Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

Kicking off Season 6 of the show, actress and author Tembi Locke shares her experience of grief and the lessons she learned after the death of her husband. She discusses the importance of bringing awareness to grief and the opportunity it provides for connection and aliveness. She emphasizes the need to hold both the pain of loss and the joy of the person's life. Tembi also talks about the impact her husband had on her and the importance of sharing stories and memories of loved ones. In this conversation, Lisa Keefauver and Tembi Locke discuss the daily challenges of grief and the importance of finding agency and small moments of control amid loss. They also explore the vulnerability of being a young widow and the overwhelming weight of responsibility. Tembi shares her experience of navigating solo parenting and the importance of finding a partner who can understand and support her grief journey. They emphasize the need for rest, self-care, and finding moments of joy or ease in the midst of grief.SHOW RESOURCESFrom Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home: https://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Memoir-Love-Sicily-Finding/dp/150118766X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=From Scratch (the Netflix special): https://www.netflix.com/title/81104486 ABOUT THE SHOW & HOSTLisa Keefauver is a social worker, widow, and grief activist on a mission to reimagine the narratives of grief, one conversation at a time.Learn more at www.lisakeefauver.com.Follow @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram.Listen to Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast - Available on all podcast platforms.Read Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss. Available in bookstores, favorite online booksellers, including Bookshop.Org. Also available as an audiobook.Watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less hereSPECIAL EPISODE NEWSSubmit your question: If you have a grief question, you'd like Lisa to answer on the air, record your question here: https://www.speakpipe.com/GriefIsASneakyBitchLive. Make sure you're subscribed to the show so you get notified when these bonus episodes drop so you can hear your question, and her answer live on the air.This conversation was recorded in May 2024 prior to the release of host Lisa Keefauver's book and held to be the kickoff episode for Season 6 of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Fein has faced a lot of loss. Siblings, parents, and in 2022 her daughter Dalia. At the age of five Jessica'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 insuppressible zest for life, Jessica and her family would discover how to live in the present when the future can't be fixed. In our conversation today, and in her beautiful book, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes, Jessica 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. About the Guest & ResourcesIn addition to being a writer and a fierce advocate in the memory of her daughter, she's also host of the "I Don't Know How You Do It” podcast, which features people whose lives seem unimaginable from the outside. I'm grateful to share that I had the chance to be on the other side of the microphone and join her on her show recently too. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org and will be in bookstores JUNE 4th. Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop, find out if she is coming to a city near you for her book tour, or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded May 8, 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm inviting you to revisit a very special conversation I had from Season 4 of this podcast with my guest pediatric ICU nurse, Hui-Wen Sato.Why? Well something absolutely crazy and horrible happened to the both of us shortly after we recorded that episode in November 2022. Just over 2 months later, on January 20th 2023, we BOTH received a Breast Cancer Diagnosis. On the EXACT SAME DAY. You'll hear a compelling new intro about the friendship that formed and of course have a chance to listen or re-listen to the profound wisdom Hui-Wen shares in our conversation.What must it be like to be a pediatric ICU Nurse day in and day out, witnessing children and families in the most vulnerable and often grief-filled moments of their lives? Today's guest, Hui-Wen Sato weaves a beautiful narrative about the realities of professional grief and the important cultural shifts needed to better serve both families and the medical professionals that serve them. She also shares the personal resources she draws on to sustain her and the role of storytelling as healing for all involved. And, as the title implies, she also implores us to stop putting healthcare workers on a pedestal. Hui-wen is a pediatric ICU nurse based in Los Angeles. She holds an MPH and MSN from UCLA, and is currently obtaining her Certification in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She and her husband have two daughters, two tortoises and one complicated dog. EPISODE RESOURCES:Her 2017 TEDxTalk was promoted to the main TED webpage in 2020, titled “How Grief Helped Me Become a Better Caregiver.”You can also now view her powerful talk at End Well hereShe has been featured in podcasts with NPR TED Radio Hour and The Silent Why, as well as webinars for Happify and the Speaking Grief Initiative.You can follow her work at http://heartofnursing.blog. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop, find out if she is coming to a city near you for her book tour, or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Original episode recorded October 28, 2022. Recorded New Intro May 6, 2023 - 14 months after both guest and host were diagnosed with Breast Cancer on the exact same day - January 20, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today J.S. (Joon) Park is a hospital chaplain. Some of the other descriptions he uses for himself include: former atheist/agnostic, sixth degree black belt, suicide survivor, Korean-American, and follower of Christ. He is the author of a profoundly insightful, and at times poetic new book, As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve. It's part hospital chaplain experience and part memoir.In this episode, Joon shares a bit about his personal journey from growing up in a home with violence and a martial arts dojo to becoming a hospital chaplain, highlighting the similarities between the two roles in terms of being present and encouraging others to find their voice. We also discussed the importance of allowing individuals to talk about their hopes and dreams, even in the face of loss or adversity. Joon shared how he creates safe space where people can share their desires without feeling shame or judgment. One of the important themes Joon brings to light is the grief we often feel over future losses and the significance of giving oneself permission to grieve them.The conversation also touches on the idea relocating hope, of staying close to one's dreams and finding new ways to honor them, even if the original path is no longer possible. We also explored the importance of self-care and pacing oneself in the work of caregiving, recognizing the need for rest and support. One of the many important reminders I learned from both his book and our conversation is recognizing loss of autonomy and the value of finding the smallest choices and moments. Joon's vulnerability, wisdom, and heart shine through both in his book and in our conversation.About the Guest & Resources J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, published author, and online educator. For eight years he has been an interfaith chaplain at a 1000+ 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. J.S. 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. He is the author of As Long as You Need: Permission to Grieve. J.S. currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, a nurse practitioner, and his daughter, newborn son, and adopted dog. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop, find out if she is coming to a city near you for her book tour, or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. You can also WATCH this episode now on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded April 24, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known as Hospice Nurse Julie on TikTok and Instagram, today's guest, Julie McFadden, with 16 years of experience as an ICU and Hospice/Palliative nurse, is passionate about normalizing discussions around death through education. She has garnered a significant TikTok following, covering end-of-life topics that have earned her recognition in Newsweek, USA Today, The Atlantic, and several other global articles. Julie actively engages with her audience across various social platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, fostering a more open conversation about death. Just like her videos, and in her forthcoming book, Nothing to Fear, in our conversation today she is kind and direct, helping to make clear what's fact and what's myth when it comes to hospice care. About the Guest & ResourcesYou can learn more about Julie McFadden, her forthcoming book, Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully, and more by visiting hospicenursejulie.com or following her @hospicenursejulie on TikTok or Instagram. Over the past five seasons of this podcast, I've invited various guests on to talk about the role of both palliative care and hospice care with you. From Palliative Drs. BJ Miller and Sunita Puri, to Palliative Social Workers Rachel Rusch and Rachel Carnahan-Metzger and others, this topic is profoundly important. Why? Well because so many of us will find ourselves in a position where someone we love will likely qualify for hospice someday. Perhaps we will too.About the HostHost Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration. You can also meet her in person at one of the stops on her book tour which begins June 4th and includes cities like L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, and more.Visit www.lisakeefauver.com and sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, to learn about her book tour, individual grief support openings, upcoming online and in-person grief workshops or to watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded April 5, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Ronit plank is a successful writer of fiction and non-fiction, an editor, a podcast host of not 1 but 2 shows, and a teacher. But long before she became all those things, she was a young girl born on a Kibbutz in Israel, shuffled across the globe to Seattle by 2 unhappily married parents. Soon after, her father left to start a new family on the east coast. And then the following year, her mother dropped her and her younger sister on his doorstep - announcing she was headed to India. Her mother was sad and lost and was given cassette tapes by a guru called Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh – the man we now know as the leader of the cult featured in the Netflix Documentary Series Wild Wild Country. But back then Ronit didn't know any of that, she just knew that she and her sister were abandoned repeatedly, leaving her with a deep well of grief that no one was naming as loss. In her extraordinary memoir, When She Comes Back, she explores the revelations, and she discovered writing her memoir. Insights about the nature of loss when the person is very much alive. In our conversation today, we're both deeply moved and reflective about the adultification that happens when we grow up in disorganized and chaotic households, and the importance of honoring with care the versions of us that never got what we deserved, a safe and loving home. I can't wait for you to spend time with Ronit today. I know for sure you will be both touched and inspired by her story. About the Guest & Resources Ronit Plank is an award-winning writer, teacher, and podcaster who hosts Let's Talk Memoir featuring interviews with memoir writers and teachers. Her writing has earned Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, and Best of the Net nominations and has appeared or is forthcoming in The Atlantic, Writer's Digest, The Washington Post, Hippocampus, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets and Writers, andelsewhere. WHEN SHE COMES BACK, her memoir about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation, was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards,the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and lives in Seattle with her family where she editsmemoir manuscripts and teaches workshops. You can learn more at RonitPlank.com, follow her on Instagram, and subscribe to her Memoir Moments newsletter here. