Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris

Send us Fan Mail A life-limiting diagnosis doesn’t just change a calendar. It scrambles the way people think, decide, and even talk to the ones they love, especially when money and legal choices suddenly feel urgent. We’re joined by Rose Zealand, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER­­™, Certified Financial Transitionist®, and death doula who’s building a rare kind of support for people facing “dying too...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Maddy Roach of Childfree Trust® about why child-free and permanently childless adults face a different kind of estate planning problem: not paperwork, but finding the right people to legally act when life gets messy. We share how Child Free Trust helps fill the medical POA gap, protects your wishes & reduces the burden that often lands on advisors and friends.  •...

Send us Fan Mail A client looks at you and says, “Chris, just take care of it.” Sounds simple until the “it” is a medical crisis, an estate plan that can’t wait, a $130,000 hospital bill that should have been covered by insurance, and a sudden decline that forces real decisions in real time. We share the full story of Hugh Breeze, a client I meet in 2004 who wants a straightforward path into retir...

Send us Fan Mail He was up at 5 a.m., alone in the dark, running drills before middle school tryouts and he didn’t do it because I pushed him. Watching my son Eli work that hard simply because he loves basketball hit me in a way I didn’t expect, and it forced me to question my own lifelong relationship with motivation. I share a personal story that connects my past to my present: how my early bask...

Send us Fan Mail A great interview with Professional Photographer Carter Cundiff of Kate Styles Photography.  We explore how grief-focused photography can help honor loved ones, why saying their names matters, and where end-of-life planning meets compassion. Carter shares her practice, shamanic training, and how images become legacy, while we unpack the role of death doulas and the realities of ca...

Send us Fan Mail A quiet truth powers this conversation: writing a book is only half the work—bringing it to the people who need it is the other half. I walk through the path from private pages written for healing to a public launch designed to serve clients in grief and the advisors who guide them. Along the way, I unpack how to ask for help without feeling self-conscious, why a launch team turns...

Send us Fan Mail I am excited to share my new book Life After Grief:  Holding the Numbers with Shaking Hands I have  an exclusive invitation for my listeners... Join my book launch team for Life After Grief:  Holding the Numbers with Shaking Hands and help bring this message into the world: Launch I kick off Season 10 by sharing the plan to write my first book on grief and financial care, how my p...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when years of therapeutic writing suddenly resurfaces as the foundation for a transformative book? In this deeply personal episode, Chris reveals his journey into authorship after discovering eight detailed chapters he'd written during trauma therapy years ago—writing he had no memory of creating. The decision to transform these raw materials into a published boo...

Send us Fan Mail Family secrets can shatter our perception of loved ones and force us to reevaluate our entire history when they come to light after death. We explore the devastating discovery of a father's 40-year affair and second family, revealed on the same day as his passing, just months after losing a mother. • Discovery of father's 40-year affair and second family on the day of hi...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when grief becomes not just an event but a lifelong journey that shapes your entire mission? Chris opens his heart in this deeply personal episode, revealing the profound losses that have defined his path. From the moment his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 to becoming her caregiver through Alzheimer's, Chris takes listeners through the raw realit...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when financial planning unexpectedly transforms into caregiving? This deeply personal episode explores the real-life experience of navigating the sandwich generation from a financial advisor's perspective. When my 20-year client—a man my father's age—was involved in a serious car accident, our carefully established estate planning documents became the founda...

Send us Fan Mail Ever received a legal threat and felt that knot in your stomach? Mediation might be the solution you never knew you needed. Drawing from three distinct experiences with legal mediation over two decades, I pull back the curtain on what really happens when legal disputes arise and how the financial implications affect everyone involved. What started with a dishonest contractor who p...

Send us Fan Mail When my 15-year-old godson Luka started peppering me with financial questions at a family gathering, I knew we had the makings of something special. What followed was an authentic, unfiltered conversation that captures the financial curiosity of today's teens and provides straightforward guidance that listeners of any age can apply to their own financial journeys. Luka, alrea...

