters , was a #1 New York Times bestseller and appeared on multiple bestseller lists worldwide. Hope’s most recent book, The AfterGrief , offers an innovative new language for discussing the long arc of loss. She has published six additional books, including Motherless Mothers and the memoir, The Possibility of Everything . Her work has been translated into 14 languages and published in 11 countries. Hope has also published articles and essays in numerous publications and anthologies, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, Parade , and CNN.com. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa. She is a certified Martha Beck Life Coach and has also done certificate training in narrative therapy
Tue, April 19, 2022
Ep. 54. Justin Yopp: Founder of Widowed Parents Program
Today we talk to Dr. Justin Yopp about the widowed parent program he and a colleague began after noting a lack of group support particularly for young father's recently bereaved. https://widowedparent.org Dr. Yopp is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UNC. He is a member of the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital where he provides inpatient as well as outpatient assessment and therapeutic services for children and adolescents with cancer. He also works with children whose parents have serious medical illnesses such as cancer. His research is in the area of children’s adaptation to cancer. Dr. Yopp came to UNC from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, where he served as a clinical psychologist and coordinator of the inpatient consultation-liaison service. Prior to working at St. Jude, Dr. Yopp completed his internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Central Michigan University and completed a pediatric psychology externship at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He is a native of Raleigh.
Tue, April 05, 2022
Ep. 53. Reid Peterson: Grief Refuge
Reid Peterson FOUNDER/CREATOR Grief Refuge content is created by Reid Peterson, MA. Reid achieved a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Psychology (Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 2007) and is certified in Death & Grief Studies by the Center for Loss & Life Transition. After losing his biological father to suicide in 2006 and his stepfather to cancer in 2016, Reid felt a calling to help the grieving find peace and purpose after loss. https://www.griefrefuge.com
Tue, March 22, 2022
Ep. 52. Marisa Renee Lee: Author Grief is Love
Marisa Renee Lee is the CEO of Beacon Advisors , co-founder of Supportal , and founder of The Pink Agenda . Supportal is a platform that makes it easy for people to respond when someone they care about is faced with a life-changing challenge. With a focus on experiences that are difficult to deal with and difficult to respond to, Supportal features first-hand accounts of people who have experienced life-changing challenges. They detail the best and most thoughtful ways people in their lives responded and Supportal provides recommendations that will make it easy for others to do the same. In addition to her work on Supportal, Marisa runs Beacon Advisors , a mission driven consulting firm that allows her to support a variety of institutions on organizational development, executive coaching and donor advising. Until 2017 Marisa served as the Managing Director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance), a nonprofit born out of President Obama's call to action to address the barriers to success that boys and young men of color disproportionately face along the life path. Through her work with MBK Alliance, Marisa led a collaborative, cross-sectoral movement that united business, philanthropy, nonprofit, and community leaders, to increase pathways of opportunity for young men of color. https://www.marisareneelee.com/about https://www.instagram.com/marisareneelee/
Wed, March 09, 2022
Ep. 51. Kim Murray: Widow 411
Kim Murray shares her story of her young husband, Mark's death from a brain tumor when she was just 44 and her kids were 8 and 10. Kim talks about the early days, how friends and spirituality helped, and the secondary hardships of loss. Kim created widow 411 to provide support to others experiencing loss. https://widow411.com/start-here/
Tue, March 01, 2022
Ep. 50. The Grieving Brain: Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, which investigates the effects of grief on the brain and the body. O’Connor earned a doctorate from the University of Arizona in 2004 and completed a fellowship at UCLA. Following a faculty appointment at UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, she returned to the University of Arizona in 2012. Her work has been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry , Biological Psychiatry , and Psychological Science , and featured in Newsweek , the New York Times , and The Washington Post . Having grown up in Montana, she now lives in Tucson, Arizona. For more information go to https://www.maryfrancesoconnor.com/ Loss of a loved one is something everyone experiences, and for as long as humans have existed, we have struggled when a loved one dies. Poets and playwrights have written about the dark cloak of grief, the deep yearning, and devastating heartache of loss. But until now, we have had little scientific perspective on this universal experience. In THE GRIEVING BRAIN: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss (HarperOne; February 1, 2022; Hardcover) renowned grief expert, neuroscientist, and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, Ph.D., shares groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding love, loss, and learning. In The Grieving Brain, O’Connor, who has devoted decades to researching the effects of grief on the brain, reveals a fascinating new window into one of the hallmark experiences of being human. She makes cutting-edge neuroscience accessible and guides us through how we encode love and grief. With love, our neurons help us form attachments to others; but, with loss, our brain must come to terms with where our loved ones went, and how to imagine a future that encompasses their absence. Significantly, O’Connor debunks Kubler-Ross’ enduring idea of the “Five Stages of Grief” and sets a new paradigm for understanding grief on a neurological level.
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