Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

Casey Mulligan Walsh, author of The Full Catastrophe, joined host Lisa Keefauver for a profound conversation on how much loss shapes us more deeply than we realize—especially when it's modeled by those we'd turn to for guidance. In this raw and insightful conversation, Casey reveals how early trauma and unspoken grief patterns silently influence our lives. From surviving the sudden death of her pa...

Mae Yoshikawa, author, TEDx speaker, and the creator of Kizuki Journaling, joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore her profound journey through grief, culture, and embodiment. Her reflections challenge us to see grief not as a problem to fix, but as an integral part of human experience that deepens our capacity to love and live fully. Key topics: Cultural differences in grieving: Japanese vs. America...

In a world overwhelmed by collective trauma and personal grief, how can we rebuild trust, safety, and connection—starting from within? Angela Schellenberg, trauma therapist and expert in attachment and somatic healing joins host Lisa Keefauver as she unpacks how early wounds shape our current relationships with ourselves and others—and reveals transformative tools to rewire that deep wiring. This...

Sandi Serling, creator and host of Fear Unzipped, joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore the profound connection between grief, love, and spiritual healing. Sandi shares her wisdom on how fear shapes the nervous system, perception, and identity. Together, they explore the role of fear and how we can reshape our relationship with it. Through awareness, we can learn to elevate our frequency to connect...

Sara Rian joins host Lisa Keefauver for an honest, courageous, and vulnerable conversation exploring the both/and of living, loving, and the devastating grief and trauma we experience in the wake of death by suicide. She has been drawn to grief poetry ever since her mother Susan’s death in 2018. Sara offers deep compassion for her mothers choice to end her life, speaks about the complexity of bein...

Marisa Renee Lee returns for a second conversation with host Lisa Keefauver to discuss her powerful new book, Waiting for Dawn , which delves deeply into the nuanced experience of living with ongoing uncertainty, particularly in the context of grief, chronic illness, and systemic challenges. As always, Marisa is candid, warm, and witty - offering insights that empower listeners to navigate life's...

Shelby Forsythia, Grief Educator and Author joins host Lisa Keefauver for a second time on the show, this time to explore the wisdom she offers about grief support in her brand new book, Of Course I’m Here Right Now. 100% of us will be grievers and grief supporters, yet so often we rely on outdated ideas of grief and harmful platitudes. In Shelby’s book, and in this gorgeous conversation, we explo...

Lizzie Pickering, grief educator and author of When Grief Equals Love joins host Lisa Keefauver sharing profound insights on how grief evolves over time and how maintaining bonds with loved ones keeps love alive long after loss. Her own story of the death of her son Harry along with interviews she did with grievers help challenge the myths of closure, emphasizing that grief and love coexist in a j...

Death doula and storyteller Darnell Lamont Walker joins host Lisa Keefauver for the second time on the show. Since their last conversation, Darnell has reflected on the stories of his work and his life, offering them up in his poignant and powerful new book, Never Can Say Goodbye . They explore how curiosity, storytelling, and deep compassion are at the core of what it takes to accompany someone a...

Naila Francis joins host Lisa Keefauver for a tender and magical conversation on the sacred nature of grief. Naila begins by acknowledging an experience of grief too often ignored—the anger that arises when the person who died was someone with whom you had a complicated or problematic relationship. For Naila, that was her dad. Together they explore their shared interest in centering aliveness in a...

Charlene Lam joins host Lisa Keefauver for an in-depth and intimate conversation about the aspects of grief we long to explore but so rarely do in our daily life. Just as she does in her gorgeous book,  Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies, Charlene explores what it means to curate the tangible and intangible left behind in the wake of loss. Sometim...

Nina Rodriguez joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore aspects of grief too often ignored, particularly focusing on sibling loss and the the societal stigmas surrounding addiction-related deaths. Nina shares the impact of unexpected loss, the importance of savoring life's little pleasures, her journey of reclaiming narratives and the ongoing process of living with wonderment. One of the things you wo...

Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer joins host Lisa Keefauver for a heartfelt conversation exploring the complexities of grief, the power of poetry, and the importance of self-compassion in the grieving process. They dive deep into the role of metaphor as a way to metabolize grief, and how writing can serve as a vehicle for self-compassion. Rosemerry is in a deep and expansive relationship with grief a...

