Bereaved But Still Me

Can a mother’s love shape an entire family’s destiny? Join us for a deeply moving tribute to Zipporah Liben, the resilient mother of host Michael Liben and a beacon of strength for her family. Alongside Michael are his siblings, Shirah Ozery and Rabbi Dan Liben, and guest host Anna Jaworski. They come together to share intimate stories and memories that celebrate Zipporah’s life, her unique upbrin...

Join us in this episode as our host Michael Liben opens up about the complexities of explaining death to his children and welcomes the insights of James Robinson who did likewise with his little ones. Together, they'll explore James' son Nadav's impactful life, marked by a congenital heart defect, and the unwavering spirit it revealed. His story, though filled with vulnerability, is a testament to...

How can a person suffering tremendous loss get unstuck in grief? Have you ever felt as though you’re wearing cement boots of grief? How can we move forward in our grief? Join us in this fascinating episode with Toni Alexander. As a bereaved person herself, Toni Alexander attacks the grief process from within. As an author, she looks on grief from a more philosophical perspective. As a teacher, she...

Returning guest, Phil Proctor, is a man who needs no introduction. An actor, voice actor, writer, producer, comedian, podcaster and founding member of the Firesign Theatre quartet. Phil has been in the entertainment industry for 50 years, and In this episode, he talks with host, Michael Liben about the love of his life -- his soulmate, Melinda Peterson, who died suddenly after more than thirty yea...

Erica Messer talks with Bereaved But Still Me host Michael Liben about pet loss and how she wasn’t able to find resources to help her cope with her grief. After losing her beloved cat, Wolfgang, she discovered a need for pet-loss resources. With her mother’s encouragement, she started Wolfie’s Wish, a company providing resources for those who are grieving the loss of a pet. Erica’s website: https:...

Have you ever wondered how the human heart manages to bear the unbearable? How it picks up the shattered pieces and eventually finds its way to healing? Our guest for today's episode, Roy Martin, opens up about a tragic event that forever changed his life - the loss of his beloved daughter, Tawny, to a drunk driver. Join us as Roy paints a vivid image of Tawny's life, her vivacious spirit, and the...

Today, we gather around the digital campfire to share the enchanting and hard-hitting story of Wilodene, a tenacious woman who lived with seizures for decades before her genetic heart condition, Long Q-T Syndrome, was discovered. Inviting us through the pages of this striking tale is her daughter, Jackie Renfrow, who returns to brighten our podcast with her stories of hope, resilience, and advocac...

Have you ever wondered how to navigate your life after a deeply personal loss? This episode brings you the deeply moving and inspiring story of Suzanne Anderson, a respected psychologist, author, coach, and transformational teacher. We delve into her intimate journey from a multilingual senior management consultant to an author and advocate for the bereaved community, after the tragic loss of her...

Have you ever found yourself immersed in the endless waves of grief, struggling to find a lifeline? You're not alone. Our guest for this episode, Theo Boyd, a resilient writer, a former teacher, and a survivor of unthinkable loss, is here to share her incredible journey from heartache to healing. Theo takes us through her harrowing experiences, from the sudden death of her mother in a farm acciden...

When we grieve the loss of a loved one, we try our best to keep them with us, to hold them close in our hearts and to tell their stories to others. But can our loved ones reach out to us? Can we open our minds and our hearts to the possibility that they somehow need us as much as we still need them ? Can they comfort us in our time of need? Whitney Samorano is the mom of twin boys, Orion and Maver...

What happens when we lose our loved one after years of living with dementia? How did writing about living with dementia help Melissa Geiser to deal with her grief? What can be learned from years of watching a loved one die from dementia? Melissa Geiser is a blogger and the only child of her mother Pat. At the end of 2013, Pat’s friends started calling Melissa when they became worried about Pat. Pa...

What is a grief doula? Why might a young person suffering from great loss determine to write and speak about it? What growth can come from a miscarriage? Alexandra Galviz is a young woman who has experienced a great deal of grief. Today she is here to talk about her experience with miscarriage and the fallout that caused her to spiral down to into a depth of grief and despair that caused her to me...

