Coming Back: Conversations on life after loss

Let's keep growing through grief on my new show, Grief Grower, a weekly podcast full of practical tips, comforting guidance, and insightful interviews for navigating life after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major losses. Because grief isn't something to "get over"—it's something to grow through! New episodes are released every Thursday. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/u...

Your grief is normal, and your grief has ALWAYS, ALWAYS belonged. Plus, a BIG announcement!   Order my new book, Your Grief, Your Way here: https://www.shelbyforsythia.com/your-grief-your-way   Find 90-minute Zoom workshops here: https://www.shelbyforsythia.com/events   Get grief support for just $3/month! Support Coming Back on Patreon and receive weekly grief guidance prompts, LIVE grief support...

What if death is not a thing we're all waiting for, but instead is an integral part of every second of every day? This week, Rob Bell and I are discussing grief through the lens of his new book Everything Is Spiritual. We're talking about how two total opposites can be true at the same time, why some losses feel like graduations and others feel like divorces, and how to reframe the phrase, "Now wh...

Diane Zinna became an adult orphan at 23 after losing her father at 15 and her mother the day she graduated from a master's program in creative writing. Each time she sat down to write, themes of grief and loss filled the page. Diane's new novel, The All-Night Sun, tells the story of a grieving teacher whose losses follow her to a Midsommar's Eve celebration, where things take a dark turn. Today,...

When Art Shaikh's father died, he left Art letters and flowers to deliver to relatives that were still living. Inspired by the human desire to leave a legacy after death and continue to be there for loved ones who are living on, Art created CircleIt, a free app that helps you send letters, flowers, photos, videos, and gifts to people you love after you die. This week we're talking about why people...

Within the course of a year, Mona Luna acknowledged two major griefs in her life: the grief of growing up with a father struggling with alcoholism and the grief of enduring emotional abuse in a long-term romantic relationship. Yoga, therapy, and working with life coaches helped her return her to herself after years of never truly feeling "at home". This week, we're talking about creating boundarie...

Osteopath, doula, and zero-balancer Avni Trivedi marries Eastern and Western practices to treat grief in the body. After a myriad of losses including being present during her grandmother's stroke, she studied the body, which—intuitively—became a doorway to studying grief. Today, we'll talk bout how the body responds to grief, even years after a loss, how to cope in a world of six feet apart during...

What does it mean to make love to grief? To welcome it into your body instead of casting it out like garbage? This week, I'm speaking to Sara Chizek about the sensuality and creativity that arrives when we practice the art of grief embodiment. After shutting herself off to the four-year-old girl who lost a father, her exploration of grief in her body opened her up to feeling whole and at home. Wha...

After her father's death in 2016, Mana Bhatt Sanghvi committed to living a live with no regrets. Her business, Treasure Texts, helps people communicate unspoken gratitudes to the people they love while they are still alive to receive them. This week, we're talking about the different between anticipatory grief and the permanent grief that comes with loss, why it's important to distinguish between...

Cristina Chipriano grew up knowing grief, losing her 5-year-old cousin, her aunt, and her godmother all before second grade. After becoming a social worker, she helped create grief support programs in Spanish at Bo's Place in Houston, where much of the community is Latino. Today, Cristina and I are talking about how death can take families farther apart AND closer together, how the cultural value...

Have you ever felt grief in your body? This week, Victoria Albina is teaching all of us how to use the body as a method to move from resistance to acceptance, release people-pleasing and perfectionism, and harness the oh-so powerful vagus nerve to pay close attention to grief. This conversation is full of tips and tools to reclaim ourselves and our bodies after devastating loss. Find Victoria's wo...

A massive amount of family deaths plus his work as a Hospice chaplain enlightened Gary Shockley to the reality of kids as "forgotten mourners." His children's book, My Heart Sings a Sad Song is a non-denominational guide for children and their caregivers to sparking conversations about grief and emotions. Today we're talking about how we can help kids get better acquainted with the human experienc...

Dara Kurtz received decades of wisdom from her dead mother and grandmothers after stumbling across a Ziplock bag of letters. Her new book, I Am My Mother's Daughter is an inside look at the intimate wisdom shared across maternal generations and a love letter to the power of preserving the written word. Today we're talking about the four different types of letters you can write or receive, why you...

