Welcome to 2024! I miss you and even though the podcast has officially ended, I still have so much great content you haven’t heard. So how about a little bonus episode to kick off the year! Jesse Moss is the rockstar Director of Marketing at Experience Camps , an award-winning national nonprofit that transforms the lives of grieving children through summer camp programs and year-round initiatives. She’s in charge of developing strategies and content to create a more grief-sensitive culture and a...
Jan 28, 2024•56 min
Welcome to I Swear on My Mother’s Grave and the finale episode of Season 3. Yay! 3 seasons, baby! I don’t want to bury the lead…so, I also want to welcome you to the end of my podcast journey with all of you. This is it, friends. I am turning off the mic after this episode, but I might release a special compilation of conversations you haven’t heard yet at some point…so don’t unsubscribe forever! It’s hard for me to say goodbye to you all, and to this show because it has changed my life, AND thi...
Oct 22, 2023•41 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Today’s guest is a friend I met on TikTok. Yep! Mary McGreevy, hosts the Tips from Dead People page on TikTok, where she earnestly, and respectfully curates and personally reads unique obituaries from submissions she receives from all over the world. She has collected stacks of obituaries for years, and has now built quite an online following! Mary and I connected this summer around the time my beloved 96 year old Nana, my mom’s mom, was dying. Through our conversations on and off the mic, Mary ...
Oct 08, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Mitchell Fain was b orn a natural storyteller. He is an incredible actor/comedian/circus performer who grew up in a Jewish home in Rhode Island and now lives in Chicago. In this episode, we will talk about how his bingo-gambling mother never cleaned her stove, lived on Winston cigarettes and Oreo cookies, and taught her children to lie to the electric company when bills were due. She also married an alcoholic, Mitchell’s father. We will talk about how his mother lived with undiagnosed depression...
Sep 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Jessica Guthrie is a millennial, only child of a single mother living with Alzheimer’s. She likes to say that she has made an active, conscious choice to care for her mother in the last 8 years, at first commuting from Texas to Virginia, but now living with her mother as her full-time caregiver since 2019. In this episode, Jessica and I talk about the definition of caregiving and what it means to her now. We also chat about how Jessica always thinks, “What would my mom have done for me?” if thei...
Sep 10, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The one and only, Barri Leiner Grant is here. Barri is the Chief Grief Officer and a Certified Grief Coach with The Memory Circle, a space and place to be with your grief. When Barri’s own beautiful mother died in 1993, there were no resources available to help her family through the pain. Nobody said grief or grieving. She knew motherless daughters deserved better. So, she created and opened a door where there wasn't one before and eventually started The Memory Circle. Barri said “I want grief ...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this episode, my dear friend Kevin, talks about how his Christian mother struggled to accept her son’s sexuality even though she deeply loved him, and he loved her. Kevin’s mother always avoided the spotlight for most of her life, made a choice to learn sign language later in life, and loved working with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. “I think in general, my mom never accepted her fabulousness. She kind of got lost being the middle child in a family of big personalities, then she got...
Aug 13, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Hey! Pull up a chair and let’s talk about how to set our loved ones up for success by making a will and checking it twice. It is one of the kindest things you can do for the people who love you. Wading thru grief without dealing with the legal system is complicated enough, so thinking ahead about what COULD happen to you, and planning next steps, is key. Our guest, Ryan Holmes, is with the law firm Clark Hill, and I met him in the weeks following my own mother’s death in 2016. He was patient and...
Jun 12, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this episode, Amanda shares the shocking moment in her early 20s that she discovered she was adopted, how her lone-wolf mother“ loved to party," what meeting her birth mother in a coffee shop felt like, why the smell of gasoline reminds her of her childhood, and how spending time with her own young daughter Lola is the most time she has ever spent with someone she is biologically related to. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, live events and see behind the scenes content on ...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Welcome to the 3rd Season! In this episode, a mother and a daughter are going to try to remember a fight they had (yep, they are going to struggle to find ONE example), they are going to discuss suicide and personal end of life wishes together (so please take care while listening), they are going to talk about making art and teaching children, and they are going to thank the universe that somehow…they got to be together in this one lifetime. And I am just going to be along for the ride. A ride t...
