The Beautiful Side of Grief

Unexpected glimpses into parts of our own selves are what my guest, Mirinda Kossoff shares with us in this episode. She discusses her memoir, The Rope of Life, which wrestles with suicide, family, and growing up divided between the cultured Jewish side of her family and the fundamentalist Southern Baptist side. Her memoir is set against the backdrop of her small Southern town upbringing; of town a...

A man of strong faith, Eddie L Johnson had his faith tested in 2004 when his young son was diagnosed with a brain tumour. On hearing the diagnosis he surrendered understanding this wasn't his battle to fight. It was his son's, and that he had to trust more than he had ever trusted before.  So began the journey of becoming who he is today. He moved from a very successful career in credit management...

Brine Hamilton has spent over 15 years in the security industry focusing primarily on the healthcare vertical in roles ranging from frontline security to a number of leadership positions. Currently, Brine is a System Engineer with Omnigo Software, and faculty at Fleming College and Seneca College in addition to serving on the Board of Directors as President-Elect with the International Association...

What If at the age of 31 - instead of having an engagement party you become an unplanned caregiver transporting your loved one 90 minutes each way to the hospital for treatment? Now imagine planning a wedding even though there was uncertainty around how much time you may have together? Those were the types of things my guest today, Ashley Jackson , was facing after her fiance, Troy, was diagnosed...

Early in her journey, Monique experienced some of life's hardest struggles, the death of both her mother and father, her grandmother, and great-grandmother, who were her biggest supporters, and her aunt who became her guardian, all before the age of 23. This domino of tragedies left her unprotected on the streets of San Francisco, California, learning to defend herself. By 25, she would later find...

In this episode, we take a look at John T's experiences with loss, particularly with how he has dealt with the loss of his mum from the other side of the world with whom he had a really close relationship growing up. He talks about this and more in an open, pragmatic and heartfelt way. I hope you will get some great insights from this chat. You don't want to miss: The value of not leaving things l...

Today's episode is going to stretch the way you think about healing your own grief. Plus, we look at chronic conditions and addictions which can also go hand in hand with grief. Elizabeth Kipp is a Chronic Pain Specialist, Yoga-Informed Addiction Recovery Coach, Ancestral Clearing® Practitioner, Yoga, and Meditation Teacher, and international best-selling author of "The Way Through Chronic Pain: T...

What do you do when two decades into your career, your life comes to a screeching halt when you become widowed without warning and the sole parent to three young daughters? How do you cope when you're thrown another curveball 18 months after losing your husband when you get a cancer diagnosis.  Well, that's what we are going to be exploring with our guest today, Lydia Knorr, whose personal journey...

I was lucky enough to connect with my guest today Jesse Brisendine a few months ago, on his podcast A Handful of Hope. He won me over with his courageous story of multiple losses and upbeat positivity, warmth, and beautiful compassion. He is a bestselling author & award-winning speaker who is also considered a world-renowned expert in the work he does with individuals and organizations to move bey...

Season 2 launches on the 14 September and I hope you can join me! I get to interview many more wonderful guests sharing their unique grief journeys and stories, plus key takeaways for you on your own journey.  This is ... The Beautiful Side of Grief. Listen for a preview of upcoming guests 💜

My guest today, Kim Hopkins, is an international model and actress with a career spanning five decades. She also coaches, directs and produces.  Now, why am I speaking to such an accomplished actress and coach today? Well, she has a very interesting side occupation of being an end-of-life companion and that's what we are going to delve into today. You don't want to miss: How she became an end-of-l...

Dan and Nancy Loeffler are the founders of Being With Grief. As parents who lost their 17-year old daughter, Leah, in a car accident in November of 2000, they fully understand the territory of grief. Their daughter's death provided a doorway to their transformation that they never expected. They now help others to navigate their grief.  Dan is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist, and Nancy works...

