Grief, Gratitude & The Gray in Between

Liza Peterson is a yoga teacher and reiki practitioner. She is the owner of Wings Of Resilience Healing where she supports her clients with yoga, reiki, and coaching support. She was inspired to open her business after the sudden loss of both of her parents. Liza is also a competitive ballroom dancer, and loves to perform on the stage. A proud mother of four amazing kids and a Puppy Mom to her cav...

In this heartfelt episode, we chat with Ona Gritz , her new memoir, Everywhere I Look , won the Readers’ Choice Gold Award for Best Adult Book.  We talk about her profound grief journey following the tragic loss of her sister, Angie. Ona unravels the mystery and tragedy of Angie’s murder and shares her own awakening to loss, grief, guilt, and the truth. Ona Gritz holds a Master of Arts in poe...

Sheri  Ramirez is memoirist, social media vlogger, and certified life coach while working full time as a middle school teacher for the deaf. She lives in Saint Augustine, Florida with her husband, 10 year old twin boys, and energetic 8 year old daughter. She was once a young widow at age 22 after tragically and unexpectedly losing her husband to a brain aneurysm resulting from his chronic kid...

Gabriela Georges is a multi-disciplinary artist, creative grief guide and founder of The Grief Cocoon. Her work is inspired by her beloved mother, Samira, who she lost to cancer at the age of twenty. She supports people to creatively process, befriend, and transform their grief through creative writing, movement, rituals, and community connection. Through The Grief Cocoon, Gabriela offers creative...

Tyndale novelist Cheryl Grey Bostrom, M.A., writes surprising prose and poetry that reflect her keen interest in nature and human behavior. The author of four books, her most recent include her international best seller Sugar Birds —the winner of more than a dozen fiction awards, and Leaning on Air, endorsed as “a reader’s dream,” and a “cross-generational masterpiece." An avid photographer, she a...

Ashmeeta Rama Madhav is an educator, grief support advocate/expert, entrepreneur, author, and lifelong learner. She has been intimately acquainted with grief since her early twenties, having experienced miscarriage, rejection, and the loss of her parents and husband, which exposed her to a range of profound emotions. Her story is one of love, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, growth, and self-di...

Marisa Renee Lee is an award-winning advocate, writer, and speaker on coping with grief and loss of all forms. The past two decades of her life have been marked by loss: first of her mother, then of a much-wanted pregnancy and her fertility, and finally of the early and tragic deaths of her cousin Ebonee to COVID and more recently Imani to domestic violence. These losses transformed her life and l...

Emily P. Bingham is a certified grief educator, grief coach, widow, and founder of moveTHRU. After the loss of her husband in 2019 to Uveal Melanoma, she started moveTHRU to create new meaning out of her tragedy by helping others heal. Emily has worked with hundreds of clients in both private and coaching groups. Additionally, she has reached millions of followers through her social media content....

Nathan Peterson is a seasoned singer-songwriter, speaker, and author whose career spans over 25 years in the music industry. Known for his raw, emotive music and profound insights into the human experience, Nathan has carved out a unique space in the hearts of his listeners. On March 11, 2016, he lost his daughter Olivia. After she passed away, she published two books. The first one is entitled "S...

Nacida en Colombia, América del Sur, la vida de Martie M. Smith ha sido una aventura, marcada por 49 mudanzas que la han expuesto a diversas culturas y experiencias. Emergió de estas transiciones con una profunda comprensión de la humanidad mundial y una perspectiva única sobre los desafíos de la vida. Martie se está convirtiendo en un faro de resiliencia y transformación. Su viaje vital la equipó...

Andrea Turnbow Andrea Turnbow is the founder of The Grief Nook (formerly Autumn Winds Coaching)  and is a Certified Grief Educator and Trauma and Resilience Life Coach. After experiencing a miscarriage during her first pregnancy, she set out to become the grief support provider that she and her husband needed at that difficult time. After the tragic loss of her grandfather and other life-alte...

Martha Hunt Handler is the award-winning author of Winter of the Wolf , a novel that tells the story of Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved teenage girl who sets out to discover the truth about the mysterious death of her beloved brother and finds herself on a journey of healing and self-discovery. The novel is inspired by the death of Martha's best friend's 12-year-old son and covers severa...