May 14, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
I missed you, and I hope you missed me too! Drumroll, please…we are coming back with a 3rd Season on Mother’s Day! Yay. I can't wait for you to get to meet all of these amazing humans. So many stories, people to learn from...and a big reminder that you are not alone in this journey. We got you and we GET you! This show is for you, the living. I can't wait to talk to you soon. And remember, our summer Mother's Grave Retreat is June 8-11, 2023 and all the information on how to register, or donate ...
Apr 14, 2023•28 min
Welcome to the last episode of Season 2! Yay! Do you believe that someone can love more than one person during their lifetime? Do you ever wonder what your parent’s sexual history or desires were? Are you curious about how to talk to your own young daughters about intimacy and sex and pleasure? Are you craving hearing a guest play guitar during a podcast interview? Well then we have the conversation for you! Cory Goodrich is an actor, singer, musician, songwriter, painter, mother, and the writer...
Dec 19, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Today, it’s just you and me in front of a crackling fire talking about holidays past, American Girl Dolls, and inherited objects that are heavy literally AND figuratively. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, put on a warm robe and let’s process some grief around the holidays and reminisce together. Happy holidays, to you and yours … however you celebrate. Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes...
Dec 05, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 8
This episode features my first pair of siblings! Billy and his sister Evelyn are actually half siblings, and they grew up in Texas. Their mother was raised a missionary kid, became a beloved math teacher, loved to travel, had a cackle that could cut thru the room, birthed a mini version of herself in her daughter Evelyn, and was taken from this life way too soon, and eclipsed way too often during her lifetime, and beyond. Billy and Evelyn want to make sure their mother doesn’t get eclipsed ever ...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This episode’s guest is Rachel Matlow, a producer, audio content creator, and writer based in Canada. They created one of my favorite audio pieces ever, “Dead Mom Talking,” which won the Third Coast International Audio Festival Best New Artist award in 2016. I discovered the piece in 2021 and haven’t stopped thinking and telling people about it since. As Rachel’s mother was dying, Rachel recorded the two of them as they binge-watched TV, traded dark humor, and talked. That way, months after thei...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Greg Geffrard lost his Haitian mother when he was only 16. She died from AIDS, but that is only a part of her story. This is an episode about a black son seeing his mother’s infectious “joy” and wanting to protect it. It’s about what it is like to watch the women in your life being mistreated and hurt by the men who were supposed to be your role models. It’s about revisionist history towards our parents, and the many faces of our mothers. It’s about the advice we give young people when dealing w...
Oct 24, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Welcome to the second season of I Swear on My Mother’s Grave podcast. In this episode, we go back to my mom's former classroom at Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, Illinois, where she taught honors biology for over 20 years. She retired in 1996, and trust me when I say that the room looked like a time capsule—completely the same as it was when she left. I'm not exaggerating! My guest, Mandy Walsh, was one of my mom's students. Join us as we both see the classroom again for the first ti...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Welcome to the 2nd Season of I Swear on My Mother’s Grave podcast. My second guest this season is the one and only…Peter Sagal, the long running host of NPR’s news/trivia game show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! In this episode, Peter and I chat about dealing with grief on a public stage, running, divorce, new marriages, new babies, chronic pain, Jewish mothers, and a word called “forgiveness?” Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news a...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 3
We are back, baby! Welcome to the 2nd Season of I Swear on My Mother’s Grave podcast. My first guest is my friend Lauren Montgomery. She is an amazing actor, a new mom, and a professor at Chicago’s Truman College. In this episode, we talk about preparing for my wedding this past summer, how to manage a big life moment without your mom by your side, how romantic relationships are modeled to us by our folks, and when your own mother asks you to be her maid of honor. Thanks for being here! This sho...
Sep 12, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Hey, I'm back! Real quick...to let you know that I am getting married this week! Ahh! And it's on the patio of my 95 year old Nana's nursing home. In this bonus/mini episode, I wanted to talk thru some of my fear around the words "till death do us part", navigating triggers around wedding planning in a world that loves making sure your Mom is present for everything, blue eye shadow and remembering to be present on the big day. I miss talking to you all, and I hope to come back with an amazing Se...