It's helpful to remember that grief is an experience, not an obstacle or a destination. Plus, enroll now in my best-selling online grief support course, Life After Loss Academy, beginning August 31. Now at a lower price due to COVID-19. Join me August 31, 2020 for a 12-week online course that will help you feel safe in the world again, say goodbye to "the perfect griever," and love the person loss...

Melissa Bottorff-Arey's life turned upside down when her son, Alex, took his own life during his junior year at college. Her new podcast, The Leftover Pieces, features conversations on living life after suicide loss. This week, we're discussing the rage that often follows learning more information about a loss, how our mental health is impacted when someone we love dies, the glaring holes in our s...

Instagram-famous therapist Dr. Jenn Hardy is known for her intuitive wisdom on boundaries, self-care, rest, and grief. Today, we're talking about how most of us underestimate the weight of emotional labor (especially in COVID-19), and why it's impossible to compare losses. Also, we touch on how to shop for a therapist in the aftermath of a loss and why you might consider swapping out your critical...

Lindsay Joy Taylor, founder of The Joyful Jewelry Box, lost her mom when she was just 13 months old. Growing up without true memories of her mom, Lindsay Joy found solace and comfort in her mom's jewelry box. She now makes keepsake and remembrance jewelry so that others can honor their loved ones through physical mementos. This week, we're talking about how we can witness ourselves in grief, how L...

Denise Soler Cox lost her father and her brother before the age of 18. Convinced she was "the most unlucky person she knew," she believed she was doomed to a life of isolation and not-belonging. A seminar in her twenties opened Denise's eyes to the realization that she could invent a new story. This week, we're talking about how vulnerability is a true measure of power, why sharing pain can help o...

At the age of 38, Rachel Wilkinson's dream of motherhood ended. Thrust into the emotional and confusing grief of death of a lifelong dream, she turned to ancient practices of witchcraft and divination to create and direct her life after loss. This week, we're talking about the power of dreams and signs to guide us in grief, how we can come to acceptance through stereotypically "occult" methods, an...

Almost immediately after giving birth to her second daughter, Katie Arnold got the news that her father was going to die. Less than 10 weeks later, he passed away from terminal kidney cancer and Katie was forced to reckon with motherhood and the loss of a parent at the same time. Her book Running Home is a detailed look at her life after her dad died. Today we're talking about how Katie used runni...

Speaking Grief is a new television documentary that features grieving and expert voices from a variety of backgrounds—all with the goal of kickstarting conversations about grief and loss. This week, I'm talking to producer, writer, and director Lindsey Whissel Fenton about how we can become more comfortable in awkward conversations, why we should normalize changing our minds after learning new inf...

On July 13, 2011 Kelley Lynn woke up to an entirely new life. Her husband, Don, collapsed from a massive heart attack at work just four years and nine months into their happy marriage. Kelley suddenly became a widow. This week we're talking about how loss forces us to reinvent ourselves, why we need to grieve both personal and joint dreams, and how one laughable grief cliche turned into a global r...

The death of his cat prompted Kevin Ringstaff to study pet loss and find ways to open up conversation on the devastation that comes with the loss of a pet. Today, we're discussing why the loss of a pet is so devastating, how to cope with the guilt of euthanizing a pet, and how to navigate coming home to an empty house after a pet dies. Find Kevin's pet loss support resources here: https://petcloud...

When she was in her senior year of college, Cheryl Strayed's mother, Bobbi, received a cancer diagnosis and died in just seven weeks. Today, I'm speaking with her on Motherless Mother's Day 2020 about the death of her mom and how we can live full, beautiful lives after a mother dies. This is a replay of a live conversation where we explored what to do with the feeling of longing that never goes aw...

Ten years ago, Jan Warner lost the "person who held her kite string"—her husband Artie. In the years after his death, Jan wrestled with suicidal thoughts and the urge to wallow. She began writing in an attempt to wear different "perspecticles" about her loss, and in 2018, she published a book called Grief Day by Day that speaks to grievers through a year's worth of quotes and exercises. Today, we'...