Lindsey Whissel Fenton is an Emmy award-winning storyteller who is passionate about using public media to build empathy. She is currently a senior producer and director at WPSU where, most recently, she developed, produced, directed, and wrote Speaking Grief , a multiplatform initiative that works to create a more grief-aware society; she continues to produce content for the initiative’s presence on Facebook and Instagram . You Can’t Say That , which Lindsey produced, was among eight U.S. progra...
Sep 22, 2022•51 min•Ep. 77
Jacob Moore is the founder of NoStigmas and creator of the 5 Bridges to Wellness system. He has been internationally recognized for his speaking, writing and advocacy work in mental health and suicide prevention. As a childhood suicide loss survivor, Jacob's work is focused on trauma, holistic wellness design and thriving despite mental illness. In addition to being an avid user of both nature and dog therapy, Jacob practices meditation, yoga and martial arts to support his mental wellness. http...
Sep 15, 2022•54 min•Ep. 76
Gina Moffa in her own words: I want to help people understand, explore, and heal from painful experiences. This includes grief and loss, trauma, life patterns that just aren’t working, anxiety that feels debilitating, and transitions that have been more challenging. Perhaps you know you have to make a change in your life, but just don’t know what it is or where to begin. I’m truly humbled by my work in helping people to find their way. Every day I’m moved and thankful for the trust and faith peo...
Sep 01, 2022•51 min•Ep. 75
In this episode I talk with Dr. Elena Lister and Michael Schwartzman, PhD about their New Book–Giving Hope: Conversations with Children About Illness, Death and Loss. The book is for any adult who may be taking care of a child. It offers compassionate and comprehensive guidance on how to understand oneself and the child facing impending loss or a loss that has occurred. We discuss how to have conversations with a child about death itself and many kinds of losses including of an immediate family ...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 74
Jenny Lisk is an award-winning author and widowed mom who is dedicated to helping widowed parents increase their family's well-being. Her book, Future Widow , and her show, The Widowed Parent Podcast , bring much-needed resources to widowed parents, helping them feel less lost and alone. https://jennylisk.com
Aug 10, 2022•52 min•Ep. 73
In Everyday Trauma , neuroscientist Dr. Tracey Shors examines trauma with a focus on its pervasive nature—how it can happen at any time, through big or small events, and how it often reappears in the form of encoded memory. Her research reveals that when we are reminded of our trauma, reliving that tragic moment copies yet another memory of it in our brain, making it that much more difficult to forget. Dr. Shors also explores the neuroscience behind why women in particular are more vulnerable to...
Aug 04, 2022•54 min•Ep. 72
Writer Rebecca Woolf had just asked her husband for a divorce when he is suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer. In this stunning memoir she invites us in to the complicated truth coming into yourself and a new understanding of love, sex, and living forward after loss. Learn more about her here: https://rebeccawoolf.com https://www.romper.com/profile/rebecca-woolf-63961506...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 71
Join my conversation with Aaron C as he shares his experience returning to work after the death of his wife Tiffany from Covid at age 46.
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 70
Without Rhyme Nor Reason Comedy Tour Kicks Off in Support of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Among Young Women Led by Stephanie Foster, the Tour's Lineup of Female Comedians Will Perform at Sorority Houses Across the Country Comedian and mental health advocate Stephanie Foster 's comedy tour boasts an all-female lineup includes Xazmin Garza, Courtney Bee, Brittany Schmitt, Dicey, Jalisa Robinson, Ryan Rogers, and Nicole Tran – comedians with diverse viewpoints who are all coming together ar...
