Coffee, Grief, And Gratitude

Rebecca N. Thompson, MD, is a family medicine and public health physician from Portland, Oregon, who specializes in women’s and children’s health—and the author of HELD TOGETHER: A SHARED MEMOIR OF MOTHERHOOD, MEDICINE, AND IMPERFECT LOVE.  In this innovative new book, Dr. Thompson weaves her personal story of life-threatening pregnancy complications and losses into the intricate family narratives...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #79 from April 2026. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today:Hilary Plattner, Kristina Amelong, Michael Horvich, Nancy Townsley, and Oona Metz. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/daughter...

Laura Cathcart Robbins got divorced and sober at the same time. You’ll hear her laugh and say she doesn’t recommend doing these two huge life changes simultaneously. But she was unhappy and didn’t know why so she quit her marriage and addiction.   In this tender conversation Laura talks about how her grief post divorced and in recovery felt like bungee jumping: the freefall before the bounce. She...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #78 from March 2026. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today: Dede Montgomery, Kim Owens, Krista Lee Hanson, Mallory McDuff, and Pallas Hupe´ Cotter. Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/daughter...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #77 from February 2026. We hope this special reading emceed by Jerry Portwood with writers from The Queer Love Project is just what your heart needs today. Please enjoy these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories: Anthony DiPietro, Jardana Peacock, Jerry Portwood, Michael Horvich, Nikkya Hargrove, and Timothy Hedden. Enjoy! Than...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #76 from January, our first Coffee Talk of 2026. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Andrea Javor, Asha Dore, Nastashia Minto, Monica Welty, and Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gra...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #75 from December, our last Coffee Talk of 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Adam Strong, Annie Gudger, Christina Larsen, Melissa Fraterrigo, and Katie Guinn. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude i...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #73 from October 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Cait West, Ivy Eisenberg Jane Dorn, Jason Arias, and Pat Jewett. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson,...

Rebe was 19 when her mother died. She didn’t allow herself to feel her grief, following well-meaning advice to put her grief aside. Thirty years later, Rebe went on a quest to know her mother, to grieve her. She traveled to Cuba and learned to grieve from a culture that holds their dead close. She saw it was possible to communicate with the other side, and it changed her relationship to her mother...

We’re thrilled to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #73 from October 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Asha Dore, Bob Macauley, Brad Snyder, Karen Bonofiglio, and Rebecca Thompson. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and M...

Chelsea shares her triple griefs: the death of her beloved dad, Eddie, her mom’s dementia, and recovering from being hit by a car while she was out for a run. In our conversation you’ll hear Chelsea talk about her love for her dad who was “magic.” She tells us grief taught her how to “pick through the rice and find the beans.” She shares her grief wisdom: “Meet people without judgement. When we sh...

We’re delighted to bring you our recent Coffee Talk # 72  from September 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Ali Shaw, Christina Rivera, Kate Carroll de Gutes, Jasmine Nothing, and Liz Scott.    Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger...

Doug shares openly about many layers of grief from the death of his mom to being estranged from his kids. He talks about his mom who would say Kindness is the best thing. He says that thinking the best of people is his strength and can also be his weakness. He shares how in his grief he had to protect himself which doesn’t come naturally so he leaned into other people’s words. We love that he said...

In this episode, Melanie Brooks openly shares the experience of her father dying from AIDS and how, as a family, they didn’t talk about him being sick. It took her 20 years to look at the silence and grief.    Her dad was infected with AIDS from a blood transfusion during surgery. Her dad was a surgeon. He thought he’d die in months so he decided to keep his health a secret to avoid the stigmas ar...

We’re delighted to bring you our recent Coffee Talk # 71  from  July  2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We’re delighted to bring you Clare Simons, Debby Dodds, Laura Cathcart Robbins, Rebe Huntman, and Zane Thomas.  Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and M...

We’re delighted to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #70 from June 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We bring you: Lisa Cowan, Mary Klinger, Nancy Townsley, Shavaun Scott, and  Suzy Vitello. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears. Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/da...

In this episode Phillipa Leseberg reads from her new memoir: HIS NAME IS ERIC: a book that records her love story with her beloved husband Eric who died from cancer. It’s a love story, a story of resilience and advocacy, and so much more.    Phillipa shares how through Eric’s illness and death, her concept of grief expanded. Grief started when Eric’s health first declined. Eric grieved his loss of...

Becky Ellis shares about her dad’s experience as a Timberwolf in World War II and how that impacted him, then later her and the rest of their family. With her father sharing his story, she gained a deep understanding of who her father was. She was able to see him separate from her needs and desires. Becky says this uncovering was the “greatest moment of joy, the deepest moment of grief.” At 50, sh...

We’re delighted to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #69 from May 2025. This is a special Coffee Talk, honoring Monica Welty’s son, Harvey who died as a newborn. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We bring you Becca Lynne, Jennifer Lynn, Katie Dominguez, Rebecca Mendez, and Virag Tunya. Enjoy!   Thank you for letting us be in...

Season Two Episode Twenty-one Play On With Kevin O’Connor   In this open-hearted conversation Kevin O’Connor tells us how he was born into grief. He came home as a newborn to an apartment above a funeral home. Living with death was always part of his life as his dad and uncle were undertakers and owners of a funeral home. He shares how his family supported others in grief. Sometimes he’d be a pall...

We’re delighted to bring you our recent Coffee Talk #68 from April 2025. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We bring you Annie Carl, Jen Violi, Nikki Darling, Nynke Salverda Passi, and Mary Mandeville. Enjoy! Thank you for letting us be in your ears. Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a m...

Grab your coffee and come listen to this tender conversation with Shara Ruffin who talks about becoming comfortable with grief being part of life. She tells us some of the rituals she’s made part of her life since her daughter died and her mom-in-law too. She shares how important ritual is to stay connected to her beloveds. As a griever, as a human, she holds the fragility of life, embraces that g...

We’re delighted to bring you Coffee Talk #44 from March 2023. We hope these five phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We bring you Carmel Breathnach, Jason Arias, Jessica Rich, Jill Deasy, and Rebecca Daniels. Enjoy!    Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/daugh...

Pamela reads her essay that she says is partially the eulogy she should have written/shared about her father and didn’t. She braids some sweet childhood memories with her last memories of her dad. In moving through her grief, she tells us: “The rough emotions have taken a back seat to the good ones.” And her message to her younger self is to “accept each step of it. You don’t know the steps. And h...

We’re delighted to bring you Coffee Talk #43 from February 2023. We hope these four phenomenal writers/readers/humans and their stories are just what your heart needs today. We bring you Amy Kortuem, Annie Gudger, Gayle Brandeis, and  MJ Atamian. Enjoy!  Thank you for letting us be in your ears.   Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/daughter duo who talk a...