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded April 5, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're all just briefly perfectly human. That's the profound reminder from our guest today, Alua Arthur. If we are brave enough to allow this truth be at the center of awareness in our day-to-day lives, Alua argues we could live a fuller, more compassionate, and even magic-filled existence. In our conversation today, and in her adventure-filled and beautifully honest memoir, Briefly Perfectly Human, she helps us see how we can make an authentic life by getting real about the end. Alua Arthur is a death doula, recovering attorney, and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization that exists to support people as they answer the question, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully?” Going with Grace works to improve and redefine the end-of-life experience for people rooted in every community using the individual lived experience as the foundation. Alua's warmth, wisdom, wit, and passion for living - even while keeping the end in mind - is an inspiration to me and I know you will feel the same way after today's episode. About the Guest & ResourcesAuthor of BRIEFLY PERFECTLY HUMAN: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End, Alua Arthur is the most visible and active death doula working in America today. She is a recovering attorney and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. Her TED Talk titled, “Why Thinking About Death Helps You Live a Better Life,” went online in July 2023 and has already received nearly 1.4 million views. A frequent guest on TV and radio, Arthur has been featured on CBS's The Doctors and in Disney's Limitless docu-series with Chris Hemsworth, as well as other national media outlets, such as Vogue, InStyle, the Los Angeles Times, The Cut, The New Yorker, New York Times, Marie Claire, and CNN. She has appeared on dozens of podcasts, and a Refinery29 video feature on Arthur and her work received ten million views across social platforms. In non-pandemic times, she travels the country and world as a keynote speaker, addressing audiences of several hundred to several thousand people at medical and end-of-life conferences, universities, seminaries, senior citizens' communities, and more. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration. Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded March 22nd, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 years ago, while today's guest, Nikki Mark, was driving her 12-year-old son, Tommy, to a soccer game, he turned to her and asked, “Mom, is it possible to go to sleep and not wake up?” Nikki told him that's how one of his grandmothers passed away: “it's the best way to go-no pain, no drama.” He surprised Nikki further by stating, “It must be hard for a parent to lose a child.” Something told her in that car ride to tell him all the things she loved about him. Three days later, Tommy passed away in his sleep. There's still no medical explanation. Since that day, Nikki says she surrendered and that act has taken her on a healing path unlike many others – one that has included psychics, mediums, psychadelics, astrologists, and more. Even more profoundly, she has brought her strength and sheer determination to fulfill the dreams of not just Tommy, but so many families, by fundraising and then donating public fields to create Tommy's Field – an open-to-the-public athletic fields that keep Tommy's love of soccer and community alive and well. About the Guest & ResourcesNikki's “inspirational debut memoir” (as lauded by Publisher's Weekly) is entitled Tommy's Field: Love, Loss and the Goal of a Lifetime. Prior to losing Tommy, Nikki released a children's book series - The MightyMom Series- which includes Mommy Brings Home the Bacon; Mommy's Got a Bun in the Oven; and MightyMom. All author's profits from all book sales are being donated to the TM23 Foundation to build more athletic fields where they are most needed, and to brighten our world with the #powerofplay. Access Nikki's free weekly articles, popular alternative healing toolkit, and other valuable resources at Nikkimark.com. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded March 16th, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm thrilled to share my conversation with Peter A. Levine, the renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing - a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, which he has developed over the past 50 years. He holds a Medical and Biological Physics doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. He is the recipient of four lifetime achievement awards and is the author of several books, including Waking the Tiger, which has now been printed in 33 countries and has sold over a million copies. His memoir, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey will be published on April 9th,2024. ResourcesDr. Levine is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages); In an Unspoken Voice,How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness; and Trauma and Memory,Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past. Check out Peter Levine's incredible resources on trauma and somatic experiencing (including videos, online courses, and his best-selling books) by visiting https://www.somaticexperiencing.com Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded March 8th, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I bring you my conversation with the wise and warm grief therapist and author, Claire Bidwell Smith.There are some common themes most grievers experience, regardless of the source of their loss. These include things like a loss of self-identity, heightened feelings of guilt, time spent ruminating on the what ifs, and increased anxiety and fear. What makes these typical experiences even more challenging is that they are so rarely named by others, or shown in media, and so we often feel even further isolated from the world and uncertain how to get ourselves unstuck. That's why I'm so grateful for Claire's words and wisdom. In her recent book Conscious Grieving, and in our conversation, Claire opens up about her personal experiences with these themes in the wake of the death of both of her parents in her 20's. Over the course of her career as a grief therapist both in private practice and hospice, she has gained such deep insight on how we move through various phases in grief, or orientations as she calls them. She helps us unpack what we might face in each and the roadblocks that can get in our way. From the insights she shares to her soft and warm voice, you are going to feel guided with care through today's conversation. ResourcesCheck out Claire's body of work, including Conscious Grieving (her 5th book), hitting bookstores March 12th. If you're listening before then, you don't have to wait, you can pre-order it today on your favorite online bookseller. Also, Claire offers a wide array of workshops, retreats, and more, so head over to clairebidwellsmith.com to learn more. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded December 1, 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My conversation with guest Devin Moss was so rich and expansive, from our shared passion for the big existential questions to his rich and complex podcast series, Momento Mori (that dives deep into mortality), to his unexpected journey to becoming a Humanist Chaplain. He shares one of the most unique experiences of a bedside death I've ever heard. Soon after becoming certified Devin said yes to a request from an inmate on death row to have a non-theist chaplain accompany him in his final months on earth. Devin Sean Moss is a Humanist (nontheist) Chaplain unwavering in his pursuit to relate stories that connect us to our humanity. A natural explorer, he uses playful inquisition to examine the complexity of the human condition and the intrinsic meaning of life. Moss maintains an interdisciplinary practice of storytelling, street philosophy, and practical altruism. In 2015, Moss created The Adventures of Memento Mori podcast.. The consequence of this deep meditation on impermanence was life-changing. Uncertain of what happens after we die, Moss has dedicated his life to the positive changes that can happen while we're still alive. ResourcesYou can learn more about Devin's podcast, Momento Mori, and his work by visiting dsmoss.com or following him on Instagram at ds_moss Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded January 26,2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Darnell Lamont Walker joined me for an expansive conversation in this episode - from the questions you might want to ask yourself and others in life instead of waiting until death's door, to the complex and layered experiences of grief and loss in the Black community, to the power of creativity and play as a tool of healing. Darnell is an Emmy-Nominated children's television writer who understands the power of representation and joy, creating content in hopes that all children get the opportunity to not only see themselves, but see how incredible they are and can be. Darnell has written for outstanding shows, including PBS Kids' Work It Out Wombats!, Netflix's Karma's World, and Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues & You. He's a death doula, helping individuals and communities move through grief and toward healing and happiness. Darnell's goal with his is to continue to support children, adults, and whole communities around the world through the building of safe and happy spaces. ResourcesYou can learn more about the work Darnell offers from his courses at the Esalen Insitute, to writing projects, his work as a Death Doula and so much more by visiting www.darnellwalker.com or following him on Instagram at hello.darnell Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded January 26,2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As my guest, Asa Merritt knows, it's important that we see, hear, experience a wider expanse of grief stories that show the messy, beautiful, dynamic experience of a wide variety of losses. That's why I'm thrilled to share my recent conversation with him. In his most recent project, Six Sermons, a new Audible Original series starring Stephanie Hsu from Everything Everywhere All At Once, Asa spent a month embedded with a team of pastors at a Lutheran church in Cincinnati, OH. Six Sermons is dedicated to the actor and musician Caz Liske, who died by suicide