Shapes Of Grief

Filmmaker Jill Campbell talks to Liz about the making of the documentary Seat 20D, which tells the story of Suse Lowenstein, a bereaved mother whose son Alexi was one of 270 people killed in the Lockerbie terror attack thirty two years ago. Jill talks about making the documentary, what she learnt about grief. Jill also speaks about how her family are now dealing with the death of her father, Zoom...

Psychotherapist, Mother and author Gill Mann speaks to Liz about living with her son's mental illness, how it impacted her and the family and the grief that followed his sudden and untimely death when travelling abroad as a young man. About Shapes of Grief: Shapes of Grief is an internationally recognized organization dedicated to enhancing competency around loss, grief and bereavement literacy. C...

A really interesting discussion on Grief and Trauma from Trauma Therapist Meghan Riordan-Jarvis, who also experienced ptsd herself following the sudden and unexpected death of her beloved mother. Lots to learn here, for anyone experiencing or working with trauma. We talk about trauma in the therapy room, times when touch is necessary in therapy (co-regulation) and what modalities can be useful in...

Dr Esther Ramsey Jones is a Palliative Psychotherapist with years of experience supporting people towards the end of their lives. In her latest book "The Silly Thing: Shaping the Story of Life and Death", Esther takes us through the poignant turn of events in her life when her own mother became suddenly ill and was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  In this episode,  Esther talks to...

A wonderful conversation with Lindsey Whissel Fenton about many facets of grief, in particular, Disenfranchised Grief. Lindsey Whissel Fenton is a senior producer at WPSU, the PBS/NPR affiliate station in Central Pennsylvania. She’s an Emmy award-winning storyteller who is passionate about using public media to build empathy. Lindsey produced, directed, and wrote the documentary Speaking Grief and...

Sharing a few words about meeting our grief during the holidays, a time when grief can often be exacerbated. I hope this is helpful to you. Liz  #grief #bereavement #griefatchristmas #griefduringtheholidays #holidaysandgrief #christmasandgrief About Shapes of Grief: Shapes of Grief is an internationally recognized organization dedicated to enhancing competency around loss, grief and bereaveme...

Kate and her partner made the heartbreaking decision to terminate their third pregnancy for medical reasons. Legislation in Ireland meant that they had to travel to the UK to give birth to baby Leo. Kate speaks about the process in the hope that sharing her experience will help other parents experiencing similar tragic circumstances. #medicaltermination #fatalfoetalabnomality #perinatalloss #grief...

Sometimes I as I write these descriptions, I know that my words simply do not do justice to the story being shared; this episode is one of those times. Dana Lawson takes us through her experience of learning to live with cancer, go through extreme domestic violence and still come out the other side with a focus on achieving life-long dreams, despite her life experience. Dana talks about the 'battl...

In this episode, Norah reflects on the many shapes of grief that are manifesting in Ireland today, from the recent tragedies in Dublin and Cork, to the Mother & Babies Homes scandal that has caused widespread grief throughout the nation. On a more personal note, Norah shares her experience of domestic abuse, the physical violence she endured and how she found the courage to get out. She genero...

Greg Wise and his sister Clare were as close as siblings come. They shared a bond from childhood to adulthood, so when Clare received a difficult cancer diagnosis, life for both of them changed. In this episode, Greg talks about his relationship with Clare through her illness and how he became her primary carer throughout the last three months of her life until her death. Greg is generous in shari...

An extraordinary story of navigating multiple losses in a short space of time and how Autumn consciously chose to allow herself to experience joy again, in the face of bereavement overload, trauma and unmeasurable tragedy. #Parentalloss, #bereavementoverload, #organdonation #boldlyintothedarkness About Shapes of Grief: Shapes of Grief is an internationally recognized organization dedicated to enha...

Juliet Rosenfeld had been married to Andrew just 7 months when her beloved husband died of cancer. Five years on, Juliet has published a poignant memoir of their journey together with a cancer diagnosis, the strategies that Andrew employed to deal with his illness and how his death, despite his serious diagnosis, still came as a shock. We talk about the denial in both Andrew’s illness and also the...