Even a psychology degree doesn't prepare you for the depths unexpected grief can take you. Madison Eshelman discusses with me the severe depression and anxiety she experienced after the loss of her ex-partner, her journey through that, and the power of neuroplasticity in her healing. She shares so many great insights around this. You don't want to miss: How we can begin to heal only when we begin...

Devasting loss can lead to hope! Leigh White experienced the sudden, unexpected suicide of her brother at the age of 38. It was completely out of the blue and as you can imagine rocked her world and led her to question everything she knew. However, her journey is one of hope. Her pathways of healing led to her co-founding the charity Wings of Hope that has enabled frontline staff and schools acros...

At 28 most of us are thinking marriage, a home, perhaps children… for Rachel Engstrom it was about surviving the journey with her husband through leukemia, then loss. At 31 she was having to reboot her life without a map to show her the way. She never would have thought she would go from a widow alone in her house, crying, jobless husbandless, childless, to excited to talking on podcasts and being...

It's one of the most neglected forms of grief - the loss of a sibling. The person you grew up with, who you shared adventures and countless experiences with, who you shared had a unique bond with - and one day they are gone. In this episode Spiritual Lifestyle Coach, Ambila Nath, openly shares her journey of before, during, and after the loss of her beautiful older sister from cancer from a siblin...

When you grow up having your birthday parties in a funeral home you get to know and understand the funeral business pretty well first-hand. So, you can also understand why Andre Roupp is able to carry on the family tradition of the Roupp Funeral Home with such care and compassion. It's not just a job, it is a lifestyle. All this care and concern is shown in the wonderful resources available on the...

What happens when you have a leading scientist in his field come face to face with not one but several spiritual experiences through NDE - Near-Death Experiences? Well, that is what we are going to be exploring with my guest today - Brent Satterfield. He is the inventor of DNA testing technologies that have impacted millions of people across the globe. Following his multiple experiences with heave...

"At the age of 16 I was thrown in the "lion's den." The privacy that my family once had was stripped away. From that moment on every action, every interaction, and every decision was now placed on public display." This is my guest, Tasha W, describing the time surrounding the workplace accident that took her dad's life when she was 16. Buckle up as she takes us on an amazing journey...   You don't...

"It's hard to imagine that playing a game about death can be fun, even hilarious. It is. It's an ingenious way to talk about the hard stuff without any awkwardness, formality, or weirdness." (BakerMom1). She's talking about t he Death Deck, a new party game that lets you explore a topic we're all obsessed with but often afraid to discuss. It's guaranteed to tap into stories and ideas you've never...

Are you a 'loss traveler'? This is how my guest, Peggy Green, describes herself…a person who equips others with the tools to help them move through the loss of their child and guide them toward being happy again. And she has done this not once, but twice. First when she lost her daughter at only 9 months, and then many years later, her son.  We discuss her book -The Mother's Survival Guide to Cope...

In her early 20's Michele's first introduction to nursing was caring for people her own age who were dying. A big ask when her only prior experience with loss was that of her grandmother and what she briefly experienced in her training. However, once she mastered her own discomfit over death, holding space in an effective, positive, and professional way for those dying, whether in palliative care...

Can you really connect with your loved one in spirit world? Well, yes you can. Clairvoyent Medium Rachel Wright has been doing this for people around the world for many years. She chats with us today on the value of people receiving messages from their loved ones and how this can give hope and peace during a time that this seems impossible. She does it with warmth, compassion and caring. You don't...

Shame. Guilt. Both are powerful emotions though it's shame that has the ability to take you on a journey into hell and leave you there. Today's guest - Craig Brown found himself in his own pit of hell, sucked up into the drug life that invites any one, any race, any time. We discuss the rampant heroin and fentanyl addiction that is destroying too many families… where too many lives and beautiful s...

How does someone go from experiencing the suicide of a close family member at a time it wasn't widely talked about, to using that experience to fund and promote suicide awareness? Well, that's exactly what Larry Strung and his wife Denise did, and continue to do 17 years down the line. Immediately following Keith's passing they were looking to do good on a promise made to him that, if something we...