in Moscow in 2017. He weaves his own personal process of grappling with anger, frustration, sorrow, and confusion he experienced after the death of his friend into a powerful narrative that models for all of us the messy, vulnerable, and important conversations we need to have to move forward in our grief, particularly in the wake of a loss by suicide. Asa is 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. Resources You can download Six Sermon's, an audible original by visiting www.audible.com. If you'd like to learn more about the principles and practices of exploring your story in a healing way, I encourage you to check out my conversation with Dr. Annie Brewster entitled The Healing Power of Storytelling in Season 3 – 2022. I also HIGHLY recommend her book of the same title. You can find a link to her book and all those featured on this podcast at my Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast at lisakeefauver.com Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded January 19, 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this interactive bonus episode, host Lisa Keefauver invites listeners to reflect on the importance of honoring or creating ritual for the anniversaries of the day their lives changed - even when they're “not all better yet.” This episode emerged after the overwhelming feedback she received from an essay she recently shared called “Honoring the ‘Not All Better Yet' Anniversaries” about the one-year anniversary of her Breast Cancer Diagnosis. In this episode, listeners are:Guided through a compassion meditation,Invited to hold space for Lisa's story of honoring the anniversary of her Breast Cancer diagnosis,Given a series of questions that will help them create their own ritual for honoring their "not all better yet" anniversaries,Read a short excerpt on the topic of starting close in from her forthcoming book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss. “But what struck me last month is the lack of acknowledgment or ritual for those before/after days where we're not in the “after” yet. How do we honor the time that's passed since our lives shifted when we're still in the middle of that change? When there is still a force in motion, and we haven't arrived at the other side. For me, that day was last month on the one-year anniversary of the day I got my Breast Cancer diagnosis. One year later and I'm not all better yet, I'm not on the other side.” - Lisa Keefauver Resources: You can find all the books featured on the show by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did, and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Recorded February 6, 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest, J.J. Duncan, knows firsthand both professionally and personally how powerful storytelling is and the openings they create. She is an award-winning television producer, writer, advocate, and co-founder of the nonprofit, “Not Today Cancer,” which raises funds for childhood cancer research. J.J. is widely known in the entertainment industry as an Executive Producer and Showrunner of such hits as Project Runway, and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, among others. After losing her eleven-year-old son Mason to leukemia, J.J. also became known as a childhood cancer advocate, using her influence as a top television producer to open up the very real human discussions of grief, mental health, and end-of-life care through storytelling. J.J. was a speaker at the EndWell conference in November of 2023, where she spoke about healing through personal storytelling. On multiple visits to Capitol Hill, J.J. has told her story to Congress in order to advocate for childhood cancer laws, and she has multiple projects in the works to continue the conversation for anyone looking to explore their own stories of loss. With all her focus on loss, it may be surprising to learn that J.J. risks delight at every turn, always looking for the funny and striving to take the story to an unexpected place of joy. You can learn about J.J. Duncan by checking out her Endwell interview here. Resources and Support:In honor of our conversation about childhood cancer, I want to share links to 2 non-profits who are working to find the cure for childhood cancer while also supporting children and families enduring it now. Learn more and consider supporting, Not Today Cancer at www.nottodaycancer.careLearn more about and support the Phoenix Stone Foundation at https://phoenixstonefoundation.org You can find all the books featured on the show by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded January 5, 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest, Gina Moffa, author of Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss, is a licensed grief and trauma psychotherapist and mental health educator in New York City. In practice for two decades, Gina helps people seeking treatment for trauma, grief, as well as challenging life experiences and transitions.Whether we're grieving a death loss, the end of a friendship, a breakup or an ambiguous loss, 100% of us experience grief. Yet so many of us feel stuck because the old ways of thinking of grief don't align with what we know we need deep down – to find a way to move forward, not on – and do be able to keep our person with us when we do.Gina invites us to take an honest look at how grief affects our lives and offers a heartfelt and practical map through the dark terrain of loss. She is full of warmth and wisdom, and you are going to love the topics we explore in this episode.ResourcesVisit www.ginamoffa.com to learn more about Gina, her work as a psychotherapist and of course this wonderful book, Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting GoYou can find all the books featured on the show, including Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go by Gina Moffa by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded November 3, 2023 – Host Lisa Keefauver had just completed Radiation for Breast Cancer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest, Stephanie Sarazin, is a writer, researcher, and ambiguous grief guide. In this episode, as in her award-winning book Soulbroken: A Guidebook for Your Journey Through Ambiguous Grief, she shares how her work began. After experiencing her own mid-life trauma, she embarked on an ambitious journey - spiritually and around the world—to understand, name, and heal the grief she found within her. Her efforts revealed a first-of-its-kind definition for “ambiguous grief,” whereby grief is onset by the loss of a loved one who is still living and wherein the experience of hope presents as a stage of the grieving process. Stephanie's work brings new resources to reframe disruptive, activating events as a gateway to discovering your highest self, in turn championing ambiguous grief as nuanced, natural, and navigable.Visit www.stephaniesarazin.com to learn more about Steph, her research, her work as an ambiguous grief guide and her book, Soulbroken.You can find all the books featured on the show, including Soulbroken by Stephanie Sarazin by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded October 27, 2023 – Host Lisa Keefauver had just completed Radiation for Breast Cancer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her extraordinarily honest and beautiful memoir, End of the Hour, and in our conversation in this episode, Meghan Riordan Jarvis lays bare her experience of PTSD following the deaths of both of her parents within two years of each other. Meghan's story and perspective is unique as she has spent the past 20+ years as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma, grief, and loss. She opens about her unraveling and the necessary courage it took to check herself into the same inpatient trauma center she had sent clients to over her career. You are going to love Meghan's honesty, humor and insight.Visit www.meghanriordanjarvis to learn more about Meghan, her podcast, TEDx talk, book, End of the Hour, the consulting work she does with companies and more.You can find all the books featured on the show, including End of the Hour by Meghan Riordan Jarvis by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss is now available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded November 3, 2023 – Host Lisa Keefauver had just completed Radiation for Breast Cancer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn met during the saddest time in both their lives, after the sudden deaths of both of their mothers. That's when they had the lightbulb moment to start the Good Mourning podcast, and the rest is history. From their first recording on Sal's sofa to 100 episodes, a top podcast and a global community that reaches over 100 thousand people each month, it's been an incredible journey. They've helped each other to higher, happier ground, becoming soul sisters, pod-wives and co-authors in the process. Hosts of the successful podcast Good Mourning and their popular book of the same name, these two Aussie women bring their accents, charm, and the wisdom they've learned along their grief journey to our conversation. You're going to love these two! You can find all the books featured on the show, including Good Mourning by Sal and Im by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.orgVisit goodmourning.com.au to learn more about Sal and Im, their podcast, book, and how to get involved in their support community. Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermswRecorded September 3, 2023 – Host Lisa Keefauver had just completed chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As artist-in-residence at the Zen Hospice Project Guest House in San Francisco, Wendy MacNaughton witnessed firsthand how difficult it is to know what to do when we're sharing final moments with a loved one. In this tenderly illustrated guide to saying goodbye, MacNaughton shows how to make sure those moments are meaningful. Using a framework of “the five things” taught to her by a professional caregiver, How to Say Goodbye provides a model for having conversations of love, respect, and closure: with the words “I forgive you,” “Please forgive me,” “Thank you,” “I love you,” and “Goodbye,” each oriented toward finding mutual peace and understanding when it matters most. In her book, and in our conversation in this episode, Wendy offers us a beautiful, poetic, masterful meditation on the art of presence as love.If you liked this episode, you might also like my conversation with our mutual connection palliative Dr. BJ Miller. His episode, Unnecessary Suffering, aired in Season 3. You can find all the books featured on the show, including How to Say Goodbye by Wendy MacNaughton by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.orgVisit www.wendymacnaughton.com to learn more about Wendy, and if you want weekly drawing lessons and assignments from Wendy delivered directly to your inbox, you can join the Grown-Ups Table.Watch her TEDx Talk The Art of Paying Attention here: https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_macnaughton_the_art_of_paying_attention?language=en Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYtwSU-qaWc Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded September 16, 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About Episode & Guest I think we can all agree that children and grief are two words we wish would never have to go together. Yet we do live in that world and the challenge we face is that we live in a culture that is grief avoidant which makes it difficult for us to know how to offer meaningful and age-appropriate support. The good news is that today's