Send us Fan Mail Grief transforms us in ways we never anticipate - sometimes leading us directly into our life's purpose. Lisa McFarland joins Chris to share her extraordinary journey through child loss and how she discovered unexpected meaning on the other side. After losing her daughter Alexis to a rare genetic bone marrow disease, Lisa took an unusual path: she became a pediatric ICU nurse...

Send us Fan Mail Gratitude radiates throughout this season finale as we reflect on the unexpected journey that took a local grief and finances podcast to global impact. What began as a challenging undertaking has evolved into a meaningful platform connecting grieving individuals with resources and community they never knew existed. The transformative power of mentorship takes center stage as I sha...

Send us Fan Mail I was super excited for an inspiring chat with PreMed Student, Sophia Donovan.  Sophia also happens to be my Goddaughter.   We talk about things like.... What makes sense financially...traveling abroad or staying stateside for an internship or residency? What makes sense financially....attending an expensive top tier med school or a modest well established med school? We also talk...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what separates those who merely survive trauma from those who transform it into a force for change? Carolyn Moore, founder of Modern Widows Club, returns to the podcast to introduce us to the concept of the "super survivor" – individuals who don't just overcome personal tragedy but return to create support systems for others walking similar paths. Draw...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when two financial planners who've experienced profound personal loss meet? They forge a friendship that transforms both their personal healing journeys and professional approaches to helping others through grief. In this vulnerable and insightful conversation, host Chris Dale welcomes fellow financial planner Daniel Kopp, MA, MS, CFP®,MQFP® to share his remarkab...

Send us Fan Mail What does the path from financial despair to freedom actually look like? In this deeply personal conversation, Certified Master Financial Coach Elizabeth Ramos reveals her remarkable journey from accumulating $300,000 in debt as a single mother to completely eliminating it—and now helping others do the same. Despite being naturally gifted with money management from childhood (crea...

Send us Fan Mail A child drowns every day in America. The silence that follows devastates families, communities, and changes lives forever. But what if these tragedies could be prevented? Meet Heidi Burnett, founder of Swim Sprout and a woman on a profound mission to stop drowning before it happens. With drowning being the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and claiming 320,000 lives wor...

Send us Fan Mail Chris  pulls back the curtain on his deeply personal grief journey in this powerful inaugural episode that sets the foundation for what listeners can expect from "Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris." With remarkable candor, Chris reveals how his life has been shaped by a series of profound losses—beginning with his mother's devastating cancer diagnosis in 1994, t...

Send us Fan Mail The unexpected turns our lives take often reveal the true nature of our work and purpose. As we launch Season 8 of Real Talk with Life After Grief, we're taking a reflective journey through our most impactful conversations while sharing how grief work continues to evolve in surprising ways. This season represents a special dedication to our most popular episodes, reimagined w...

Send us Fan Mail Grief doesn't come with a roadmap, but understanding your natural grieving style can help you navigate the journey. In this revealing episode, host Chris Dale breaks down the two primary approaches to grief: analytical and intuitive. Analytical grievers tend to compartmentalize emotions, focusing on practical tasks while storing feelings away. More common among men, this appr...

Send us Fan Mail In this final episode of the season for 'Real Talk with Life After Grief,' I reflect on a recent conference for certified financial planners specializing in life transitions. I share moving stories from two speakers, Toby and Alexi, who discussed their personal experiences with IVF and child loss. These stories highlight the profound impacts of grief and how such experie...

Send us Fan Mail Facing Holidays Without Loved Ones Holidays can stir a mix of joy and melancholy, especially when facing them without loved ones. As shared in the podcast, the first Thanksgiving and Christmas after personal losses were overwhelming. Traditions that once brought comfort felt hollow. Chris recounts the emotional toll and the necessity to find a mental space to recharge. Planning fo...