Good Grief

Already fascinated by the mysteries of death, sociologist Michelle Peticolas deepened her own understanding of death, and of grief, when she was faced with the deaths of both her parents within the same year. Join us as we explore the ways those losses opened her heart and led to her life's work as a filmmaker exploring death and as a coach facilitating grief. Together, we'll talk about how making...

Claire Bidwell Smith found out at 14 that both her parents had cancer. She spent the next ten years interweaving a halting journey to maturity with their declines and deaths (her mother when she was 14 and her father when she was 24). The many aspects of her grief led to a memoir, The Rules of Inheritance, which will soon be made into a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence. She is also a grief counsel...

What does a palliative care chaplain have to tell us about facing death and living life? Denah Joseph has sat with over a thousand dying people and their families. Her own early experiences with death led her to seek answers to the deepest life questions: Why are we here? What is important? How do we heal? Join me to learn more about what dying people have to teach us about what matters and what i...

Join me as we talk about how the worst time in Amikaeyla's life led to Music As Medicine, programming she developed which successfully helps people in the United States and around the world (including recently in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Sierra Leone) unlock their deepest inner voice. What links her work on national and international t.v., on recording...

Angelo Merendino is a photographer who started taking pictures of his wife as soon as he fell for her. His photo journaling became a calling when, five months after they were married, Jennifer was diagnosed with breast cancer. When he shared his photos in essay form, they went viral on Facebook, leading to appearances in the press and a TEDX talk. In this hour, Angelo will share what he wants peop...

I wouldn't ask my guests to do something I wouldn't do myself, so on this debut show, I've invited Marianna Cacciatore to interview me. Marianna is Executive Director of Bread for the Journey and host of Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Deeds, a weekly radio program on VoiceAmerica. Why did I want to host a show on grief? How did losing my wife lead to less fear, more courage, a greater sense o...