guest, Brennan Wood, Executive Director of the Dougy Center is here to help. The center's mission is to provide grief support in a safe place where children, teens, young adults, and their families can share their experiences before and after a death. Brennan's connection to the place goes back decades. You see long before she became the Executive Director, she attended the Dougy Center as a client. Brennan walked through the doors for the first time in 1987 when her mother, Doris, died three days after Brennan turned 12 years old. In this episode, Brennan leans on her own wisdom and the lessons she's learned from the clinical staff of her organization in today's conversation. She is a warm, caring, wise spirit and you are going to love her. Get ready! She is full of wisdom, stories, humor, energy and so much more. You are going to love her. Resources and Books You can learn more about Brennan and the Dougy Center by visiting www.dougy.org. They have tons of helpful tip sheets, podcasts, and have age-specific toolkits to help you show up for a grieving child in your life. Host Lisa Keefauver's book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER. You can find it on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org or by visiting www.lisakeefauver.com Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less.You can find all the books featured on the show by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded September 8, 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About this episode Why are we talking about stress and burnout on a podcast about grief? Well, as you've likely experienced, grief is essentially a chronic stressor. This is particularly true in a culture that is grief avoidant, and where toxic positivity is rampant. Where we no longer live in tribes or communities that can help us discharge it. In essence, we're left to our own devices to figure out how to be with our grief. The good news is that today's guest, Emily Nagoski, co-author of the phenomenal book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle will help us unpack the myths of stress and help us understand the strategies we need to discharge the stress we experience in grief and in life. Get ready! She is full of wisdom, stories, humor, energy and so much more. You are going to learn so much from her. About the guest Emily Nagoski is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling Come As You Are and The Come As You Are Workbook, and coauthor, with her sister, Amelia, of New York Times bestseller Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Her next book, Come Together: The Science (and Art!) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections will be out in January 2024.Emily earned an M.S. in counseling and a Ph.D. in health behavior, both from Indiana University, with clinical and research training at the Kinsey Institute. Now she combines sex education and stress education to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies. She lives in Massachusetts with two dogs, a cat, and a cartoonist.Books and resources You can find all the books featured on the show by visiting the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Wishlist on Bookshop.org You can learn more about all of Emily's work and pick up a copy of her incredible book, Burnout, and the corresponding workbook by visiting www.emilynagoski.com. Stay tuned for her forthcoming book, Come Together, which drops January 2024. You can learn more about Lisa's work and pre-order a copy of her forthcoming book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss by visiting www.lisakeefauver.com. While you're there, you can sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded August 25, 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this final episode of the season, host Lisa Keefauver takes listeners behind-the-scenes. But instead of recapping the incredible conversations she had with 17 guests this season - from Sunita Puri to Colin Campbell to Cyndie Spiegel and so many more, she's offering you a behind-the-scenes peek into her life off the air. Lisa opens up about this season of her life - living with Breast Cancer. Lisa gets deeply personal in the hopes that we can learn, grow, and navigate grief, together. In response to the aloneness and disconnection grievers often feel, Lisa guides listeners through a guided mediation on love for grievers, one she developed years ago in response to her own need for connection. In true end of season style, she also offers listeners a sneak preview of some of the incredible line-up of guests joining her in Season 5 of the podcast (launching in November 2023).Episode Resources Watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less to learn more about grief. Watch the Media Maker Profile of Lisa recently released by Medicinal Media to understand how and why she became a grief activist and the host of this podcast, Join her intimate workshop space, Reimagining Grief, Together – A Learning Circle Series, by visiting her website at www.lisakeefauver.com/workshopsandevents Jump Straight Into 13:45 In the wake of her cancer diagnosis, Lisa shares what she learned after months of saying “yes” to offers of support. 22: 02 Lisa guides listeners in a meditation on love for grievers she created year ago in a time when her own grief made the notion of love feel out of reach. Stay ConnectedFollow her on socials @lisakeefauvermswOh and if you love the show, don't forget to leave a 5-star rating and write a review hereLisa's book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss published by UT Press, will be available for pre-order soon and in bookstores June 4, 2024. Sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter here to get notified when you can order your copy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some words become excruciating in the wake of loss. For my guest today, Katie Joy Duke, that word is expecting. After a whirlwind romance and engagement, Katie and her fiancé were over the moon with the discovery that they were expecting their first child together. A beautiful wedding ceremony and a fairy tale pregnancy, as Katie describes it, left them both shocked when after going into labor, they were told that their daughter Poppy, whose beautiful home had been Katie's womb for the past 9 months, was dead. Katie's relationship to her daughter, herself, to life, to the very notion of expectations is forever changed. In this episode, and in her beautiful memoir, Still Breathing, Katie brings vulnerability, wisdom, heart, and insight to the much-needed conversation around grieving stillbirth, something that affects 1 in 175 pregnancies in the U.S. EPISODE RESOURCES:Katie Joy Duke is an attorney turned life coach who published her debut memoir, Still Breathing: My Journey with Love, Loss, and Reinvention in May 2022. Still Breathing is a heart-breaking love story that captures Katie's experience birthing Poppy, her first daughter, who was stillborn at full-term in 2015. You can learn more about Katie and the work she is doing as a speaker and life coach at www.katiejoyduke.comPick up your copy of Still Breathing here along with many of the books featured on this podcast.STRAIGHT INTO:(33:00) Katie shares how and why she had developed a forever changed relationship with the words expecting and expectations. This shift comes not only because of the stillbirth of her daughter poppy, but more recently her diagnosis and treatment for stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. (47:00) Katie shares her hard-worn wisdom about the grief support she had (and wanted) in the wake of the stillbirth of her daughter, Poppy. STAY CONNECTED1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bethany Harvey, author of the beautiful memoir Dipped In It, shares the experiences and lessons she's learned from several losses. Some we've explored in past episodes, such as the loss of a parent and other losses we haven't touched on much over the seasons, the grief that results from divorce. At the end of Bethany's marriage, her now ex-spouse came out as gay and trans-gender. And while Bethany shares that she initially grieved the loss of the “he” she was married too, she quickly realized that this person who now uses the “she” pronoun was the same exact person that made her laugh like crazy in her marriage and drove her nuts too. Bethany brings humor, metaphor, and deep wisdom to our conversation about things like secondary losses, grieve waves, grief expression and so much more. EPISODE RESOURCES:Bethany Harvey is an award winning author whose debut memoir shot to the bestseller list at Barnes & Noble on the day of its release in 2021. “Dipped In It, a Memoir” is a deep dive into grief as Bethany explores her emotional well after the death of her father and the dissolution of her marriage. With heart and humor Bethany explores the question, “Can grief and gratitude co-exist?” Sharing so openly about her life, loves and losses has further deepened Bethany's understanding that grief—in all its forms—changes us in ways we never imagined. New paths appear and we may need help illuminating the way forward. To that end, Bethany has recently completed training as a personal coach with renown coach, author and speaker, Martha Beck. Bethany is currently accepting coaching clients on her website www.dippedinit.com.Pick up a copy of Dipped In It at your favorite local bookstore or online here or wherever books are sold.JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(30:00) Bethany explains how differently she and her now ex-spouse communicated and processed the divorce, a decision they came to in a therapy session at the end of their marriage. Bethany explains that though their verbal communication styles are very different, they shared some tender moments of grief expression in the month following the decision that didn't rely on words. (44:00) Bethany shares how the overwhelmingly personal and thoughtful response from readers to her memoir got her thinking about how she wants to show up in the world, both for herself and for others. STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, my guest Aly Bird shares the journey she's been on since the untimely death of her young husband, the secondary and ambiguous losses she continues to uncover, and the inspiration to help create a culture of positive grief support which resulted in her beautiful book, Grief Ally. I can't wait for you to meet her! EPISODE RESOURCESSince her husband's untimely death, my guest Aly Bird has poured her heart into helping those who feel helpless during an unexpected crisis. Her extensive study of grief psychology and culture, combined with her own devastating first-hand knowledge, led her to create a roadmap for those committed to supporting the bereaved. A registered psychotherapist (qualifying), coach, and speaker, Aly offers a clear path to those who have the courage to take on the vital role of being a grief ally. Pick up a copy of Everything Left to Remember at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO(25:00) Aly shares how fortunate she was to receive tremendous support from her community. She was surprised to discover this wasn't the case for most people and dismayed there wasn't much out there on how to be a strong grief supporter, which is how her book Grief Ally was born. (45:00) Aly and I explore this place we get to in our grief where we move from surviving to asking ourselves what does thriving look like. We also explore some of the key components of what it means to be a good grief ally, including not putting early pressure on the griever to be strong