Your grief is normal, and your grief has ALWAYS, ALWAYS belonged. Plus, a BIG announcement!

What if death is not a thing we’re all waiting for, bu instead is an integral part of every second of every day? This week, Rob Bell and I are discussing grief through the lens of his new book Everything Is Spiritual. We’re talking about how two total opposites can be true at the same time, why some losses feel like graduations and others feel like divorces, and how to reframe the phrase, “Now what?” from a question of despair to a call for curiosity.

Diane Zinna became an adult orphan at 23 after losing her father at 15 and her mother the day she graduated from a master’s program in creative writing. Diane's new novel, The All-Night Sun, tells the story of a grieving teacher whose losses follow her to a Midsommar’s Eve celebration, where things take a dark turn. Today, we’re talking about how we decide when to share our grief stories with others, and how common it is for our grief stories to be disjointed, unpredictable, and non-linear.

When Art Shaikh’s father died, he left Art letters and flowers to deliver to relatives that were still living. Inspired by the human desire to leave a legacy after death and continue to be there for loved ones who are living on, Art created CircleIt, a free app that helps you send letters, flowers, photos, videos, and gifts to people you love after you die. This week we’re talking about why people long to be remembered and all of the different ways people are preparing to leave a legacy...

Within the course of a year, Mona Luna acknowledged two major griefs in her life: the grief of growing up with a father struggling with alcoholism and the grief of enduring emotional abuse in a long-term romantic relationship. Yoga, therapy, and working with life coaches helped her return her to herself after years of never truly feeling “at home". We’re talking about creating boundaries, honoring why it’s not selfish to work on yourself, and sharing a helpful re-defining of trauma: “too...

Osteopath, doula, and zero-balancer Avni Trivedi marries Eastern and Western practices to treat grief in the body. After a myriad of losses including being present during her grandmother’s stroke, she studied the body, which—intuitively—became a doorway to studying grief. Today, we’ll talk bout how the body responds to grief, even years after a loss, how to cope in a world of six feet apart during COVID-19, and how to deal with feeling stuck by moving the body.

What does it mean to make love to grief? This week, I’m speaking to Sara Chizek about the sensuality and creativity that arrives when we practice the art of grief embodiment. After shutting herself off to the four-year-old girl who lost a father, her exploration of grief in her body opened her up to feeling whole and at home. What would it look like if we tried to practice grieving as much as we practiced resisting grief? Listen in for a powerful conversation.

After her father’s death in 2016, Mana Bhatt Sangvi committed to living a live with no regrets. Her business, Treasure Texts, helps people communicate unspoken gratitudes to the people they love while they are still alive to receive them. This week, we’re talking about the different between anticipatory grief and the permanent grief that comes with loss and how Mana’s Hindu background gave her comfort when it was time to release her father’s spirit.

After becoming a social worker, Cristina Chipriano helped create grief support programs in Spanish at Bo’s Place in Houston, where much of the community is Latino. Today, Cristina and I are talking about how death can take families farther apart AND closer together, how the cultural value family pride prompts Latino grievers to get grief support, and why it’s so important for grievers to be able to express their grief in their first language, what Cristina calls the language of the heart.

Have you ever felt grief in your body? This week, Victoria Albina is teaching all of us how to use the body as a method to move from resistance to acceptance, release people-pleasing and perfectionism, and harness the oh-so powerful vagus nerve to pay close attention to grief. This conversation is full of tips and tools to reclaim ourselves and our bodies after devastating loss.

A massive amount of family deaths plus his work as a Hospice chaplain enlightened Gary Shockley to the reality of kids as “forgotten mourners.” His children’s book, My Heart Sings a Sad Song is a non-denominational guide for children and their caregivers to sparking conversations about grief and emotions. Today we’re talking about how we can help kids get better acquainted with the human experience of loss and how we can hold a little more space for ourselves in our grief.

Dara Kurtz received decades of wisdom from her dead mother and grandmothers after stumbling across a Ziplock bag of letters. Her new book, I Am My Mother’s Daughter is an inside look at the intimate wisdom shared across maternal generations and a love letter to the power of preserving the written word. Today we’re talking about the four different types of letters you can write or receive and why you might consider writing a legacy letter to your loved ones.

It’s helpful to remember that grief is an experience, not an obstacle or a destination. Plus, enroll now in my best-selling online grief support course, Life After Loss Academy, beginning August 31. Now at a lower price due to COVID-19.

