Coming Back: Conversations on life after loss

Cathy Cheshire wants you to change your mind, AKA the thoughts you think about grief. This week, we're talking about the losses that challenged her to develop mindfulness, including the deaths of her two sons, and the belief that grievers can heal themselves when given the right tools to do so. We're covering what it feels like to be punished for telling the truth about your loss, learning to love...

Seven years of non-stop losses drove Annah Elizabeth to ask, "What makes some people resilient and others crumble under the weight of grief?" That questioning led her to uncover her system of recovering from grief, The Five Facets of Healing. Today we're talking about how we spend the rest of our lives finding resolution for grief, how the second and third year of loss tend to be the hardest to co...

A suicide attempt was Barbara J. Hopkinson's wake-up call. In a brief moment, she realized she had a choice to make: live and dwell in her losses or choose the long, hard, road of resilience. This week, we're talking about Barbara's wide array of losses including her 21-year-old son, Brent, her 30-year marriage, and her right eye. We're covering how a lifetime of losses can all feel and look diffe...

Sharon Ehlers has a logical mind, one that made her skeptical of energy work and healing when it crossed her path in the aftermath of two devastating losses by suicide. Now, eight years later, she owns and operates Grief Reiki, a business that helps people cope with the energy of grief—an energy that affects the body, mind, and spirit. Today we're talking about what Reiki is and how it can help a...

Diane Speer was nine when she was cornered at a memorial dinner by her uncle, who unloaded the traumatic grief of losing his son onto her. From that day on, she was terrified of wakes and funerals. Today, the death her grandmother, the death of her mom, and three near-death experiences (NDEs) have cracked her open to her calling: helping people "transition" from life to death through mindfulness....

Linda Findlay's daughter, Aubrie, lived for exactly two hours and nine minutes. Aubrie's time on the earth was incredibly short but the impact she left on Linda was profound. What began as a support group to heal from her devastating loss morphed into an aftercare service for funeral homes and a series of books, followed by Linda's biggest undertaking yet—the Bereavement Cruise, now in its third y...

I asked breakup coach Chelsea Leigh Trescott a hot button question: "Do you believe people are better off alone?" Chelsea Leigh Trescott's work and podcast: http://breakupward.com/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres next week on September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at...

Sometimes it's the little things we miss the most. This week, Michele Neff Hernandez talks about why she misses her husband, Phil, every time it rains. Michele Neff Hernandez's work: https://www.soaringspirits.org/ Camp Widow: https://www.campwidow.org/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by su...

Music isn't created in a bubble. Hear how Ruth Ungar drew spiritual inspiration from Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors." Ruth Ungar's music + The Mammals: http://www.themammals.love/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at random fr...

Working with grief and death calls for a day off. Here's what doggy caretaker Kim Skarritt would do with a day to herself. Kim Skarritt and Silver Muzzle Cottage: http://silvermuzzlecottage.com/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at...

When Debbie Augenthaler's husband died, his friends asked to do something special to honor him. Debbie Augenthaler's work and book: http://www.debbieaugenthaler.com/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at random from the list of all...

Megan Devine was not ready to memorialize her partner, Matt. Megan Devine's work and book: http://www.refugeingrief.com/ Season 4 of Coming Back premieres September 5, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win a copy of Grief Works and You Are Not Alone by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at random from the list of all active patrons as of 8/31/2018. Winner will r...

It's the end of Season 3 of Coming Back! I'm sharing some final thoughts with you from this season's episodes as well as some upcoming events, including another double-book giveaway! Enter the giveaway by supporting Coming Back on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shelbyforsythia Winner will be selected at random from the list of all active patrons as of 8/31/2018. Winner will receive one paperback...

Chelsea Leigh Trescott broke up with a life that wasn't serving her. After leaving home for college, Chelsea found herself in the thick of depression, anorexia, and a string of long-distance relationships—triggered by the massive fear of not living up to others' expectations. Learning to face her loss of identity, connection, time, and self-respect led her to start Breakupward, a movement and coac...

