Getting Back Up Podcast: Finding Life After Death

Send us Fan Mail Episode 45: The Lasts We Never Saw Coming Some of the hardest moments after losing a spouse aren't the anniversaries we prepare for. They're the milestones we never realized would become "lasts." In this episode, Jamal and David reflect on the quiet grief that can surface as children grow up and life keeps moving forward. An eighth-grade graduation. A final mid...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 44: Grieving a Future After Loss Grief isn't only about losing the person you loved. Sometimes it's about losing the future you spent years imagining together. In this episode, Jamal and David explore one of the least talked about dimensions of grief: mourning the life that never got the chance to happen. Retirement together. Watching your children become adults....

Send us Fan Mail Episode 43: What If I Forget Her? One of the fears many widowers carry isn't losing a memory—it's losing the connection behind it. In this episode, Jamal and David tackle a question that often goes unspoken: What if I forget her? They share the moments that stop you in your tracks—the conversation you can't quite place, the sound of her voice that's harder to r...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 42: I’m Tired of Being Strong (What everyone sees after loss) For many widowers, strength becomes a role they never asked to play. You keep showing up. You take care of the kids. You pay the bills. You go to work. You handle the responsibilities. And somewhere along the way, people start telling you how strong you are.  But what happens when you're exhausted? In this...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 41: When you don't feel like yourself  After loss, there comes a moment many widowers quietly experience: you look in the mirror, go to work, attend a family event, or scroll through old photos and think... I don’t even recognize myself anymore. In this episode, Jamal and David explore the identity disruption that often follows the death of a spouse. They discuss how...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 40: Why Am I Still Angry? For many widowers and grieving spouses, anger doesn’t always show up in the beginning. Sometimes it arrives later—after the funeral, after the shock, after life gets quiet again. And when it does, it can feel confusing, constant, and directionless. In this episode, Jamal and David have an honest conversation about the anger that lingers after loss...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 39: I Felt Guilty for Laughing Again After Loss There’s a moment many widowers and grieving spouses experience—but rarely say out loud: the first time you genuinely laugh again… and immediately feel guilty afterward.  In this episode, Jamal and David unpack the emotional confusion that comes when life starts feeling okay again. The normal moments. The unexpected joy. The d...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 38: When Your Child Has an Emergency — Why It Hits Different After Loss There’s a moment every parent dreads—the call you weren’t expecting… the one that makes your heart drop before you even have the full story.  In this episode, Jamal and David open up about their first real “emergency” moments with their daughters—times when they weren’t there, couldn’t get there fast e...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 37: When Life Hits Again - Unemployed after loss What happens when life knocks you down… again ? In this episode, Jamal and David step into something raw and unfiltered. Just weeks after being laid off, Jamal shares what it feels like to take another hit—after already navigating the loss of a spouse and rebuilding life once before. This isn’t a reflection episode. This is...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 36: Finding Passion & Purpose Again There comes a moment in the journey where survival isn’t the question anymore… it’s now what? In this episode, Jamal and David dive into one of the hardest transitions after loss—moving from just getting through the day to actually building a life again. They explore what it means to rediscover purpose when the life you once knew no...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 35: In-Laws or Out-Laws? — Dealing with Their Family After You Move On Moving forward after loss isn’t just about you—it can shift every relationship connected to your past. In this episode, Jamal and David tackle one of the most complicated dynamics widowers face: navigating relationships with in-laws while building a new life. They share their personal experiences—from d...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 34: Bitter Sweet Sixteens — Navigating  Fatherhood Through Milestones Turning sixteen is supposed to be a celebration — a moment where parents look at their daughters and realize childhood is slowly giving way to adulthood. But for widower fathers, milestones like a Sweet Sixteen can carry a different emotional weight. In this episode, Jamal and David reflect on their daug...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 33: Am I Depressed… or Am I Grieving? In this episode, Jamal and David take on a question many widowers wrestle with quietly: Am I depressed… or am I grieving? It’s a question that usually shows up late at night, in the quiet moments when the distractions fade and the weight of loss feels hardest to understand. Together, they unpack what grief often looks like in men — exh...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 32: Telling the Story With Heart — A Conversation with Dr. Nicole Clark   In this episode, Jamal and David sit down with Dr. Nicole Clark , Emmy award-winning anchor and reporter for Spectrum News Texas — but before the newsroom, before the camera, there was nearly two decades in psychology. Nicole opens up about how her background as a Ph. D.-level psychotherapist shapes...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 31: Grief Beyond Death — A Conversation with Jocelyn Barrera of The Christi Center In this on-location episode in Austin, Jamal and David sit down with Jocelyn Barrera, Executive and Clinical Director of The Christi Center, to explore grief in all its forms — not just death, but displacement, illness, violence, and the quiet losses that reshape families. Jocelyn shares her...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 30: “If Only I Had…” — Living With the Loop of Regret (Part 2) In Part 2 of our conversation on regret, Jamal and David move from awareness to release. Many widowers quietly believe that suffering proves love — that carrying guilt forever somehow honors their wife. But what if that belief is the very thing keeping you stuck? In this episode, we challenge the idea that love...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 29: “If Only I Had…” — Living With the Loop of Regret (Part 1) In Part 1 of this raw and reflective conversation, Jamal and David open up about one of the hardest truths many widowers face: regret. The kind that creeps in with the silence — “If only I had noticed sooner… said more… done it differently…” The kind that lo...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 28: What Must Be Carried (Pt. 2 ) w/ Whitney Lyn Allen In this second half of our conversation with grief coach and author Whitney Lyn Allen , we explore the deep complexities of what it means to truly move forward. Whitney opens up about the delicate balance she now lives — raising two young boys, coaching others throu...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 27: What Must Be Carried (Pt. 1 ) w/ Whitney Lyn Allen In this deeply personal conversation, we sit down with Whitney Lyn Allen —grief coach, attorney, author, and widow—to talk about the life she built with her late husband Ryan, and how she’s navigated life after his sudden passing from a rare reaction to a bee sting....

