What About Grief?

If you’ve ever found yourself in the throes of grieving a loss, and wondered ‘do I need help?’, today’s show is for you. Larry sits down with renowned grief therapist and author, Claire Bidwell Smith for some advice and perspective on the best ways to begin to seek help when you’re grieving. Because, figuring out how, where and if you need help can be confusing as the grief you are swimming in.  T...

In this episode Larry speaks with Tim Scanlan, who lost his wife Holly back in 2012 to appendiceal cancer.  Tim shares his raw and unfiltered emotions of life without Holly...from navigating single parenting, dealing with loneliness and when he discovered his grief actually began.  Plus the discussion leads to the question every widower gets asked...when do you think you might begin dating again? ...

Is it possible to grieve the loss of someone while they're still living?  For example, someone you're estranged from or maybe a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. The answer is "yes" and in this episode Larry speaks with Dr. Stacey Pinatelli, about this specific form of grief, called Ambiguous Loss that's more widespread than you might think.

New York Times bestselling author, Ann Hood, joins Larry on this episode of What About Grief?   She shares how grief and joy can actually share space in our aching hearts and have also been interwoven through her life following the death of her 5-year old daughter, Grace, in 2002 and the wise advice that helped her return to writing again.  Comfort: A Journey Through Grief  by Ann Hood https://boo...

As an announcer on ESPN and the Marquee Sports Network, Taylor McGregor is the consummate TV sports professional.  But today, Taylor joins Larry on this heartfelt episode of What About Grief?  She speaks about the loss of her father Keli when she was a teenager in high school and how that experience and grief has shaped her life going forward.  

How does anyone even begin to process loss on a massive scale following a natural disaster?  On this months episode of the What About Grief? podcast, Larry speaks with Megan Katerjian, whose Altadena home burned down to the ground in the recent wildfires that devastated so many communities in the Los Angeles area. Megan shares her harrowing story of those frightening days and how she, her family a...

We’re kicking off a third season of What About Grief? podcast with Larry’s guest, NBC Sports and Golf Channel host, Cara Banks. She shares how she and her parents coped with the chaos and grief following the tragic death of her brother, Myles, on a family ski trip in 2009. Cara talks openly about the chaos in the early days of his disappearance, her emotions once his body had been found and her ow...

Why has mourning a loss motivated so many of our guests into some kind of action?  Larry started this podcast as a way to honor his late wife, Sarah, and help others try to understand and cope with grief.  Today he speaks with Kate Seamons about her grief journey following the death of her husband, Ben, and how it propelled her to create Rainy Day Boxes - a way to help others suffering from a loss...

Widowed at 33, Larry's guest, Dana Frost, understands that sometimes in grief, joy has to be forced.  Through her own journey following the loss of her husband, Brad, she created  a resource known as The Forced Joy Project, a grief community offering support for anyone struggling in the darkness with help looking for, and finding glimmers of joy.  The good news is Dana does believe that yes,...

The bonds we share with our dearest animal companions are very special and today, Larry has a fascinating conversation with pet expert, journalist, radio host and animal behavior consultant, Steve Dale, about those incredible bonds, end of life for our pets and how to cope with and grieve their loss.  

Hard to believe it has been a full year since the launch of this podcast, which started as a way for Larry to try to help others, and himself, begin to understand grief.  Along with his producer Marcia Anderson, they cue up just some of the great advice, perspectives, fearlessness and vulnerability their guests brought to each episode, never failing to surprise and move us over the past 12-months....

The loss of a child at any age is devastating and the emotional pain that goes along with it stays with you forever.  But how do you move forward with that pain and grief?   How do you try and comprehend that the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing are not original to you only...but rather shared by others. Larry's guest this month, Jenna Rogers, introduces us to Faith's Lodge in...

Regret and guilt are inevitably a part of life, but if you're grieving there are important differences to understand in order to better be able to cope.   Larry's guest, Litsa Williams, has explored this very subject as Program Director at WhatsYourGrief.com and co-author of a new book called What's Your Grief?  Lists To Help You Through Any Loss .  She's here to help us unders...

Mourning a loss is one thing for an adult and something uniquely challenging for a child.  What's the best way you can help a small child or teenager process  their grief?  The answer can be very different in each case and today Larry focuses on understanding how grief affects kids with help from guests Tamara Ellis Smith, author of the beautiful children's book Grief Is An Elephant,  an...

Kim Witczak never set out to become a drug safety advocate, but in 2003, life as she knew it came crashing down around her when her husband, Woody, took his own life.  But Kim met her grief head on and started a journey searching for answers and a way to help others while honoring Woody.   Today Kim shares with Larry how her search for the truth gave her grief a purpose that ultimately makes a dif...

What's the difference between being alone and experiencing loneliness?  How do you cope with loneliness or with those around you?  How prevalent is loneliness in our society?  Today, Larry has a heartfelt conversation about this most challenging part of his own grief journey with two experts who have both studied loneliness extensively.  Dr. Louise Hawkley & Dr. Wendy Lichtenthal will sha...

How does an NFL legend face the most heartbreaking loss of his life?   Former Buffalo Bills Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly, joins Larry today                      and shares how he dealt with the loss of his 8-year old son, Hunter, to a terminal illness, has overcome multiple bouts with cancer and how his faith has shaped the way               he gets through everything life has thrown at him...

How do your memories, both good and bad, impact your grief?  Larry's guest today has devoted her career to studying how memories affect our experience of loss.  Dr. Mary Lamia, is a clinical psychologist, professor and author, most recently of the book, Grief Isn't Something To Get Over and she  will share her understanding of how our emotions and the persistence of memory are keys to un...

Here come The Holidays.  Parties, feasts, get-togethers, celebrations and more...the coming weeks are typically crammed with activities that can exhaust any person, but for someone who is grieving the approaching tidal wave of festivities presents a particular set of challenges. Today, Larry opens up and shares his own holiday ups and downs as a recent widower and he'll also get some helpful...

Zach Hoffpauir was an exuberant, gifted athlete, playing football and baseball with passion and intensity...described by those around him as always working to make everyone around him better. He loved life, and lived it in a big way, until darkness fell when he died at age 26. Today Larry connects with Doug Hoffpauir, Zach's father, in a conversation threaded with honesty, hope and even some...

How does a 15-year old golf prodigy get through the heart-breaking loss of her mother to breast cancer? Today, Larry’s guest is former LPGA star player and now Golf Channel analyst, Morgan Pressel, who shares some of the lessons learned since her mother passed away twenty years ago, at the very start of her golfing career.  In this episode, she takes a look back at one of the most challenging peri...

Is there a way to deal with the dreaded “grief ambush”? What is a good response to the well-meaning but awkward question, “how are you doing?” Have you ever wondered if there is a timeline to grief? Today Larry’s guests are Mary Spooner and Erin Mayes — the thoughtful mother/daughter duo who lead a Grief Share support group that helps move people through the process of grief. They’ll share actual,...

Host Larry Holm entered the grief world when his wife passed away from cancer in 2021.   As he continues to navigate the landscape of his own grief, he wants to discuss this topic with others who are traveling the unmapped highway that can be so lonely, confusing and very frustrating.   Through conversations with fellow grievers and experts in the field, Larry explores how to try and work through...