Jun 16, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Today’s guest is Suzi Pond. We recorded this conversation one year ago, on Mother’s Day 2020. It was my first interview for this project/podcast. I didn’t know yet what this was going to be, but I knew I needed to talk to one of my oldest friends first, who just happened to be an editor, and someone who had lost her mother when she was just 13 years old. Suzi also loved my mother, and my mother loved her. From her car in a field in Maine, we spoke about divorce, death, raising children without a...
May 09, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Today’s guest is Halley Mayo. She lost her mother when she and her twin brother were just 4 years old. In this episode, Halley expresses how she doesn’t know her life without grief and doesn’t understand why she is still crying…over a woman she didn’t even know. She talks about how grateful she is to her step-mother, who is actually her mother’s cousin, for choosing to be a mother when she didn’t have to. And we talk about a tape. A tape her mother recorded for her two children in the last weeks...
Apr 04, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Today’s guest is Daisy Salto. Daisy is currently 16 years old, grew up in Chicago with her 4 siblings, and lost her mom when she was just 8 years old. She remembers watching Curious George with her mother and, even though she didn’t speak English, her mother thought that monkey was hilarious. In this episode, Daisy and I talk about learning what addiction was through the actions of our mothers, how trauma ages you, whether or not either one of us wants kids, and how Mother’s Day is just...well, ...
Mar 07, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Today’s guest is Lucy Sandy. Lucy was born and raised in Houston, Texas by two immigrant parents from Sierra Leone: Mommy and Daddy, as they are affectionately called. In this episode, as Lucy approached the 10-year anniversary of her mom’s death, we talked about how it's time to acknowledge that your parents weren't perfect, the challenges of being raised in the shadow of two cultures, and the pressure of being a good Black daughter and a good Black woman. Oh, and I get honest around my shame i...
Feb 14, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Today’s guest is Jess Jones. She used to be an agent (one of my agents, to be exact!) and is now the Center Director for The Kaufherr Center in Chicago, which supports professional and emerging performing artists seeking opportunity within the entertainment industry. In this episode, we talk about faith, bringing your children to your childhood home, how her mom spent her life leading others through grief, even when she was grieving...and the innate goodness within us all. I will also admit to b...
Jan 24, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Today’s guest is Xander Krohn. He is a writer, teacher, and lover of a good suit. In this episode, we talk about how he attended a good old-fashioned Texas summer camp for over 10 years during his childhood, how you can miss your mom’s southern idioms even if she is still living, and that being a “highly functioning trans person with a bank account, a life, and a schedule” is the best kind of self-love. Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all th...
Jan 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Today’s guest is Ann James. Ann is a brilliant actor, teaching artist, and Shakespeare expert…who once played my mom on stage—a complicated mom, for sure. In this episode, we will talk about Bob Barker (the dog!), singing outside Ann’s mom’s memory care facility during a pandemic, how the phrase “below the frost line” relates to dementia and Alzheimer's, and what it’s like to experience a mothering phase…when it’s your own mother. My mom’s mom—my 93-year-old Nana—will also make an appearance. Th...
Dec 06, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 7
Today’s guest is Caitlin Costello. She is a hilarious actor and comedian, who also works in the world of recruiting. Caitlin’s mother was a lifelong caretaker and nurse, who loved her family, friends and New York City. In this episode, we are going to talk about suicide. But suicide is only part of this story, it isn’t the whole story...and trust me, you are going to want to hear all of Caitlin’s stories, especially when she fell asleep drunk on her own mother’s gravestone. Thanks for being here...
Nov 15, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Today’s guest is Lane Flores. He is a playwright and actor living in Chicago but originally from Dallas, Texas. Lane lost his mother when he was 12, just as she was telling him to go “find his tribe and his people” in the arts, ultimately giving him his first real sense of community and belonging. In this episode, we learn that sometimes your mom can leave you and your sister alone in the graveyard and it’s still one of your favorite memories, but that you will always wish you had more memories,...
Oct 25, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Today’s guest is Leah Hart. She is a teacher and writer from Brooklyn, New York, a city where her mother lived for most of her life and where she got to be a capital D “Dancer.” Leah tells me her mother always knew how lucky she was to get to dance, and to use her body in a radical way. In this episode, we learn that sometimes you get to have a good mom, and that when she gets sick, all you can do is watch Finding Nemo, be present for those final moments and tell her you love her, so that she ca...
Oct 04, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4
