Getting Back Up Podcast: Finding Life After Death

Send us Fan Mail Going into Thanksgiving and somewhat taking a break.    We are thankful to our fans and listeners and grateful for this community.    Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward.  The idea for the podcast was born after David and Jamal met in 2023. Both widowers, who...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 20: Children and Grief with Kelly Medvin (LPC) In this episode, Jamal and Dave sit down with Kelly Medvin, a licensed professional counselor from New Jersey whose work with grieving families began with her own story—losing her sister suddenly and stepping in to support her young nieces and nephews through unimaginable p...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 19: Life After Loss w/ Melody Rollins Downes (Part 2) In Part 2 of thier powerful conversation, Melody opens up about the final chapter of her husband’s life—the caregiving, the chaos, the clarity, and the quiet moments in between. This episode goes deeper into how they managed their marriage, family, and friendships wh...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 18: Life After Loss w/ Melody Rollins Downes (Part 1) In this episode, Jamal and David sit down with Melody Rollins Downes, a close friend, mother, and widow, to explore the full story—not just the moment of loss, but the life that came before it. Melody opens up about her childhood, her marriage, and what it meant to l...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 17: The Holidays After Loss For anyone grieving, the holiday season doesn’t just bring lights and cheer—it brings shadows, silence, and reminders of what (and who) is missing. In this episode, Jamal and Dave get real about what it’s like to face your first holiday after losing someone you love—and every holiday after th...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 16.5: Time Out - Still Getting Back Up Ten episodes later, we’ve gone from the first morning alone to parenting through pain, rediscovering purpose, and opening our hearts to what comes next. In this reflection episode, Jamal and Dave look back at where they’ve been—from telling the kids, facing funerals, and handling s...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 16: New Love On the Horizon Falling in love again after loss is layered. In this episode, Jamal and Dave reflect on what it means to move forward while still honoring the past. Jamal shares how his connection with Jordan grew organically—through friendship, life experiences, and timing—and how stepping into a new relati...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 15: The DadMom - Taking Over the Solos Being a solo parent after loss isn’t just about logistics—it’s about stepping into the spotlight when the lead singer of the band is gone. In this episode, Jamal and Dave reflect on what it means to go from backup to front man when raising kids in the aftermath of losing their moth...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 14: Dating again: What we learned. What you should know. Dating after loss is a different kind of game—and the playbook isn’t exactly handed to you. You’ve changed. The world has changed. And when it comes to love after grief… nobody teaches you how to try again. In this episode, Jamal and David lay out the dating truth...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 13: We were ready to date...Or were we? In this episode, Jamal and Dave talk about what it was like to start dating after months of loneliness.  After all, they were single fathers trying to focus on their kids, also realizing that there was something missing.  Besides the pressure to meet everyone else’s expectations,...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 12: The Tough First Solo Decisions From what to make for dinner… to how to fill out “Mother” on a school form—those first solo decisions hit harder than expected. In this episode, Jamal and Dave talk through the early choices that reminded them they were doing life without their partners. The fear, the guilt, the random...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 11:  The Pressure to Move On...or Just Move Everyone’s got opinions when you’re grieving—especially the folks who’ve never done it. In this episode, Jamal and Dave get real about the pressure to “move on” after losing a spouse. From advice that stings to silence that screams, they unpack what happens when society wants...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 10:  When the Calls Stop Coming...It's just me. The food stops showing up. The texts stop buzzing. The people who promised to be there… vanish. In this episode, Jamal and Dave open up about the moment the crowd fades and the real loneliness begins. They share their own stories, call out the awkwardness, and break d...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 9:  Honoring A Life & Your Rite of Passage The church was full. Or maybe it was nearly empty. Either way, you stood there—grieving, performing, surviving. In this episode, Jamal and Dave reflect on the surreal experience of the services held for their late wives. From family pressure to what they wish they’d done di...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 8:  How Do You Tell the Kids? There’s no blueprint for this. No playbook. Just a heart that’s breaking—and a child looking to you for answers. In this episode, Jamal and Dave revisit the most painful part of early grief: telling their kids (and family) that their wives were gone. They share the words they used, the ones...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 7:  The First Moments Alone What happens when the chaos quiets down and you’re left alone?  Just…you.  And the silence.  The first moments that you actually begin to process losing your spouse and flood of emotions, thoughts, and actions that follow. In this episode, Jamal and Dave talk through the most emotionally raw...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 6.5:  Timeout: Let's Catch Our Breath  In this special episode, Jamal and Dave reflect on the first six episodes of Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death . From their origin stories to the passing of their wives, the journey so far has been raw, emotional, and deeply personal. But before diving into what comes...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 6:  Til Death Do Us Part In this episode, we talk about the final days—what we remember, how we coped, and the moments that made us laugh and cry. Honest, raw, and full of love.  This episode starts to tease the questions, "Is she really gone?" and "What the hell do I do next?"  Getting Back Up: Find...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 5:  Putting In The 4th Quarter Team  When it got real, who did we call? We talk about how we leaned on friends, family, and even professionals when things got dark—and the importance of building your own squad for the hard times. Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered re...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 4:  Through Sickness & In Health - She Has Cancer. Now What? We open up about what it was like walking with our wives through their cancer journeys—holding on to hope, confronting fear, and staying present through it all.   Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered real...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 3:  Life With Her - Meet David & Jamal's Late Wives We share how we met our wives, what made those relationships special, and how their love continues to shape us today. A tribute to love, legacy, and partnership. Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality o...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 2:  Where Are We Now? Dave & Jamal Talk About Life Today In this episode of Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death , Dave & Jamal reflect on where they are now. What life looks like after loss, what’s changed, and how they are trying to move forward—one day at a time.  Its a quick glimpse of how their lives h...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death  (Season 1) Episode 1:  What Is the Getting Back Up Podcast? Meet David & Jamal  This is Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death.  We kick things off sharing how we met, why we started this podcast, and why every man needs a crew when life gets heavy. Brotherhood, honesty, and healing—it all starts here.   Getting Back Up: Finding Li...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward.  The idea for the podcast was born after David McClain and Jamal Jones met in 2023. Both widowers, who had lost their wives to cancer, quickly found a deep connection through multiple conversations about pain, perseverance,...

Send us Fan Mail Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward.  The idea for the podcast was born after David McClain and Jamal Jones met in 2023. Both widowers, who had lost their wives to cancer, quickly found a deep connection through multiple conversations about pain, perseverance,...