Melissa Bottorff-Arey’s life turned upside down when her son, Alex, took his own life during his junior year at college. Her new podcast, The Leftover Pieces, features conversations on living life after suicide. We’re discussing the rage that often follows learning more information about a loss, how our mental health is impacted when someone we love dies, the glaring holes in our school systems that fail kids at an emotional and mental level, and how the suicide of a child changes identity as...

Instagram-famous therapist Dr. Jenn Hardy is known for her intuitive wisdom on boundaries, self-care, rest, and grief. Today, we’re talking about how most of us underestimate the weight of emotional labor (especially in COVID-19), and why it’s impossible to compare losses. Also, we touch on how to shop for a therapist in the aftermath of a loss and why you might consider swapping out your critical inner voice for one you love and admire.

Lindsay Joy Taylor, founder of The Joyful Jewelry Box, lost her mom when she was just 13 months old. Growing up without true memories of her mom, Lindsay Joy found comfort in her mom’s jewelry box. She now makes keepsake jewelry so that others can honor their loved ones through physical mementos. We’re talking about how we can witness ourselves in grief, how Lindsay Joy is finding peace in the still-unsolved murder of her mother, and how the stories we tell ourselves impact the way we grieve.

Denise Soler Cox lost her father and brother before the age of 18. Convinced she was “the most unlucky person she knew,” she believed she was doomed to a life of isolation. We’re talking about how vulnerability is a true measure of power, why sharing pain helps others know they are not alone, and how being willing to belong opens us up to a world of connection in grief. Plus, Denise is sharing the beautiful, grief-filled story behind her free documentary on belonging in the Latina community,...

At the age of 38, Rachel Wilkinson’s dream of motherhood ended. Thrust into the emotional and confusing grief of death of a lifelong dream, she turned to ancient practices of witchcraft and divination to create and direct her life after loss. This week, we’re talking about the power of dreams and signs to guide us in grief, how we can come to acceptance through stereotypically “occult” methods, and why leaning on intuition and spirituality isn’t as uncommon as you think.

After giving birth to her second daughter, Katie Arnold got the news that her father was going to die. Less than 10 weeks later, he passed away from terminal kidney cancer. Her book Running Home is a detailed look at her life after her dad died. Today we’re talking about how Katie used running to cope with her father’s death, why it’s normal to fear your own death after a loved one dies, and the profound connections between watching life enter the world and watching life exit it.

Speaking Grief is a new television documentary that features grieving and expert voices from a variety of backgrounds—all with the goal of kickstarting conversations about grief and loss. This week, I’m talking to Lindsey Whissel Fenton about how we can become more comfortable in awkward conversations, why we should normalize changing our minds after learning new information, and how we can open the door for others to share their grief. Plus, I’m pausing to honor the Black Lives Matter movement.

On July 13, 2011 Kelley Lynn woke up to an entirely new life. Her husband, Don, collapsed from a massive heart attack at work just four years and nine months into their happy marriage. Kelley suddenly became a widow. This week we’re talking about how loss forces us to reinvent ourselves, why we need to grieve both personal and joint dreams, and how one laughable grief cliche turned into a global rainbow-spotting movement honoring Don’s life.

The death of his cat prompted Kevin Ringstaff to study pet loss and find ways to open up conversation on the devastation that comes with the loss of a pet. Today, we’re discussing why the loss of a pet is so devastating, how to cope with the guilt of euthanizing a pet, and how to navigate coming home to an empty house after a pet dies.

When she was in her senior year of college, Cheryl Strayed’s mother, Bobbi, received a cancer diagnosis and died in just seven weeks. Today, I’m speaking with her on Motherless Mother’s Day 2020 about the death of her mom and how we can live full, beautiful lives after a mother dies. We explore what to do with the feeling of longing that never goes away, the helpfulness of self-forgiveness, and why putting ourselves in the way of beauty can help us soften the ache of grief.

Ten years ago, Jan Warner lost her husband Artie. In the years after his death, Jan wrestled with suicidal thoughts and the urge to wallow. In 2018, she published a book called Grief Day by Day that speaks to grievers through a year’s worth of quotes and exercises. Today, we’re talking about the very real feeling of wanting to die after a loved one dies, changing how we measure effort and productivity after loss, and how to reframe “Is this normal?” into another, more important question.