Three years after her world stopped turning when her family were hit by a sudden and traumatic loss, Niamh Fitzpatrick has written a raw and tender memoir of her experience of grief, following the death of her sister and also the more silent losses of an IVF journey and the end of her marriage.  This book and indeed this conversation, are a veritable gift to the listeners and readers, as Niam...

Local Greystones Councellor, Dr. Mags Crean, speaks to Liz about the death of her parents, just a few weeks apart and how the birth of her first child in the middle of these losses contributed to her delayed grief. We talk about how unexpressed grief can build up and, in Mags' case, cause unbearable panic and anxiety.  Liz and Mags talk about the economics of grief and how difficult it can be...

Dr Mekel Harris, Clinical Psychologist, speaks about her tremendous grief following the death of her mother who was also her best friend. Liz and Mekel draw comparisons between our individual losses experienced around the time of bereavement and the collective loss following the death of George Floyd, a brutal death that has left the world reeling and crying out for change. Mekel discusses the ong...

So privileged to be joined again, for the third time, by Dr. Kathryn Mannix, Palliative Doctor and author of the bestselling book 'With the End in Mind".  Kathryn talks about how dying and death have changed as a result of Covid19, demystifying what is happening in our hospitals and what families need to know about how their loved ones may be cared for.  She takes us through how a death...

What a rich conversation this was, speaking to Katrina Taee and Wendelien McNicoll about their personal experiences of loss, their work with the dying and the bereaved, through to the recent launch of their very valuable book 'Surving the Tsunami of Grief'.  Between them, Katrina and Wendelien have a wealth of personal experience of loss as well as a very palpable passion for being of service...

Ger and Liz talk about how it is to be living in such unprecedented times and how being with the unknown can bring us to places that we usually don’t stop to face when in the usual busyness of life. We draw parallels between the collective grief that is in the air and the personal experience of loss through death. There are more questions here than answers, but our conversation may mirror some of...

When we are grieving, it is often as if the whole world has turned upside down and we need to navigate our new reality on very shaky ground. The pandemic Covid 19 that we are now living through will elicit feelings of grief and anxiety for many of us as we try to understand and process our new reality and find stability amongst the chaos. In this episode, Liz describes what can happen in our bodie...

Having coffee with a friend today, we commented on how we all have our stories, we all have our 'stuff'. This isn't always apparent when we look at each other. For those watching Nicola Crean complete her first Iron 'Man' in Cork last year, it would not have been obvious what hurdles she had overcome in the previous few years and how running had become her way of staying sane as the life she knew...

This was a really interesting talk with Jimmy Edmonds, award-winning filmmaker and bereaved father, on what his grief is like for him and how being creative helped him to find expression for his grief. Along with his wife Jane, Jimmy Produced and Directed the beautiful documentary 'A Love that Never Dies' - which documents life after their son's death as well as the grief journeys of several other...

In December 2019, a letter was published in the Irish Times from a grieving mother outlining how Christmas no longer held any meaning for her now that all of her three children had died. Beautifully crafted and containing an anguish barely imaginable to most of us, the letter soon went viral on social media and touched the hearts of people around the world. I had the immense privilege of talking t...

In this episode, Liz talks to Kate Gunn, author of 'Untying the Knot - how to consciously uncouple in the real world', about the grief of separation and divorce.  Purchase Kate's book 'Untying the Knot' here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untying-Knot-Consciously-Uncouple-World/dp/1786050684 When you are going through separation or divorce it can often feel like there is no way through the pain and...

This episode of Shapes Of Grief features the introduction by Liz of Shapes Of Grief and follows with Directors Q & A with Liz, Jane Harris & Jimmy Edmonds during a live screening of ‘A Love That Never Dies’ held in the Whale Theatre in Greystones, Co. Wicklow on January 29th 2020. The documentary itself can be viewed here for £3.99 https://thegoodgriefproject.co.uk/watch-a-love-that-never-...

A lovely episode with psychologist Chris Germer on how Self-Compassion can be a really useful practice at times of Grief.  Understanding the biology of self-compassion can assist us in understanding the mechanism of how kindness not criticism can support us through grief.  As promised in the episode, find links to Chris' website for lots of free resources and more information on Mindful...