What happens when we lose our spouse after decades of being together? What is caregiver guilt and how do you recover from that? Why would someone decide to go from being a lawyer to becoming a creative writer? Debbie Weiss is a writer, a former lawyer, and a widow. Her mother passed away when she was 42 and then her husband passed away in his 40s. Debbie and her husband were together for 32 years...

This episode of "Bereaved But Still Me" features Rabbi Richard Address. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his Rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part-time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, he served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Che...

How does a person react to feeling worse after a therapeutic appointment? What happens when a person almost dies? How does this Christian handle losing her identity as a nurse? Julie Hedenborg was a nurse for 24 years until she had a life-threatening injury to her neck in 2015. At one point, she was in an ambulance and wondered if she was going to survive. That experience changed her life and help...

What is Amy’s House? Where can someone needing a place to stay while receiving a transplant in Central Texas? What can you do to help someone receiving a transplant? Phyllis Renfrow is the executive director of Amy’s House. Amy's House is a Medical Lodging Facility in Temple Texas, just minutes away from Baylor Scott and White Health Center. Transplant recipients are able to stay at Amy’s House fr...

What are the Wings of Love? How can someone help a loved one when they’re diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition? Can we still enjoy life after dealing with cancer? Tara Reynolds developed Wings of Love, a 48-card oracle deck featuring butterflies and moths, to help terminally ill patients and their families come to terms with an impending death. As a two-time cancer patient, she...

How can a mother handle losing a baby? What happened to Jen Burgard after she lost her son, Henry? Why did Jen start a podcast? This episode features Jen Burgard... A native of the upper Midwest, Jen Burgard is a mom to two living children and one who lives solely in her heart. Her titles include loss mom, living mom, wife, founder, podcaster, director, and most proudly - survivor. Upon the death...

How can a bereaved father introduce his daughter to the world so that she inspires people who never met her? How long should a father grieve the loss of his precious baby? What methods can a person use to overcome the grief of losing a child? Hans Kullberg is a father, an author, specializing in children’s books and parenting books, an entrepreneur, and a survivor. Hans is a loving father of 4 chi...

What pushed Kate Meyer into becoming an ordained minister? How did being a minister channel her into becoming a hospice counselor? What inspired Kate Meyer to write a book? Kate Meyer is an ordained minister, licensed professional counselor, and author who is passionate about grief awareness. Kate Meyer strives for support for all people, specifically in the Christian community due to the miseduca...

This is the holiday season, usually a time when most people celebrate and find joy but for some of us who are bereaved, it’s difficult for us to experience joy especially when we see everyone around us in such a joyful mood. Our program today is called “Comfort During the Holidays for Bereaved Parents” and our Guest is Julia Wagner. Julia Wagner is the mother of six children, the oldest of whom di...

Kendra Rinaldi is a grief and life transitions coach who has experienced grief many times in her life. Some of the most poignant moments were the tragic and sudden death of her sister in 1996, a miscarriage during her first pregnancy in  2006, and her mother’s death to pancreatic cancer in 2016. From her experiences, she launched a podcast called Grief, Gratitude, and The Gray in Between in March...

Silke Herwald worked for many years with the bereaved community but it went to a much deeper level when her only sister died of cancer. She supported her parents and brother-in-law through their loss and their shared grief brought them even closer together. When COVID started, Australia shut its borders and she couldn’t get to Germany to spend with her parents for about 2 years. Then one morning s...

What?! A Circus of Grief? How can we take our grief in a new direction? Can we still enjoy life after the loss of a loved one? Sherry Walling is an author and clinical psychologist. She’s also an amateur circus artist and she pulled together a group of circus artists to create an original circus in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Sherry lost her brother to suicide in 2019 (six month...

What Jewish prayers deal specifically with mourning? How have prayers of mourning changed over time? How is this Jewish prayer surprisingly connected to Christian prayers? Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph. D., is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR's Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem, and teaches in various academic institutions in Israel and Europe. Rabbi Marx earned her doct...