and in thriving mode. STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph Jagger explores one of the most common ways we experience ambiguous loss - when someone we love is in the grips of Alzheimer's Disease. In our conversation, just like in her exquisitely written memoir, Everything Left to Remember, Steph reveals what she learned when she took her mom, who was diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's, on an adventure into big nature under the big Montana sky. While what she learned on this trip wasn't what she expected, she gained more than she bargained for including insights on childhood, motherhood, personhood, the lessons of Mother Nature, and what it means to love someone who doesn't quite remember the person she spent her lifetime becoming. EPISODE RESOURCESSteph Jagger is a sought-after mentor and coach whose offerings guide people toward a deeper understanding of themselves and their stories. Her work, including speaking and facilitating, lies at the intersection of loss, the nature of deep remembrance, and the personal journey of re-creation. Steph grew up in Vancouver, Canada and now lives and works on Bainbridge Island, WA. Everything Left to Remember is Steph's second book. Her first, Unbound, was published in 2017. Pick up a copy of Everything Left to Remember at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO(30:00) Steph explores what she had hoped to discover on this trip through big nature with her mother versus the gifts she received along the way. (47:00) As we wrapped up our conversation, Steph and I explored what it means to practice being with our emotions in grief and the suffering we experience when we resist or hang on too tightly. STAY CONNECTED1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest Laurel Braitman is an absolute damn delight! In today's episode we're exploring her beautiful brand-new memoir What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey through loss to love. I appreciate so much the humor, wisdom, and insight she brought to our conversation about the expansiveness of grief in her life, from the death of her father as a teenager, to lost loves, pets, a home in the wildfires of Northern California, and more recently the death of her mother. Her adventurous spirit, which has taken her all over the globe, shows up in our conversation and her approach to living fully in the wake of loss. EPISODE RESOURCES:Laurel is a writer, teacher and secular, clinical chaplain-in-training. She wrote a NYT bestselling book Animal Madness: Inside Their Minds. She also has an amazingly cool job, one I would love to have – as the director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine's Medical Humanities and the Arts Program where she helps clinical students, staff and physicians communicate more clearly and vulnerably for their own benefit and that of their patients. Pick up a copy of What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Love and Loss at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(30:00) Laurel and I dive deep into how hyper-vigilance can show up for those of us who've experienced profound loss, in ways that don't always make sense to others, or to ourselves for that matter. (59:00) As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Laurel to explore what she learned from the opportunity to be with her mom at the end of her life and how her parents love of storytelling was a gift to her and one she got to return to the them at the end of their lives. STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, my guest Daniel Wallace and I will explore his memoir, This Isn't Going To End Well: The True Story Of A Man I Thought I Knew, a heart-wrenching and deeply vulnerable portrait of the life and loss of his seemingly perfect and impossibly cool hero. Our conversation explores his brother in laws rise in stature in Daniel's imagination, the decades long friendship they forged, the movie-like adventures and mis-adventures William embarked on, the incredible care William offered Daniel's sister as she battled a debilitating illness, and the shocking discovery of a version of William neither of them ever knew when they found his journals in the wake of his death by suicide. EPISODE RESOURCES:Daniel Wallace is author of six novels, including Big Fish (1998), and Extraordinary Adventures (May 2017). In 2003 Big Fish was adapted and released as a movie, directed by Tim Burton, and then in 2013 became a Broadway musical. His novels have been translated into over three-dozen languages. Daniel Wallace is the J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater. Pick up a copy of This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of the Man I Thought I Knew at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(23:00) Daniel helps us see what we often miss in our grief-avoidant culture, that friendship loss can be just as devastating a blow to our sense of the world and our place in it as any other kind of loss. His relationship with his brother-in-law William was more profound than he had realized until he set out to write this book. (42:00) Daniel explores what his sister Holly did, and mostly didn't know, about William's struggles. He also explores how discovering William's journals, and gaining insight into a version of him neither of them had known added a unique layer to their grief. NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver. Sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From her pregnancy losses to accompanying her parents and aunt through Alzheimer's to her work in human rights advocacy and the hundreds of people she's sat with at the end of their lives as a hospice volunteer, my guest Barbara Becker, shares what she's learned about the art of living with the end in mind. She is the author of the extraordinary book Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind which won the Nautilus Gold Book Award and was featured by Katie Couric Media in her "Books That Will Change Your Life."Both in her book, and in this episode, she offers us the wisdom she has gained as someone who has dedicated more than twenty-five years to partnering with human-rights advocates around the world in pursuit of peace and interreligious understanding. She has worked with the United Nations, Human Rights First, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, and has participated in a delegation of Zen Peacemakers and Lakota elders in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She is an ordained interfaith minister who bridges the sacred and the secular and has sat with hundreds of people at the end of their lives. EPISODE RESOURCES:Pick up a copy of Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(20:00) Barbara shares what she's learned about living with the end in mind from her colleagues in her work with global activism. I asked her to expand on a a particular story she shared in her book, about the lessons she learned from Console, a woman who survived the Rwandan Genocide. (42:00) When we come back, Barbara shares what's she's learned in her work as a hospice volunteer about what it means to show up alongside someone in their suffering, and how that conflicts with our notion that it's our job to fix, when it's not. STAY CONNECTED: SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest, Colin Campbell is a writer and director for theater and film. He's also written a truly powerful and personal exploration of grief, in his book, Finding The Words. In our conversation today, Colin shares his experience of losing both his children, Ruby and Hart when a drunk driver hit their car and changed a pleasant family outing into the worst day imaginable. He addresses the fear, pain, denial, guilt, rage, despair, and isolation that accompanies grief. You will also hear us explore the profound power of rituals and the impact of our words as we move forward with grief.I absolutely devoured his book and delighted in our conversation. He offers so much wisdom about how we keep living when the worst happens to us. I truly can't wait for you to meet him.EPISODE RESOURCES:Pick up a copy of Finding the Words at your favorite local bookstore or online hereAt the time of our conversation, he was speaking to me from New York as he was wrapping up performances of his creative response to loss called Grief: A One-Man Shitshow JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(20:00) Colin explains that even though he considers himself an Atheist, he's found so much help and healing in rituals. He has leaned on Jewish traditions, but her reminds us all that rituals don't have to be related to organized religion to be beneficial in our grieving. (43:00) Colin explains how and why he found the word Solace versus Healing, resonates more deeply for him as he moves forward with his grief. Like me, he focuses on the impact of our word choices and explains why healing doesn't fit the mark for his experience of grief, nor his goals for his future. NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm thrilled to bring you my conversation with Rabbi Steve Leder. Steve is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. He is the author of five books and in our conversation today, we explore his latest: For You When I Am Gone: Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story. We explored so much from the wisdom we gain in the wake of loss, to the most important gifts we can give others – both in our lives and in our deaths. Spoiler alert, it's not our money, our record collections, or anything tangible – it's our stories. He's learned so much from his personal losses and from the decades he's spent in his role as a Rabbi about what it is our loved ones will want from us when we're gone. It's such a generative and thought-provoking conversation, I can't wait for you to listen! EPISODE RESOURCES:Pick up a copy of For You When I'm Gone at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(24;24) Rabbi Steve Leder explains why our current system of the last words we leave our loved ones are the legal verbiage of a will is so profoundly problematic. That's why he suggests creating an ethical will instead.(46:00) Rabbi Steve Leder shares a beautiful phrase from the Talmud that is a reminder that we need one another. We can't endure pain without community, without the caring support of others. Loss reminds us that we don't need to navigate grief alone. STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media Executive Michelle Hord, was no stranger to trauma. Having started her professional career as an award-winning producer on America's Most Wanted, she expertly guided families through every facet of unthinkable crisis. Later, she covered heartbreaking stories while working at The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America. She sat with survivors of the unimaginable. When the unimaginable struck at home, when her daughter was murdered, her world changed forever.In our conversation, just like in her beautiful book, The Other Side of Yet, Michelle has culled lessons learned from mental health experts, therapists, spiritual leaders, and survivors. Michelle offers a beautiful and emotional story about how to keep moving with bravery and defiant faith through life's most challenging moments. Her hope and defiant faith are infectious. I can't wait for you to meet her.A note for listeners, while Michelle doesn't go into detail, she does recount the day her child was murdered. EPISODE RESOURCES:Pick up a copy of her beautiful book, The Other Side of Yet, at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(29:51) Michelle shares acts of meaningful grief support she experienced, including by others impacted by this same traumatic event.