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 68
Today Meghan Talks with Nancy Green, RN, BS, CPC, ELI-MP, Grief Coach, Pet Chaplain, Ordained Minister, ELI-MP Nancy shares with us her own experience with pet loss, loving animals and serving the pet loss community. She is trained across multilevel grief work platform and brings spiritual seeking to her work. You can find more about Nancy at her platform Speaking of Grief https://www.instagram.com/speakingofgrief/ Sowing Seeds of HOPE after Loss. Grief is about more than death. Grief is not a p...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 67
At an early age, award-winning travel writer, Mark Chesnut, learned to dodge discomfort by jumping on the nearest plane, bus or car. That tactic proved especially useful when his single mother made it clear that there was no room for discussion about his gay identity. Mark, overwhelmed with wanderlust, shoplifts in airports, avoids Southern Baptist salvation, acts like Hillary Clinton in a nursing home, and dresses in drag with his grandfather. He even creates an imaginary airline and flies away...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 66
Joe is Founder & CEO of ExecThread , a VC-backed crowdsourcing platform and premium job-sharing network that enables 225k+ professionals to access the “hidden job market”. ExecThread is the largest global aggregator of unpublished executive-level job opportunities. Joe has been a successful start-up CEO and operating executive at high-growth tech companies including HopStop (acquired by Apple), Quigo (acquired by AOL) and eBay (EBAY) with a strong track record of recruiting teams, launching ...
Jun 14, 2022•23 min•Ep. 65
*Trigger Warning* This episode contains reference to death by gun violence and suicide Jennifer Blackburn is a dynamic group fitness instructor, cycling coach and personal trainer. She holds multiple certifications and her classes are customized using the latest conditioning technologies which are the backbone of her results driven programs. She is an ambassador for Lululemon and has appeared in NBC4, Discovery Health and written articles for Business Insider, Washington Post, Self. Jennifer was...
Jun 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 64
In this episode I talk with the incomparable Rabbi Steve Leder about his new book "For You When I Am Gone" and the emotional legacy we leave our loved ones. I was so touched by his warmth intelligence and spirit of hope. http://steveleder.com
May 26, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 63
Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking, and leading workshops and retreats in the bereavement field for more than 25 years. She was 17 when she lost her mother to breast cancer and 40 when her father died, events that inspired her to offer grief education and support to those who cannot otherwise receive it Hope’s first book, Motherless Daughters , was a #1 New York Times bestseller and appeared on multiple bestseller lists worldwide. Hope’s most recent book, The AfterGrief , offers an innovati...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 62
Today we talk to Dr. Justin Yopp about the widowed parent program he and a colleague began after noting a lack of group support particularly for young father's recently bereaved. https://widowedparent.org Dr. Yopp is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UNC. He is a member of the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital where he provides inpatient as well as outpatient assessment and therapeutic services for chil...
Apr 19, 2022•55 min•Ep. 61
Reid Peterson FOUNDER/CREATOR Grief Refuge content is created by Reid Peterson, MA. Reid achieved a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Psychology (Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 2007) and is certified in Death & Grief Studies by the Center for Loss & Life Transition. After losing his biological father to suicide in 2006 and his stepfather to cancer in 2016, Reid felt a calling to help the grieving find peace and purpose after loss. https://www.griefrefuge.com...
Apr 05, 2022•53 min•Ep. 60
Marisa Renee Lee is the CEO of Beacon Advisors , co-founder of Supportal , and founder of The Pink Agenda . Supportal is a platform that makes it easy for people to respond when someone they care about is faced with a life-changing challenge. With a focus on experiences that are difficult to deal with and difficult to respond to, Supportal features first-hand accounts of people who have experienced life-changing challenges. They detail the best and most thoughtful ways people in their lives resp...
Mar 22, 2022•42 min•Ep. 59
Kim Murray shares her story of her young husband, Mark's death from a brain tumor when she was just 44 and her kids were 8 and 10. Kim talks about the early days, how friends and spirituality helped, and the secondary hardships of loss. Kim created widow 411 to provide support to others experiencing loss. https://widow411.com/start-here/
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 58
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, which investigates the effects of grief on the brain and the body. O’Connor earned a doctorate from the University of Arizona in 2004 and completed a fellowship at UCLA. Following a faculty appointment at UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, she returned to the University of Arizona in 2012. Her work has been...
