Coffee, Grief, And Gratitude

On this episode of Coffee, Grief, and Gratitude we’re bringing you a recording of Coffee Talk #48 from July 2023. Carol Fischbach, Mary Klinger, Meg Weber, Nikki Darling, and Steve Arndt each read a short piece on grief. All their stories are different since grief is different for everyone.  Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is a created by Anne Gudger and Maria Gibson, a mom/daughter duo who talk about...

Adam Strong talks about his 3 prong grief being his childhood family trauma, manipulative friend trauma, and his current uncertainty around his fathers health. He talks about being in the hospital with his sick father and not knowing what the outcome will be. Adam says "vulnerability is the thing that healed me." Adam is a writer, illustrator & high school digital arts teacher. His w...

On this episode of Coffee, Grief, and Gratitude we’re bringing you a recording of Coffee Talk #50 from last week, September 7th. Alayna Erhart, Joëlle Croteau-Willard, Kate Carroll de Gutes, Lisa Arnone, and Patricia Harrelson each read a short piece on grief. All their stories are different since grief is different for everyone.  Coffee, Grief and Gratitude is a created by Anne Gudger and Maria G...

Mary Klinger’s son went missing and was eventually found dead when he just turned 18. The Klinger family was on the news when Own went missing and when he was found, making their private grief public.  In this episode Mary reads an essay she wrote about Owen’s blanket which became a symbol for him and their family life. It’s a beautiful piece that reminds us objects of our loved ones can help us f...

We were deeply touched to be in conversation with Nikki Darling, a fullhearted human who shares her grief story with an openness that invites you in. After Nikki’s husband died, while she was in heartbreak, she also experienced secondary losses in all the dailiness of being a solo parent and navigating seemingly endless paperwork between states and countries. Nikki is forever changed by her grief...

In Episode 18 we’re delighted to talk with Joëlle Croteau-Willard, a beautiful, tender-hearted human who is grieving the death of her son, Julien. Prior to Julien’s death she grieved her grandfather and her father, but it was Julien’s death that split her open. She turned away from cultural pressure to “be better,” and found solace in educating herself about grief, in learning that grief is a heal...

On this episode we’re thrilled to talk with Nastashia Minto who is candid and loving about her family, her losses, her inherited trauma. Nastashia has experienced multiple family deaths, including her mom and grandma who raised her. She talks about how grief has affected her emotionally, physically, and spiritually, how grief has showed up as anger. She has these tender words to her younger self:...

On this episode we’re touched by Tanya’s love for her dead grandmother, how she grieves her, how she keeps her with her. Tanya tells us, “People stay alive if we keep them alive.” She shares some life lessons from her grandparents and how those lessons live on in her.  Tanya Friedman is happiest when she's in the middle of a great book, when she's rearranged words into just the right order...

On Episode 15 we’re delighted to be in conversation with Marialicia Gonzalez who’s experienced grief through the death of her mom, leaving a cult, and other deaths in her young adult years. Plus near the end, there’s tender, open conversation about grief around her name—a grief we learned more about.  The daughter of Cuban refugees, Marialicia González was raised in Miami and started writing as a...

On Episode 14 we’re thrilled to be in conversation with Meg Weber. Meg starts by reading an essay she wrote about clouds, her love of skyscapes, and how the sky mirrors her grief. She says, “What I’ve learned from watching clouds: nothing remains the same.” Meg has experienced multiple griefs. She talks openly about her sister’s death by suicide and how that changed her in being with others as the...

On episode 13, we’re delighted to be in conversation with Kelly Wilson who reads a piece about birthing her sons and birthing a garden during the pandemic. She shares how gardening taught her the beauty of the cycle of death to life.  Kelly is a trauma recovery coach (and so much more) who says she’d tell someone who’s struggling, “It might feel hopeless, but you don’t have to stay here.” And, “Ne...

On episode 12 we’re thrilled to listen to and be in conversation with Asha Rajan who reads her essay “The Smell of Grief.” In this piece she writes about smells she associated with different family members as she sat with them as they died: “Grief smells like over-cooked cabbage, citronella, sandlewood, unwashed bodies, and pages of a fading book, like dying stars.” Asha describes rituals she grew...