In this solo episode, I discuss the important distinction between the concepts of grieving and mourning. Grief refers to the internal emotions and personal journey one experiences after a loss or major life transition. Mourning describes the external, communal expressions and rituals related to grief. Key topics covered: Common misuse of "grieving" and "mourning" as interchangeable terms Grieving...

Shannon Spruill, a native of Brooklyn, New York, now resides in Buffalo, NY. For the past 37 years, Shannon Spruill has been happily married to Esau Spruill Jr. Together, they have been blessed with three sons named Derek, Brian, and Patrick. She has achieved academic success, graduating Suma Cum Laude from Bryant and Stratton College with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and obtaini...

Mary Hayashi is an award-winning author who is among this country’s most accomplished champions for diversity and women’s rights. As a national healthcare leader, public affairs consultant, non-profit director, and former California State Assemblymember, Mary has dedicated her life to serving America and its most vulnerable citizens. Her book, Women in Politics: Breaking Down the Barriers to Achie...

In this unedited  episode, I share my reflections on the 27th anniversary of my sister Zorana's passing. The day brought unexpected emotions as I connected with memories, messages from loved ones, and found old writings expressing my conversations with Zorana. Join me as I navigate the complex layers of grief, gratitude, and the enduring presence of those we've lost. This episode is a raw tri...

Stephanie Papadakis is a grief recovery specialist, holistic nutrition consultant, and autoimmune protocol coach. After experiencing her own grief, trauma, and health issues, she dedicated herself to helping others heal their broken hearts and address health issues caused by emotional stress - like poor digestive health, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune diseases. Through her work, Stephanie hel...

Dina Gachman is a Pulitzer Center Grantee , an award winning journalist, and a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Vox, Texas Monthly , Teen Vogue and more. She also writes a monthly movie column for The New York Times . She’s a bestselling ghostwriter, and her first book, BROKENOMICS, was published by Hachette/Seal Press. Her new book of essays about grief, SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, was pub...

Andrew Hall is the Co-Founder of No Story Lost. He started No Story Lost with his cousin and best pal, Jeremy. No Story Lost was born after Andrew and Jeremy recorded their Grandfather's story; they saw how important the result was for their family, but also how much hard work it was to do without a service to help. When Andrew's not working, he enjoys traveling, playing sports, and spending time...

Melissa Beth is the host and producer of the Mile Marker Miracles podcast. Initially created as a space to hear people’s mile marker stories of how they became who they are today, the podcast took on an unplanned grief focus when Melissa’s mom Linda passed away from breast cancer. As she processed through the immense loss of her mom, her best friend, and her biggest inspiration all in one, it beca...

AIJIA, is a songwriter, vocal producer and mom. For years she has dominated the music scene as a writer for some of today’s biggest acts. She lent her ear as Talent Producer for NBC’s hit show SONGLAND. She uses her platform to advocate for women’s equality and growth - a theme in her original music. She is heading into her 11th year as ambassador for Rock Camp For Girls and is an ambassador for T...

TATIANA ZAMIR is an interdisciplinary performance artist and trauma-informed movement facilitator who has been walking a path of evolution, transformation, and deep personal inquiry her whole life. Zamir studied and performed as a dancer and choreographer in the World Arts & Cultures Department at UCLA and developed her natural skills in the healing arts at IPSB Life Energy Institute. From...

Welkin Memorials founder, Kate Anderson, lost her own father unexpectedly at a young age and was forced to choose between the outdated memorial options the industry provides, so she leveraged her experience in product development to design a product that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. To make the tough times a little easier for others, Welkin offers handmade, decorative and discree...

Farah, an avid baker, yogi, with a 30-year career in the banking industry across continents. Her mother-daughter relationship memoir Meher & Me is a tale of an unconventional life and courage developed through a combination of nature, nurture, and skills acquired along the way. It is a memoir about the life we choose for the lessons we will learn. Farah is of Parsi origin, was born in London, but...

Suzanne Anderson, is the founder of The Mysterial Woman, a psychologist, author, coach, leadership consultant, and transformational teacher. Her pioneering work in guiding women to awaken their full Feminine and Masculine strengths combines insights and practices from ancient wisdom, depth psychology, and modern neuroscience. She has dedicated the past thirty years to decoding an embodied, integra...