Mar 01, 2022•55 min•Ep. 57
Grief and Loss supporter and content creator Megan Hillukka's beautiful baby, Aria, died in her sleep 2.5 years ago. She wasn't sick she just never woke up. Since that impossible day, Megan spends every day grieving and living, using the tools she learned and now teaches to others. Join us for this moving conversation on how to move forward carrying grief. https://www.meganhillukka.com
Feb 22, 2022•54 min•Ep. 56
Join Meghan for this discussion with Grief and Grits creator, Rani Pearlman Wolfson. Randi talks about her experience as a lifelong griever, and the legacy of hope she has created in with her children's book and her educational platform https://www.griefandgrits.com
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 55
On 9/11 Inez Ribustello worked her dream job at Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center. She lost 85 friends and colleagues. Inez talks to me about what it has meant to build a life after such tremendous loss. Eastern North Carolina native, Inez Ribustello, got her start in the world of food and wine after moving to New York City to pursue a career in cooking. She chose New York’s Institute of Culinary Education to jumpstart her new path, where she began to learn about wine. Fr...
Feb 08, 2022•58 min•Ep. 54
Meghan Talks to Eileen about her Book Time to Fly which tells the story of losing her beloved husband Brian in a plane crash on Christmas Eve when her three children were very small. Creator of Fit Together, Eileen is a believes in taking care of your body, and also your mind. Her book Time to fly highlights her belief that we are still connected even in death and all the signs we can receive if we are open to it. https://www.eileenrobertsonhamra.com
Feb 01, 2022•58 min•Ep. 53
In This bonus episode I talk with journalist Simon Kuper about his recent article on Disenfranchised Grief in the Financial Times. Simon explores the feelings of those left behind when an unvaccinated loved one dies of COVID. https://www.ft.com/content/a1b5350a-4dba-40f4-833b-1e35199e2e9b
Jan 27, 2022•31 min•Ep. 52
In this laughter filled episode Meghan talks with Leslie Gray Streeter, author of the beautiful book Black Widow, about the sudden death of Leslie's husband, Scott. This show covers music, friendships, dating, and honoring the love that is left behind. Leslie Gray Streeter: Born in hood-adjacent Baltimore City, Leslie is a University of Maryland College Park graduate, a veteran journalist and someone always looking for new ways to tell stories, both her own and those in her communities. She also...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 51
On May 20, 2014, Susan’s world came crashing down. Her 54-year old husband passed of a sudden heart attack. The years since have been a whirlwind of emotion, trauma & joy (yes, joy, thanks mostly to the birth of her grandchildren). Over the next five years, Susan experienced additional heartache following the death of her dad & both of her brothers. She knew the only way to make sense of all her grief and honour her ‘men’ was to find purpose and help others experiencing loss. So, she inc...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 50
Deborah Copaken is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Shutterbabe , The Red Book , and Between Here and April , among others. A contributing writer at The Atlantic , she was also a TV writer on Emily in Paris , a performer (The Moth, etc.), and an Emmy Award–winning news producer and photojournalist . Her photographs have appeared in Time , Newsweek , and The New York Times . Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker , The New York Times , The Guardian , The Finan...
Jan 04, 2022•58 min•Ep. 49
Two years ago, when she was in her early twenties, therapist Shea Wingate's father, sister and mother died in the same year. Join us as we discuss loss from prolonged illness versus sudden unexpected loss, navigating grief when your peers and planning weddings and surviving multiple deaths. https://www.wingatecounseling.com Shea Wingate is a licensed clinical social worker. Her work centers on supporting clients through times of grief, transition, and emotional difficulty. She believes therapy i...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 48
Bethany Harvey is a debut memoirist whose book, Dipped In It, reached the best seller list on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon when released in July of this year. Dipped In It came to life when Bethany’s "gratitude journaling" went awry. In Dipped In It, Bethany’s daily reflections during a period of deep grief explore the question, “Can gratitude and grief coexist?” The answer is a resounding yes, as Bethany learns that we can rage, weep, belly laugh, and ache over the beauty and fragility of...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 47