On episode 11 we’re honored to talk with Monica Welty who reads a beautiful piece about her grief soup—what’s in it and how she cooks and doesn’t cook it. Monica’s soup includes Love and Time. She says, “Add tears. How much? Maybe an ocean.” She goes on to say, “Cry as much as you need, as many bodies of water no matter size or depth. Just cry, straight into your pot.”  Monica’s son Harvey died wh...

On Episode 10 of Grief and Gratitude we’re delighted to be in conversation with Anne Richardson who shares a variety of ways that she experiences grief as her mentor. She tells us, “Grief stories us and we story grief." Anne connects to grief through nature. She sees herself through nature and nature sees itself through her. She adds to our understanding of grief: “the places I’ve inhabited a...

On this episode of Grief & Gratitude, we’re delighted to be in conversation with Peter Quinn, poet and novelist. Peter reads two of his poems, “Dad’s Words” and “Double Tap,” both around his father’s death. When Peter was eight, his father’s death at sea was reported while his father survived. “Dad’s Words” combines Peter’s experience with believing his father died with his father’s reportage of w...

On this episode of Grief and Gratitude we’re grateful to be in conversation with Carol Smith, author of CROSSING THE RIVER: SEVEN STORIES THAT SAVED MY LIFE: A powerful exploration of grief and resilience following the death of the author's son that combines memoir, reportage, and lessons in how to heal. Carol reads the prologue of her book about her grief for her seven-year-old son, Christoph...

On this episode of Grief and Gratitude, we’re beyond joy to be in conversation with Kelly Thompson who says, “Grieving is a good thing. Authentically grieving is the antidote to trauma. It’s okay.” Kelly starts by reading “Sunday’s child,” a piece that might or might not end up in her memoir in progress. Kelly was three months past sixteen when she delivered her baby who was born early. She writes...

On this episode of Grief and Gratitude, we’re delighted to host Jen Violi: author, facilitator, divine human with an oceanic heart. CW: there’s a bit of spicy language around the 15th minute, and it fits right in as Jen shares about her hands that didn’t work like they used to, as she shares loving ways people supported her along with one suggestion that she said “No, absolutely not,” to. Jen star...

Following Mother’s Day, we’re delighted to be in conversation with Carmel Breathnach, who writes and speaks about her mother’s death and her grief that followed. In Episode Five of Grief and Gratitude, Carmel reads a short piece about how therapy wasn’t a fit for her, how it’s not the Irish way: “We’re private people, us Irish.” Then during the pandemic, she met with a therapist who helped. Someon...

On this episode of Grief and Gratitude we're delighted to be in conversation with Leigh Hopkins who describes grief as a muscle. She says she's a pro at grief not because she wanted to be, but because of the stacking of losses. Leigh shares—through a written piece and then our conversation—about the death of her brother by suicide. Then her wife died of cancer. Two years ago her neighbor died, fol...

We’re delighted to host and be in conversation with Mary Mandeville, a beautiful human who’s walked through multiple griefs (death of her son, two siblings, her own cancer, and current health issues related to her decades old cancer). Mary talks about how she has grown her compassion through grief and non-judgement. On this episode Mary shares meaningful ways to support grievers and talks about a...

We’re delighted to host and be in conversation with Armen Bacon. On this episode we’ll talk about ways to support grievers, times Armen experiences her deceased son, Alex, reaching her through the veil, and how Armen has, as she says, her PhD in grief.   Armen Bacon writes (and lives) with uncensored passion, heart and sense of urgency. Her words stir the soul and have been praised as “pulling us...

Welcome to Grief and Gratitude, a podcast by Coffee and Grief. Here Annie and Maria, a daughter/mom team, explore grief in its many forms. Grief is so much more than the death of a beloved. They started the podcast to learn more about grief, to be part of the conversation in normalizing grief. They’re not looking for answers, but being curious about the questions, the exploration, the conversation...