Lisa Pahl joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore themes they're both passionate about—the sacred thresholds of life: dying, dementia, death, and grief. As a deeply experienced hospice social worker, she shares her wisdom on creating lasting memories with loved ones facing end-of-life, the role of hospice in grief support, and the dynamics that influence decision-making around hospice care. She discu...

Having met first in 2024 when they both spoke at End Well, Sah D’Simone joined host Lisa Keefauver for a live in-studio conversation. Together they explore a wide range of topics - the death of his mother, our tendencies to escape the pain even in the name of healing, the power of somatic embodiment, what helping without hope looks like and so much more. With heart and sometimes humor, Sah shares...

Guest Michelle Hord joined host Lisa Keefauver to kick off Season 7 of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast. Michelle knows that behind every tragic headline are real people experiencing real pain from catastrophic loss. As she shared in our Season 5 conversation on Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast, soon after she filed for divorce, her husband murdered their 7-year-old daughter, Gabrielle. She faced th...

Guests Hui-Wen Sato, Lisa Pahl, and Dr. Sunita Puri join host Lisa Keefauver for a special episode of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast produced with nonprofits ‪@medicinalmediaorg‬ and ‪@unlikelycollaborators‬ One doctor, one nurse, and two social workers walked into a podcast studio to explore what does it really mean to live honestly with grief, caregiving, and the hard decisions we’re never taug...

Hospice Nurse Penny as she’s known to millions on Tik Tok and Instagram joins host Lisa Keefauver for this episode of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast. They explore Penny’s journey into hospice care, the myths surrounding hospice, and the importance of reframing our understanding of grief and death. Penny emphasizes that hospice care is about enhancing the quality of life for patients and dispellin...

Jennifer Hassel, author of 'Badass Grief joins host Lisa Keefauver' to discuss her journey through profound loss and the adventures that followed. Jennifer shares her early experiences with grief, the legacy of her husband Mark, and how she navigated parenting while grieving. The discussion emphasizes the importance of living fully in memory of loved ones and the challenges of finding happiness am...

In this episode of the Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast, host Lisa Keefauver welcomes mother-daughter duo Suzy Hopkins and Hallie Bateman to discuss their new book, 'What to Do When You Get Dumped.' Suzy’s world fell apart when just a few weeks shy of her retirement, her husband of more than 30 years announced he was leaving her. Relying on her skills as a journalist, she set out to understand what...

Welcome ESPN Sports Broadcaster Lauren Sisler to Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast with host Lisa Keefauver. As a sportscaster and former collegiate gymnast, Lauren is passionate about sports, but even more passionate about telling the stories of the coaches, athletes, and fans who make it more than a game. Lauren's life was not always marked by victories. In 2003, as a freshman at Rutgers Universit...

Mary-Frances O’Connor is one of the foremost experts on the impact of grief on the brain and the body. That’s why host Lisa Keefauver was thrilled to welcome her back to the podcast for a second time to discuss her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing . Just as Mary-Frances did in her book, she combines fascinating science, intimate storytelling,...

Welcome Serene Meshel-Dillman to the show. In this episode, host Lisa Keefauver engages in a profound conversation with Serene - a producer and filmmaker, about her documentary series 'Take Me Out Feet First.' now playing on Amazon Prime. – is a poignant documentary series delving into the deeply personal journeys of 25 terminally ill individuals as they navigate their end-of-life decisions and ex...

Consolée Nishimwe and Barbara Becker joined host Lisa Keefauver for this powerful episode. In this episode, these friends explore the profound themes of grief, trauma, and resilience. They discuss Consolée's experiences as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, and the importance of empathy and storytelling in the healing process. The conversation highlights the significance of creating safe spaces f...

Sundari Malcolm, a Birth, Grief, and Death Doula, joined host Lisa Keefauver for this episode. In 2007, at 27 years old, and after 7 years of being her Caregiver, Sundari Malcolm lost her mother to Breast Cancer. 4 years later, her father died from the complications of Brain Cancer. Those experiences redirected her life, and she's made it her mission to equip people with the tools they need to man...