Talking Grief with Rainbow Tomes

In this episode, Simon Blake, CEO of Stonewall, joins us to discuss how workplaces can better support individuals going through challenging or painful periods in their lives. The conversation explores how leaders can balance compassion with performance, ensuring work remains supportive rather than becoming an added burden. Key Topics Discussed Why performance naturally fluctuates during periods of...

In the final episode of the first series of Talking Grief, the roles are reversed as host Rainbow Tomes becomes the interviewee. Reflecting on the journey of creating the podcast, Rainbow shares insights, emotions and key themes that have emerged from conversations with guests throughout the series. This episode explores what it has meant to hold space for stories of loss, the powerful common thre...

In this episode of Talking Grief, host Rainbow Tomes is joined by Martin Edwards, CEO of Julia’s House Children’s Hospice. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience supporting families whose children have life-limiting conditions, Martin shares deep insights into how grief affects individuals, families, friendships and workplaces. Together they explore the realities of bereavement, the importanc...

In this episode, Rainbow Tomes speaks with Jane Barry, Managing Director at Liberty Recruitment Group, about how grief shows up in professional environments as well as in personal life. Jane shares her experiences of supporting team members through loss, navigating her own bereavement after losing her mother, and the importance of empathy, flexibility and shared understanding at work. Together the...

In this episode of Talking Grief , Rainbow speaks with Becks Tridgell, co-founder of the Autistic Women’s Club, about a form of grief that isn’t often discussed — the grief that can come with a late autism diagnosis . For Becks, discovering she was autistic wasn’t about losing something in the present. In fact, it was about finding a missing piece of identity . But alongside that discovery came a...

In this episode of Talking Grief , Rainbow sits down with Hannah O’Hare, CEO of Forest Home Hospice Charity, to explore what grief looks like inside the workplace — especially from a leadership perspective. Although Hannah shares that she hasn’t experienced significant personal bereavement herself, she has spent 14 years working in the hospice sector. Through supporting families, colleagues, and t...

Grief isn’t only about death—it can surface any time life changes and something familiar ends. Jess Jones has seen this “career grief” repeatedly through her work in recruitment, headhunting, and leadership: people leaving long-term roles through redundancy, stepping away for maternity/adoption, or facing uncertainty during restructures and acquisitions. Jess and Rainbow discuss the fear, identity...

Pet loss can be life-altering — and too often misunderstood, especially at work. Rainbow Tomes sits down with Erica Farmer (Business Director & Co-Founder, Quantum Rise Talent Group) to talk about the deep bond we share with animals, the anticipatory grief that can come with illness, and what meaningful support from managers can actually look like. With Daisy the pug joining the conversation,...

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