(36:50) Michelle reflects on the importance of distinguishing what we do and don't have control over in the wake of loss. She explores the importance of agency and choice in grieving as critical to healing.(52:30) Michelle explains how she has grown to appreciate the importance of hope and defiant faith. NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop STAY CONNECTED SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What I quickly discovered in my conversation with my guest, Cyndie Spiegel today is that we are kindred spirits. We went deep and wide. We cussed. We laughed. We reflected on the both/and of life and loss and how microjoys are the gift we need in these times. Don't worry, this isn't toxic positivity, It's the opposite. Microjoys invites us to make space for all the feels, including the accessible moments of joy that might be hiding in plain sight. I can't wait for you to meet her. EPISODE RESOURCES:Cyndie Spiegel is a bestselling author, and the founder of Dear Grown Ass Women -- a hyper-inclusive social community for women 35+. Cyndie's new book MICROJOYS: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life is Not Okay was born in 2020, an awful year for most that was especially awful for Cyndie. She lost her mother to cancer. Her nephew was murdered. Her sibling spent months in the hospital with a stroke and heart failure. And then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Loss and grief came at her in crashing waves, and she found it nearly impossible to surface for happiness, except in small moments that she began to call "microjoys" -- little bits of beauty or pleasure or unexpected light amidst the darkness. Pick up a copy of Microjoys at your favorite local bookstore or online here JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(11:45) – Cyndie explores why the power of positive thinking wasn't enough after her own year of hell.(28:00) – Cyndie and I explore that while being present with your grief is important, we all need respite from the deep emotions of grief. That's where microjoys come in.(49:11) - Host Lisa Keefauver reads an excerpt from Cyndie's book, Microjoys about holding the paradox of darkness and light, and the need for us to stay awake for all of it. NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop STAY CONNECTED1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest in this episode is Fatema Jivanjee-Shakir. We met in 2022 when we were serving together on a Mental Health Panel for a large corporate event. The minute I heard her talk about the experiences of body grief, I knew instantly that I had a lot to learn from her and that my listeners did too. That's why I'm thrilled to be sharing our conversation with you in this episode. She helps us understand the impact of culture on our sense of self and our body-image. We explore some of the many causes of body grief as well as some common maladaptive ways we cope with it. Fatema Jivanjee-Shakir, LMSW is an eating disorder & body image therapist, writer, and speaker. Her work is strongly informed by the Health at Every Size perspective and intersectional approaches to healing. Fatema has a special interest in working with BIPOC clients. Fatema is a therapist at Conason Psychological Services and a Board Member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals New York chapter. EPISODE RESOURCESConnect with Fatema on Instagram at @YourSouthAsianTherapist or find her on her website: fjshakir.com. Reach out to her for individual and couple's therapy at www.conasonpsychologicalservices.com. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO(19:11) – Fatema explores how cultural biases, including ageism, impacts our self-image and can impact our sense of our body, and the grief we experience over normal changes.(29:15) – Sunita explores the secondary losses that can arise when we experience body grief as a result of all sorts of losses.(45:00) - Fatema explains how the Body Mass Index (BMI) was invented and why it's use is harmful, problematic, and can have real world negative consequences to our mental, emotional and physical health. NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop STAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunita Puri is a Palliative Medicine physician and author of the incredible book That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, a critically-acclaimed literary memoir examining her journey to the practice of palliative medicine, and her quest to help patients and families redefine what it means to live and die well in the face of serious illness. In this episode, she explores her experiences in palliative medicine, the role of spirituality and the sacred practice of accompanying someone in their pain and suffering, what it means to have a good death, and so much more. Just like in her writing and in her practice as a palliative physician, Sunita brings so much wisdom, warmth and insight to our conversation. About the guestDr. Sunita Puri is the Program Director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at the University of Massachusetts, where she is also an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine. She completed medical school and residency training in internal medicine at the University of California San Francisco followed by a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Stanford. A graduate of Yale University and the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship, her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, JAMA, and, forthcoming, the New Yorker. She and her work have been featured in the Atlantic, People Magazine, PBS' Christian Amanpour Show, NPR, the Guardian, BBC, India Today, and Literary Hub. She is passionate about the ways that the precise and compassionate use of language can empower patients and physicians to have the right conversations about living and dying. Episode ResourcesI HIGHLY recommend buying her book That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour. Other guests who've explored aspects of this topic include Dr. BJ Miller and Social Workers Rachel Rusch and Rachel-Carnahan Metzger.Jump Straight Into It(14:00) – Sunita talks about how in her training she always gravitated towards “the why” – why is a particular intervention being given? To what end?(33:15) – Sunita explores the importance of showing up as your authentic self – whether you're the physician, a family member or a friend. It's not about a perfect phrase or perfect act, it's about showing up as you.(44:00) - Sunita explores the importance of listening versus talking when accompanying someone who's in pain or suffering. Recognizing the paternalistic approach of fix-it when it comes to patient's emotions.Podcast Merch AlertYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop Stay Connected to Our Host SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform.INVITE HER TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary-Frances O'Connor is my special guest in this episode. I devoured her book, The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss last year and knew I needed to have a conversation with the author on this show. I'm grateful to share that late last year, I had the honor of sitting down with Mary-Frances to explore the fascinating work she has been doing studying the Grieving Brain. I'm 100% confident you will learn so much and appreciate the warmth and wisdom she brings to this conversation. EPISODE RESOURCES:Mary-Frances O'Connor 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. 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.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying her book, The Grieving Brain here at Amazon or any major booksellers. You can also learn more about her and her work by visiting her website: www.maryfrancesoconnor.orgJUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(13:46) – Explains shift from understanding grief effect on physiology to effect on the brain(21:-00) – Mary-Frances explains our need for attachment and security and what happens when we lose that relationship.(36:45) – Explains how understanding how the brain maps our relationships and why each grief journey is unique (43:00) - Explains while it's common for us to think about the shoulda, coulda, wouldas in loss, rumination is actually a form of avoidance. She offers some alternative ways to consider the loss.NEW MERCH ALERTYou asked, I answered. I finally created some GSB Podcast merch from tees to hoodies to coffee mugs, journals and stickers. Head over to the Grief Happens Shop at www.lisakeefauver.com/griefhappensshop 3 WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too. @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, I explore the creative response to loss and trauma with my dear friend, artist, and former GSB podcast guest Krissy Teegerstrom. In A Grief Journey Delayed in Season 1, Krissy explored the delayed and disenfranchised grief over the death of her father. Not long after that conversation, Krissy came to recognize the unnamed neglect and emotional abuse by her mother in the wake of her father's death. In this episode, she speaks openly and vulnerably about coming to grips with the resulting grief and trauma she endured, and the difficult, oftentimes painful, but profoundly healing journey she's been on ever since. All of that led to her following her intuition to create one of the most exquisite and deeply profound one-of-a-kind experiential art exhibitions, entitled I Was Already Everything EPISODE RESOURCESKrissy Teegerstrom is a self-taught artist who lives in Austin. In 2017, she returned to her native state of Texas after living in New York City and the Bay Area.Drawing inspiration through her intuition, faith in the unseen, and a connection to the natural world, Krissy creates by hand with pencil, paper, paint, thread and fabric, sewing on her 1948 Singer Featherweight sewing machine. She is dedicated to sustainability, utilizing secondhand materials in the majority of her work. Her artwork includes murals, collage, drawings and sculpture. Her design work, under the name Featherweight Studio, focuses primarily on clothing. Clients and collaborators include Eddie Vedder, Phoebe Bridgers, X, Heritage Boot, Tellason Denim and Wrong Marfa.You can learn about her work at: www.featherweightstudio.comJUMP STRAIGHT INTO(04:03) - Krissy's ideal way of dealing with sadness and loss. (09:52) - Grief and trauma as a form of revelation of other Krissy's loss(16:13) - The moment Krissy realized it was the time to heal(20:22) - Krissy reclaims her artistic side and creativity as instruments for healing and self-awareness. (28:33) - Important symbolism that Krissy uses in her artwork to convey feelings (36:16) - Krissy's work as a safe space for us to be vulnerableSTAY CONNECTED 1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. 2) STAY UP TO DATE on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. 3) IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus Holiday EpisodeSomehow the holiday season snuck up on us, didn't it? Host Lisa Keefauver knows that whether this is your first or 21st holiday in the wake of loss, it can be tough. So in this bonus holiday episode, she is speaking directly to you. She put together 10 tips for you to consider as you navigate the holidays in grief. While she can't promise you that grief won't show up over the holidays (because of course grief will, even and especially when not invited), she offers you 10 invitations to help you navigate the holidays with a little more ease and a lot more grace.She will also be sharing these 10 tips in a blog post and in her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, so sign up at www.lisakeefauver.com/newsletter Stay ConnectedSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.STAY UP TO DATE on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too. @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ABOUT THE EPISODE: What must it be like to be a pediatric ICU Nurse day in and day out, witnessing children and families in the most vulnerable and often grief-filled moments of their lives? Today's guest, Hui-Wen Sato weaves a beautiful narrative about the realities of professional grief and the important cultural shifts needed to better serve both families and the medical professionals that serve them. She also shares the personal resources she draws on to sustain her and the role of storytelling as healing for all involved. And, as the title implies, she also implores us to stop putting healthcare workers on a pedestal. Hui-wen is a pediatric ICU nurse based in Los Angeles. She holds an MPH and MSN from UCLA, and is currently obtaining her Certification in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She and her husband have two daughters, two tortoises and one complicated dog. EPISODE RESOURCES: Check out Hui-Wen's TEDx Talk: “How Grief Helped Me Become a Better Caregiver.” She has been featured in podcasts with NPR TED Radio Hour and The Silent Why, as well as webinars for Happify and the Speaking Grief Initiative. You can follow her work at http://heartofnursing.blog. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO: (06:30) - Hui-Wen's first memory of loss and what she learned from it (17:06) - What led Hui-Wen to become an ICU nurse (26:20) - Grieving as a nurse (45:18) - Letting go of the fix-it narrative (57:25) - The big gulf: the expectation of healing vs. the harsh reality (01:08:43) - The healing power of storytelling STAY CONNECTED: SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review. STAY UP TO DATE on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter. IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too. @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ABOUT THE EPISODEMy guest Myra Sack shares the heart break and the beauty of what it was like to be with her daughter Havi in her too short life. She and her husband Matt ended up having only 13 months between Havi's diagnosis of Tay-Sachs Disease at just 15 months old and her death at home with them. In that time, the created a sacred weekly ritual that combined the Jewish tradition of Shabbat with birthday celebrations that Havi would most likely not be alive for. The result was 57 Shabbirthdays and the recognition that we can all hold joy and pain in these liminal spaces. What a sacred and beautiful conversation we shared. EPISODE RESOURCES:A Mother's Letter On The Passing Of A Young Daughter by Myra SackVisit the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(06:06) - Approach Behavior vs. Avoidant Behavior: Why approaching grief as a community should be encouraged - “We see grieving people somehow as scary or you know, this negative stimulus as opposed to seeing grieving people as beautiful and wise and light.” (09:18) - Myra's story: How she met her Husband Matt, became themother of Havi and a fatal error that changed their lives forever. (13:36) - Shabbirthday: Moving from shock and anger to activeliving and celebrating the time Havi had left - “It was in that moment that Irealized that she was here with me in this physical world for only a briefmoment more, and so I was going to summon whatever courage.” (26:19) - Finding solace as a community: How people became presentin the Shabbirthdays and accompanied Myra's family. (35:53) - How Myra continued a relationship with Havi after her death. STAY CONNECTEDSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.STAY UP TO DATE on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.IF YOU'RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too. @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ABOUT THE EPISODEWELCOME TO SEASON 4! In this first episode of the season, host Lisa Keefauver invites Dr. Rachel Yehuda, a researcher she has long admired, to join her in a conversation that explores grief, stress, and rituals. Although they do touch on the wisdom she has gained from her seminal work in the areas of intergenerational trauma and stress and PTSD, they also got much more personal, including exploring what Dr. Yehuda learned about grief and ritual growing up in an observant Jewish household and community. Dr. Rachel Yehuda is an Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Trauma. She is also Director of Mental Health at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yehuda is a recognized leader in the field of traumatic stress studies, PTSD, and intergenerational trauma. In 2019, Dr. Yehuda was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her seminal contributions to understanding the psychological and biological impact of traumatic stress. In 2020, Dr. Yehuda established and now directs the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research.EPISODE RESOURCESLearn more about Dr Yehuda's work on psychedelic psychotherapy: The Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research And don't forget to check out Rachel Yehuda's Publications. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO(03:01) - Her earliest memory of grief(07:27) - How different cultures see death and grief, and how to express empathy and compassion with actions rather than words (20:55) - Making space for emotions in early grief(25:20) - Acknowledging your own grief so that you can be present and supportive for others when a loss occurs. (35:29) - The process of grief - moving on without letting the past take away your future (44:21) - The impact of grief and the importance of meaning making STAY CONNECTED FOR MORE GRIEF SUPPORTSubscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode. If you love the show, I'd love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review on Apple PodcastStay up-to-date on the podcast including behind-the-scenes scoop by signing up for host Lisa Keefauver's Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.If you're feeling social, connect with the host on all your favorite social channels too. @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODEHave you ever devoured a book in a day? Well that's exactly what I did with The Healing Power of Storytelling - an incredibly profound book written by my guest, Annie Brewster. Annie is an Assistant Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, a practicing physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, a writer, and a storyteller. She is also a patient, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2001. She started recording patient narratives in 2010 and, integrating her personal experiences with the research supporting the health benefits of narrative, founded Health Story Collaborative (HSC) in 2013. In this episode we explore the grief involved in a diagnosis, the lessons she learned about the healing power of narratives, the elements of storytelling that can help bring improved outcomes to our physical, psychological and emotional well-being and so much more. EPISODE RESOURCESRead The Healing Power of Storytelling by Annie Brewster, MDJUMP STRAIGHT INTO(03:32) - A Traumatic childhood event as an early experience of grief(07:32) - Addressing grief inside the medical field (11:14) - Disappointment as a form of grief and the diagnosis that encouraged Annie to write a book (20:28) - Collective patient stories: A call to integrate grief into our own personal narratives (25:37) - The five key qualities behind Annie's methodology of meaning making (35:08) - Shaping our own stories to overcome the universal ‘master' Narratives(43:25) - The transformative power of sharing stories between doctors and patients ABOUT THE SHOWIf you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODEOh my friends, I'm thrilled to bring you this beautiful and rich conversation I had with Naomi Edmonson. Naomi offers so much wisdom and insight as she explores her experiences and lessons learned after losing both a mother figure and her mother. She also shares the journey she's been on creating safer grief spaces for Black people, something she felt missing in her early grief where she was often the only Black Queer person in the room. We explore the expectations we have about being alongside someone in their dying process and the importance of truly being seen and held in grief. EPISODE RESOURCESFollow Naomi at The Glorious Hum on Instagram EPISODE SPONSORThanks to our sponsor Empathy. GSB listeners get a complimentary phone consultation call with a Care Specialist. Get immediate support and guidance for your particular situation today. Go to www.empathy.com/gsb for more info. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(03:42) - Naomi's anticipatory grief experience regarding the passing of her mother figure(13:14) - Accepting the version of ourselves that comes out when in grief (17:27) - Caregiving and the endeavors of showing up during a loved one's last (29:02) - Becoming more present and attentive after experiencing multiple losses (34:06) - From safe to safer space: How The Glorious Hum and Black Folks Grieve emerged and what it means for Naomi's own processes (44:42) - Acknowledging less tangible types of loss, permission-giving and grief gone invalidated (53:06) - Adulthood and finding space to be: Reflections from Naomi's birthday trip to Jamaica ABOUT THE SHOW:If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

About this episodeCecilie Surasky is my guest in this special episode of GSB. Her stories of love and loss and ritual and divine connections with her 18 year old son Teo, who died from an accidental drug overdose will move you, sometimes make you laugh, and honestly might just inspire you to think differently about we can stay connected with our loved ones even after they're physically gone from this earth. Cecilie is a longtime movement-builder who is currently the Director of Communications at the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, and she reached out to me last year to share a sweet note of praise after her colleague john a powell was a guest on my show. We soon entered a beautiful back and forth series of emails about the nature of grief and how Immediately following the sudden loss of their 18 year old son Teo, Cecilie and her spouse Carolyn Hunt reached out to their son's friends and their extended family and friend network so they could all grieve and heal together. The result, still in progress, is an entire community that has been forever changed through storytelling, ritual, and deep listening...and also regular Zoom calls. Episode ResourcesA recent article Cecilie wrote about Teo in the Berkleyside Episode SponsorThanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit www.vida.com to learn more.Jump straight into(06:04) - Cecilie's earliest memories of grief (and how her family addressed it)(18:18) - A blended family: Cecilie shares stories about the life and personality of her son Teo(26:55) - Teo's passing event: Why is anxiety among adolescents so normalized?(30:30) – Cecilie's observations about the fact that this loss happened in an uncertain moment in history?(35:07) - The lack of farewell rituals due to the pandemic and Teo's garden ceremony(47:59) - The magic of building a supporting community of humans around grief(55”42) - The afterlife: Recent spiritual experiences that have connected Cecilie and Teo About the showIf you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