Michele Neff Hernandez, founder of Soaring Spirits International, wasn't panicked when she found out her husband was hit by a car on his regular bike ride. He was strong and capable. But when he died, her life and the lives of her children were turned upside down. This week, Michele is sharing a suitable alternative to the dreaded, "How are you?," telling a touching story about how her kids contin...

Musician Ruth Ungar found out about her dear friend Hubie's death on Facebook of all places. This was her first taste of sudden, earth-shattering loss. We're talking about the healing power of "good clean dirt," what it was like for Ruth to find out about Hubie's death on Facebook (while she and her husband were on tour), and how music creates a beautiful space for all of us to grieve. Plus, I'm s...

Marni Henderson and her sons had just 15 months to make memories and say goodbye after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Today, we're talking about Marni's decision to pull her sons out of school to spend time with their dying father, what it's like facing big milestones after loss, and one of my favorite books—Second Firsts—that led Marni to get trained as a Life Reentry Practitioner....

Tara Caffelle lost her ex-husband to suicide in 2015. His death was just one of four others she experienced that year. This week, we're talking about navigating a year of losses, crafting a disclaimer for your grief, and where our loved ones live in our bodies. We're also discussing Tara's brand new book, Grief: A Love Story. Also on the show, I was marinating in suicide this week after the public...

Kim Skarritt runs Silver Muzzle Cottage, a nonprofit where senior, disabled, and hospice dogs are reminded how much they're loved before they die. We're talking about the compassion fatigue that often plagues caregivers, how Kim and her volunteers say goodbye to loving dogs over and over and over again, and the legacy that Kim wants to leave on the earth when she dies. Also this week, I'm announci...

On an ordinary Monday morning, Debbie Augenthaler's husband, Jim, died suddenly in her arms. On that day, she not only lost her husband, best friend, and life partner, but her dream of having children him, their future plans, their home, and their circle of still-married friends. This week Debbie and I are talking about the layered losses that show up after a major loss occurs, the gifts that loss...

After "unhitching" herself from her high-conflict marriage, Sunny Joy McMillan ran... FAR. After three years of running, she was hit with massive grief for her ex-husband and the life she no longer lived. We're talking about the losses we create ourselves (like chosen breakups, moves, and job changes) and how you can never really outrun grief. Plus, she's offering all of my Grief Growers a FREE co...

Coming Back turns 1! I'm celebrating my first year as a podcaster and inviting you to my exclusive, hour-long Facebook LIVE party on Wednesday, 5/16 in The Grief Growers' Garden. Join me live on Facebook Wednesday, 5/16 at 7:30pm Central in The Grief Growers' Garden:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegriefgrowersgarden/ Support Coming Back on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shelbyforsythia Subs...

Julia Samuel was fed up with people mentally and emotionally attacking themselves in midst of their grief. So she wrote Grief Works, a book that not only normalizes grief, but reminds us that we all grieve differently. This week, we're talking about the uniqueness of English grief, the reality of feeling grief as an energy in our bodies, and Julia's Pillars of Strength that hold up grievers in the...

An everyday activity turned into a nightmare for Megan Devine who watched her partner, Matt, drown during one of their usual "quick dips" in the river. Her community, Refuge In Grief, and new book, It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief & Loss in a Culture that Doesn't Understand, are powerful beacons for grieving hearts. We're talking about the librarians that live in our brains, the importanc...

Funeral Director Caleb Wilde has seen beauty in death. This week, he shares how he would like to die. Caleb Wilde's work: https://www.calebwilde.com/ Season 3 of Coming Back returns May 2, 2018! In the meantime... Enter my giveaway to win two copies of The Grief Recovery Method Handbook® by supporting Coming Back on Patreon. Winner will be selected at random from the list of all active patrons as...