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 26: The Cost of the Craft with Russell Hornsby In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with actor Russell Hornsby , we move from personal loss to professional sacrifice—and how they’re more connected than people think. Fresh off filming two back-to-back movies in Atlanta, Russell talks with Jamal and Dave about what it m...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 25: Black Men, Cancer, and the Fight for Our Lives In this special episode, Jamal and David head to Clark Atlanta University to sit down with researchers, doctors, and survivors at the frontlines of cancer care and advocacy. From pioneering lab discoveries to deeply personal stories of survival, this episode connects sc...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 24: A New Year.  A New You. It’s 2026—and for those of us navigating life after loss, the new year can feel less like a reset and more like a reckoning. In this episode, Jamal and Dave reflect on entering a fresh calendar year while still carrying the weight of grief, change, and growth. Together, they talk about what i...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 23: When the Job Is Gone, Who Are You? with Degion Craddock In this episode, Jamal and David sit down with marketing pro and former Dell colleague Degion Craddock—a talented, driven brother who found himself suddenly laid off and in unfamiliar territory. Degion opens up about what it’s been like to face rejection after...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 22: For the People - A Conversation with our Community In this episode, Jamal and Dave step back from the mic to reflect on the journey so far—and to respond to you , the Getting Back Up community. Since launching, we’ve received love, critique, DMs, and real talk from people across the country. And today, we’re talking...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 21: A Son’s Reflection on Love, Loss, & Legacy with Russell Hornsby (Part 1)  In this deeply personal conversation, Jamal and David sit down with acclaimed actor Russell Hornsby to talk about the kind of loss that doesn’t always make headlines—but leaves a lifelong imprint. Known for his roles in Fences , Grimm, The...