Laugh, Cry, Scream: Life with Grief & Estrangement

What happens when people start saying, "You've changed"? Sometimes it's criticism. Sometimes it's grief. But sometimes it's the first sign you're finally becoming who you were always meant to be.  For a long time, I thought that was something to fear. I thought changing meant I'd somehow become less of who I was. But what if those words are actually evidence that you're finally becoming yourself?...

How many estranged parents have to die before we start paying attention? In this episode of Laugh. Cry. Scream, Chris tackles one of the most difficult conversations in the estrangement community: hopelessness, despair, and suicide among estranged parents. Why are so many parents reporting feelings of hopelessness? Why are warning signs being ignored? And why do so many people seem more interested...

Today we're doing something different. For years I've talked about grief, estrangement, healing, boundaries, and how to survive some of life's hardest experiences. But many people only know me through social media clips, posts, and short videos. In this episode, Hurricane Melissa turns the tables and puts me in the hot seat. We talk about child loss, estrangement, assumptions, social media, critic...

What happens when being right becomes more important than being connected? In this episode of Laugh Cry Scream , we tackle one of the biggest challenges in grief, estrangement, and relationships: the need to prove our point at all costs. Whether it's family conflict, marriage struggles, friendships falling apart, or estrangement between parents and adult children, many people find themselves trapp...

After a major loss, many grieving people experience a second heartbreak nobody warns them about: People disappear. Friends stop calling. Family gets uncomfortable. Support fades. And suddenly you're grieving both the person you lost and the relationships that changed afterward. In this episode of the Laugh Cry Scream Podcast, Chris Workman explores the loneliness that often follows grief, why peop...

Some grandparents are grieving children and grandchildren who are still alive. And almost nobody talks honestly about what that kind of grief actually does to people over time. In this episode, we talk about:  grandparent estrangement   grief without closure   watching grandchildren grow up from far away   social media grief   emotional waiting   missed years and milestones   unresolved family pai...

In this deeply emotional episode of Laugh. Cry. Scream., Chris sits down with Jennifer to talk about the devastating ripple effects of suicide loss. This conversation explores:  • the shock after suicide  • guilt and unanswered questions  • the silence survivors often face  • how suicide grief impacts entire families  • what support actually helps after this kind of loss This episode is raw, hones...

Grief can make you feel like you’re still physically here… while emotionally disappearing piece by piece. In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream, Chris talks about the identity loss, emotional exhaustion, numbness, and quiet isolation grieving parents often experience after child loss. Because sometimes grief doesn’t look like crying.  Sometimes it looks like:  • pulling away from people  • forgett...

Grief doesn’t just hurt.  Sometimes it completely changes who you are. In this episode of Laugh. Cry. Scream. , Chris Workman talks about the identity shifts that happen after major loss — the emotional exhaustion, social disconnect, numbness, irritability, and quiet ways grief can make people feel unfamiliar to themselves. Because grief isn’t always obvious.  Sometimes it looks like:  pulling awa...

Estranged parents are grieving too.  But many stop talking about it because every conversation starts to feel dangerous. In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream , Chris Workman talks honestly about the silence many estranged parents fall into after being dismissed, judged, blamed, or emotionally shut down. This conversation explores:  why estranged parents start censoring themselves   the fear of be...

 Grief does not just change your life. Sometimes it changes you. In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream, Chris Workman talks about the part of grief many people quietly experience but struggle to explain out loud: the identity loss that can happen after profound grief. This conversation explores: • emotional exhaustion • brain fog and overwhelm • feeling disconnected from yourself • relationship ch...

When your adult child walks away, the pain is not just the silence. It is the guilt, the shame, the judgment, and the endless replay of every moment where you wonder what you could have done differently. In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream: Life with Grief and Estrangement , Chris Workman and Joe Sassman talk honestly about the guilt and shame loop that so many estranged parents live with. From...

In this deeply emotional episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream , Chris and Joe talk about the unimaginable reality of losing a child. They share the phone calls, the final moments, the shock, the numbness, and the memories that never leave. Joe opens up about the final conversation his son had with his own child before his death, and Chris shares the heartbreaking day she lost her son after years of navig...

Could you handle the truth if your entire foundation was a lie? In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream: Life with Grief and Estrangement, hosts Chris Workman and Joe Sassman sit down with Al Isaacs, a man whose life changed with a single, accidental phone call at age 52. As Al was navigating the heavy waters of anticipatory grief—caring for both parents as they battled dementia—a call from his moth...

What happens when the word boundary becomes the end of the relationship instead of the beginning of a real conversation? In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream , Chris Workman and Joe Sassman dig into one of the most painful realities of family estrangement: being cut off by an adult child with little to no conversation, often through language that feels scripted, sudden, and final. They talk about...

In this episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream , we take on a question that hits hard for a lot of people living through loss: What hurts more, grief or estrangement? If you have experienced physical loss, estrangement, or both, you already know this is not a simple comparison. One comes with finality. The other comes with unanswered questions, rejection, silence, hope, and the pain of someone still being...

What does it really feel like to be an estranged parent while also carrying deep grief? In the first episode of Laugh, Cry, Scream, Chris Workman and Joe Sassmen share their stories of child loss, estrangement, shame, guilt, and healing. They introduce the heart behind the podcast and share the deeply personal stories that brought them here. They talk about child loss, parental estrangement, guilt...

Something amazing is loading... A raw 20-second moment from Laugh, Cry, Scream with Chris Workman , a podcast about grief, family estrangement, emotional healing, and life after loss. This short episode speaks to the real emotions that come with grief, parent-child estrangement, broken family relationships, and the healing journey. If you are looking for grief support, estrangement support, or hon...