About this episode:My friends, what can I say about today's guest. The minute we were introduced last year, we fell into deep and ongoing discussions about the importance of narrative and storytelling in healing spaces. Rachel Rusch is a social worker, educator and researcher specializing in pediatric palliative care in Los Angeles, California. Her work centers on the intersection of narrative and storytelling in healthcare the relationship between patient, family and clinician perseverance. We explore all of these subjects in today's episode including her personal experiences of loss and the insights she's gleaned from some of the incredible narrative medicine and improv projects she's involved in today. Episode ResourcesFollow Rachel on Twitter to learn more about her incredible work with support of the Cambia Health FoundationHarnessing the Power of Improv During Uncertain Times Episode SponsorThanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit www.vida.com to learn more.Jump straight into:(03:36) - Rachel's earliest memory of grief (10:21) - Rachel's time as an artist performing in New York City (18:04) - Becoming a social worker: Rachel's experience as a volunteer for the 52nd street project (24:46) - The Perseverance Project: Behind Rachel's awarded storytelling project (34:25) - The relationship between palliative care and storytelling (39:05) - ‘Lift of personhood': The art of addressing vulnerability in the medical field (48:43) - How are we walking into forever shifted unprecedented times after experiencing so much loss? About the show:If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:My guest J'aime Morrison and I dove right in to such a rich and beautiful conversation about grief and loss and the way our bodies hold and can be used to express our grief. She is a former professional dancer and now a professor of theater and movement at California State University at Northridge. She's also a woman who fell in love with surfing later in life, which turned out to be a profoundly important passion that has helped her navigate the waters of deep grief after the death of her husband to a brain tumor. In fact, she's created a Cannes Film Festival award-winning short experimental called Upwell, that is such a beautiful and powerful reminder, really capturing the experience of grief so beautifully through dance, and surf, and community. Her ability to interweave story and metaphor and movement into this episode was such a gift in this conversation. Episode ResourcesDr. J'aime Morrison is a Professor of Theatre Movement at California State University, Northridge and she holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University. Learn more about her Cannes Film Festival Award winning film and the incredible retreat she is a part of by clicking the links below. Upwellhttps://vimeo.com/manage/videos/370342378/914bfb68c9 Retreat informationhttps://www.twocanretreats.com/mourning-surf-grief-retreat-santa-teresa-costa-rica Instagram@mourningsurf Jump straight into:(10:20) - A language beyond words: J'aime's journey to recognize the therapeutic value within movement(16:06) - Building a family: The day J'aime met her husband, his illness and the anticipatory grief experience(35:53) - Surfing is like grief(46:53) – The experience of community working on the film Episode SponsorThanks to our episode sponsor Eterneva. Eterneva is helping you remember your loved ones remarkably. Visit www.eterneva.com today to learn more. Don't forget to check them out on Tik Tok too. About the ShowIf you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own.To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:I've been a fan of today's guest for a long time so I'm thrilled to share my conversation with Dr. BJ Miller with you today. BJ is a longtime hospice and palliative medicine physician and educator. He has worked in all settings of care: hospital, clinic, residential facility, and home. Led by his own experiences as a patient, BJ advocates for the roles of our senses, community, and presence in designing a better ending. We began our conversation with the story of how he came to be a patient after a catastrophic injury in his 20's. Together we explored the challenges of acknowledging grief and humanity in traditional systems of care and why it's important to grapple with the truth that suffering, illness, and dying are fundamental and intrinsic aspects of life. His warmth and wisdom and insight taught me so much throughout our conversation and I know you're going to learn so much too. EPISODE RESOURCES:Mettle HealthBJ's Ted Talk JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(03:52) - BJ's earliest memory of loss (11:07) - BJ's injury and loss: How it lead him into palliative medicine(17:46) - What did palliative care look like when BJ entered that field (and how is it different from hospice)(25:44) - Notions of enthusiasm and resistance among patient population and fellow doctors(36:26) - Primary palliative care: How is the pandemic changing the perception around the palliative field? (40:06) - How BJ explores suffering to his patients(49:23) - How did Mettle Health come into existence and how is it helping people? EPISODE SPONSOR:Thanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit Vida.com/bcbsil to learn more. ABOUT THE SHOW:If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:In today's episode, my guest Dr. Lizzie Cleary is bright and warm and engaging and her training in psychology and work in the fields of oncology meant we spent some time exploring the professional borne wisdom on the topics of grief and loss and post traumatic growth. She currently serves as a Senior Psychologist and Clinical supervisor at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. But our conversation begins with a much more personal experience of loss that happened at the time Lizzie was studying to be a psychologist.Lizzie's Mom Sylvia sounds like she was a trailblazer! And just as Lizzie was launching her own career, in psychology, Sylvia died while out on her kayak in one of her favorite places to be. That was 2005. Lizzie and her family began grieving this as an accidental death only to discover nearly 4 years later, based on the finally completed autopsy report, that she had died by suicide. While Lizzie doesn't go into details about her death, I appreciated the way she illuminated the unique aspects of grieving this type of death and the added layer of complexity this new information brought forth. Lizzie's warmth and wisdom and insight taught me so much throughout our conversation and I know you're going to learn so much too. Episode ResourcesDr. Lizzie Cleary is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in oncology, grief, and making meaning out of life's most challenging experiences. She is a senior psychologist at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, where she teaches and supervises graduate students in psychology, social work, medicine, and chaplaincy. She can be found at drlizziecleary.com and on IG @drlizziecleary Growth After Trauma by Richard G. TedeschiEpisode SponsorThanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit Vida.com/bcbsil to learn more. About The ShowIf you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:My conversation with widower Wesley Bain is truly one of the most profound and important conversations I've had on this show, and in my life. In October 2020 I had the honor of interviewing his late wife, Christina Bain who at the time had been experiencing chronic Stage 4 Colon Cancer at age 36. On February 8, 2021Christina died. Eight months later I got a note from Wesley. Wesley's note began a conversation that blossomed into the interview we recorded on February 9, 2022. In this episode, we explored their love, what it was like to be by her side as the cancer wreaked havoc on her, how inspired he was by her commitment to helping other cancer patients, the conversations he had and continues to have with their daughter Marlowe, the complexity of navigating her death amid the pandemic and so much more. All I can tell you is that I felt Christina in the room with us. EPISODE RESOURCES: What to Make When You're Dying by Christina BainGSB Podcast Episode: Bearing the Wait with Christina Bain EPISODE SPONSOR:Today's episode is brought to you by Eterneva. Eterneva created a way to help you remember your loved ones remarkably, by turning their ashes into diamonds. Visit www.eterneva.com to learn more. You can also check them out on Tik Tok too. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(08:38) - United by improv: How did Wesley andChristina meet(12:33) - Making sense of incomprehensible news: What did Wesley experience whenChristina got diagnosed? (17:46) - ‘Get back to normal': Wesley's process of recognizing anticipatory grief andhaving time for himself(26:19) - On Christina's legacy and the gifts she crafted before passingaway (33:43) - Christina's work as a patient advocate for the Livestrong Cancer Institutes(38:36) - How did Wesley spend his last days with Christina? (46:40) - On Christina's farewell ceremony and the snowstorm that followed(01:00:16) What has Wesley learned about himself through all of this? ABOUT THE SHOW:If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:I've been desperately wanting to include climate and ecological grief in this show for such a long time and I'm thrilled to begin it with today's guest, Ashlee Cunsolo. Ashlee is the Founding Dean, School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies at Labrador Institute of Memorial University. She is a Researcher, Educator, and Environmental Advocate Ashlee offers so much wisdom today born of her lifelong personal passion for the environment and because of the deep and extensive qualitative and quantitative research she has been doing in Northern Labrador in Canada with indigenous Inuit people. She shares the wisdom she has learned from Elders, explores the deep grief scientists are facing as the the populations they love, and study are disappearing before their eyes, and helps us connect to the need for a kind of gritty hope necessary to stay active in saving this ecosystem that we are a part of, that we are in relationship with. She invites us to see more fully that we are part of a collective that is a much bigger WE than we often imagine. EPISODE RESOURCES:You can learn more about Ashlee Cunsolo and her research by visiting www.ashleecunsolo.ca EPISODE SPONSOR:Today's episode is brought to you by Vida Health. Vida Health, now in-network with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, lets people get the mental healthcare they need when, where, and how they need it. Visit Vida.com to learn more. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:(04:10) - Ashlee Cunsolo, a health Geographer. What is her first grief memory (15:26) - Understanding ecological and climate grief (27:53) - How is intergenerational storytelling around ecological grief being expressed in this current era (33:39) - How to handle ecological grief from the scientific perspective (44:41) - How has the relationship between emotional intelligence and science progressed in the academic field? (52:43) - Monuments, memorials and other manifestations for people to honor their ecological grief ABOUT THE SHOW:If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. Host Lisa Keefauver, holds an extensive grief resume herself, as a social worker, narrative therapist, grief guide, and widow. From CEOs, scientists and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.