Grief Out Loud

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 176: Grief In Your Twenties - Amber Jeffrey/The Grief Gang Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

Amber Jeffrey is the creator and host of The Grief Gang, a podcast by and for young adults who want to normalize the conversation about loss. Amber was 19 when her mom died suddenly, throwing Amber into a period of questioning and reworking so much in her life, including her friendships and relationship with her older brother. We talk about what inspired her to start The Grief Gang, the solace she finds in the online grief community, navigating the winter holidays, and what to do when a grief activating song comes on during a manicure. Be sure to follow Amber @thegriefgang and don't miss an episode of The Grief Gang.

Ep. 175: Grieving A Mother While Becoming A Mother - Dara Kurtz Dec 13, 2020

Show notes

When Dara Kurtz was in her late twenties, she was excited. Excited about being pregnant. She was also devastated. Devastated that her mother was recently diagnosed with stage IV cancer. As Dara's baby grew, Dara's mother grew closer to the end of her life. Two weeks after Dara's daughter was born, her mother died – sweeping Dara into a whirlwind of diametrically opposed emotional states: the thrill of being a new mother and the heartbreak of being a grieving daughter. Decades later, Dara rediscovered a collection of letters and cards from her mother. In those letters she also rediscovered just how connected she is still is to her mother. The letters inspired her new book, I Am My Mother's Daughter: Wisdom on Life, Loss, and Love.

To learn more visit Crazy Perfect Life and find Dara on Facebook (@crazyperfectlife) & Instagram (@crazyperflife).

Ep. 174: Holidays & Grief + A Pandemic Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

It's our third annual holidays & grief episode with Rebecca Hobbs-Lawrence, Pathways Program Coordinator at the Dougy Center. We share updated ideas for navigating the winter holidays while grieving, during a pandemic. For more ideas on holidays & grief visit our website, listen to Ep. 27 & Ep. 98, and follow us on Instagram (@thedougycenter) & Facebook (@thedougycenter) to catch all of our Dougy's (a very different) December Tips.

Ep. 173: Grateful In Grief? Never, Ever Give Up – Allison Hite Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

For Allison Hite, two questions sparked a community project called Never, Ever Give Up. The first question was, "How do I be grateful in grief?" The second was, "What's the hardest thing you've had to do?" These questions became part of Allison's life after her mother died in a traffic accident when Allison was in her mid-twenties. Answering them, publicly, led to Never, Ever Give Up, which at its core is a conversation between those who write letters of struggle and those who respond with letters of hope.

Learn more about Never, Ever Give Up. Follow them on Instagram & Facebook. Learn more about the National Day of Mourning.

Ep. 172: Living After Your Child's Life Ends - Margo Fowkes Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

How do you go on living after your child's life ends? How do you continue to find connection, beauty, and meaning when someone we can't imagine living without dies? This is the question Margo Fowkes faced when her son Jimmy died of brain cancer at the age of 21. Margo barely had a moment to grapple with this devastating loss when just a year later, her mother also died. This led Margo to search for information and connection with others who were also grieving. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, she decided to create it. Her website, Salt Water, is a collection of writings, by Margo and others, about how people are continuing to engage in life after losing the people they love most.

We talk about:

Parenting when your child is living with an illness
Grieving together and apart with a spouse/partner
The power of writing
Answering "How many children do you have?"
What's helping Margo during this time
How she hopes the world will remember Jimmy

Visit Salt Water and connect with Margo on Facebook (@findyourharbor) & Instagram (@findyourharbor).

Ep. 171: Reckoning With Grief At The End Of Life - BJ Miller Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

BJ Miller is a Hospice & Palliative Care Medicine physician who works with patients facing the end of their lives. When BJ's sister Lisa died of suicide over twenty years ago, he did what so many of us do, he pushed his pain aside. It was his work, supporting patients with advanced serious illnesses, that helped him realize the importance of reckoning with his own grief. Watch BJ's TED Talk, What Really Matters at the End of Life. Listen to his OnBeing interview with Krista Tippet. Check out his new organization, Mettle Health, which offers online counseling and support for both patients and caregivers.

Ep. 170: Grief & Identity - Alica Forneret Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

We can't separate grief from our identity. Grief is interwoven with our race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, access to economic resources, and every other part of who we are. Alica Forneret's mother died just over four years ago in 2016. Since that time Alica has advocated for those in grief to get the support they need - in the workplace and in their communities. More recently, she's started to focus on ensuring that people have access to grief resources that are specific to different aspects of their identity. In this episode we talk about moving back to her hometown, why the 4-year anniversary of her mom's death was the hardest one yet, and what's currently helping in her grief. Alica is also a Grief Out Loud alumnus who joined us in 2019 on Episode 104: Grief & Work. Learn more about Shifting Deathcare: Tools for a New Paradigm, a course offered by Alica Forneret, Alua Arthur, Oceana Sawyer, Lashanna Williams, and Joél Simone Anthony Check out Alica's website. Follow her on Facebook (@griefishardaf) and Instagram (@alica.forneret).

Ep. 169: When It Comes To Grief, What Counts? - Shelby Forsythia Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

Shelby Forsythia returns to Grief Out Loud to talk about her new book, Your Grief, Your Way, a secular daily devotional for anyone dealing with grief. She pairs quotes with routines and practices that people can do in any order. We talk Your Grief, Your Way, what grief means during this time of COVID and a reckoning with police brutality and racism, the effects of cumulative grief, and what's currently helping her (spoiler alert: cue the dance party playlist). Listen to Shelby's podcast, Coming Back Explore her website Check out her new book, Your Grief, Your Way

If you missed Shelby's first Grief Out Loud appearance, tune into Ep. 131: Permiss ion to Grieve.

Ep. 168: Giving Forward - Grief & The Foster Care System (Derrick Kirk) Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

When Derrick Kirk was six years old, he and his two sisters were removed from their home and placed in the foster care system. For Derrick, growing up in the orphanage gave him a window into a different way of life. Now a successful entrepreneur, Derrick started the Derrick Kirk Foundation and his podcast, My Thoughts With Derrick Kirk, to help other youth growing up in the foster care system.

In this episode we talk about the LYGHT program which provides peer grief support groups, based on the Dougy Center's model, for youth in the foster care system. To learn more about the program, listen to episodes 136 & 137.

Ep. 167: (Trying To) Understand Suicide - Paula Fontenelle Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

Paula Fontenelle is a journalist turned therapist who specializes in suicide prevention and supporting those who have had someone die of suicide. Paula's professional interest in this work is deeply rooted in personal experience. Her father died of suicide just over 15 years ago and his death set her on two parallel trajectories. Professionally, she studied everything she could about suicide. Personally, she spent hours interviewing friends and family, uncovering stories and details about her father's life and the pain he carried that she never knew about. Listen to Understand Suicide Read Understand Suicide: Living With Loss, Paths to Prevention Learn more about her work Follow Paula on Facebook

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