Who are you then, and what do you do with questions you never needed before? Where is God in this? Is there meaning in suffering? Will you ever feel whole again?

For more than four decades, Marianne Williamson has sat with people in that exact space, helping them navigate what those questions awaken.

Marianne Williamson needs no introduction. But I'm going to give her one anyway, because she deserves it.

She's a spiritual teacher, a political force, and the author of seventeen books, including four number-one New York Times bestsellers. Her book A Return to Love has been a lifeline for millions, including me. I read it when I was searching for something I couldn't name, and it cracked me open in all the right ways.

So when I sat down with her for this episode, I knew we were going to go deep. What I didn't know was how deeply she would meet me and all of you right where we are.

This conversation is about grief, faith, and the delicate, impossible, sacred work of transforming pain into purpose. Marianne shares her own nights, the mystical experiences that reshaped her relationship with God, and why she believes suffering gives us "X-ray vision" into the suffering of others.

We talk about why we're so quick to bypass our pain, how men and women grieve differently, and what forgiveness really means when forgiveness feels like the last thing we want to offer.

And then, at the end, she leads us in a guided meditation so beautiful and so tender that I'm still feeling it as I write this. If you've ever wondered how to feel your loved ones on the other side, or if you've ever doubted they're still with you, this is for you.

This episode isn't about getting over grief. It's about letting grief transform us. It's about learning to hold devastation and grace in the same hand. And it's about discovering that even in our most shattered moments, we are never truly alone.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why grief isn't something to "get over" and how trying to rush it may be keeping you stuck.

• The distinction Marianne makes between tragedy and deep sadness

• The unexpected gift hidden inside suffering, and why Marianne believes pain gives us "x-ray vision" into the hearts of others.

• What faith really looks like in the middle of heartbreak, when nothing makes sense and hope feels out of reach.

• The surprising ways grief affects your mind, body, and spirit, including what Marianne calls the "full tilt catastrophe" of the dark night of the soul.

• The unexpected truth most don’t know about forgiveness.

• How to carry unbearable grief and profound joy at the same time, without betraying either one.

• A guided meditation that may forever change the way you experience the presence of loved ones who have passed.

To learn more about Marianne Williamson and her upcoming offerings, visit her website. You can also explore her book Tears to Triumph. 

And if you're moving through grief, heartbreak, or a season of profound change, you don't have to carry it alone. The Grief Healing Collective offers support, connection, and a community that understands what it means to rebuild a life after loss.

If this conversation moved you, reach out at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. Because healing doesn't happen in isolation,  it happens in moments like this one.

It was a breathtaking love letter, a farewell, and an extraordinary act of generosity. Written from hospice just days before her death, Amy introduced the world to the man she loved and gave him something few people ever receive: permission to love again someday.

The essay touched millions. Then Amy died.

And Jason was left to figure out how to build a life he never imagined.

In this deeply moving conversation, Jason shares the part of the story the world never got to see. He mistook the panic attacks for a heart attack. The doctor's forms ask for an emergency contact. The checkboxes that ask whether you're married or single but have no place for "widower." The quiet, disorienting work of rebuilding a life after losing the person who knew you best.

He also introduces us to the Amy behind the essay: endlessly creative, deeply joyful, and someone who found wonder in ordinary days. Jason reflects on watching her write that now-famous piece from across the room in hospice, never realizing he was witnessing the final gift she would leave him.

This conversation is about far more than grief. It's about identity, resilience, and what happens when love continues after loss. Jason speaks candidly about dating again, introducing a new partner to his children, navigating the guilt and hope that can coexist after profound loss, and discovering that moving forward doesn't require leaving the person you love behind.

Whether you're grieving a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend, or the future you thought you would have, this episode is a reminder that love doesn't end when someone dies. It changes form. And sometimes, if we're willing to let it, it becomes the very thing that helps us begin again.

In this episode, we explore:

• The story behind Amy Krouse Rosenthal's unforgettable Modern Love essay and what happened after the world stopped watching.

• The physical toll of grief, including panic attacks, exhaustion, and the ways loss lives in the body.

• Why ordinary moments, paperwork, and everyday questions can become some of grief's deepest triggers.

• How new losses awaken old grief and why healing is anything but linear.

• Dating and falling in love after losing the love of your life, including the guilt, grace, and hope that come with opening your heart again.

• The difference between creating a life after loss and learning to live a meaningful life with loss.

To learn more about Jason Rosenthal, visit his website or explore the Barr Harris Children and Family Grief and Loss Center and  memoir, My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me

And if you're moving through grief, heartbreak, or a season of profound change, you don't have to carry it alone. The Grief Healing Collective offers support, connection, and a community that understands what it means to rebuild a life after loss.

If this conversation moved you, reach out at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. Because healing doesn't happen in isolation,  it happens in moments like this one.

You lose someone you love. Your body begins changing in ways you don't fully understand. Your emotions feel bigger, your energy disappears, your patience thins, and the strategies that used to carry you through life suddenly stop working.

Many women blame themselves.

They wonder why they can't keep up. Why they feel anxious, overwhelmed, forgetful, exhausted, or unlike themselves. What they often don't realize is that they may be navigating two profound transitions simultaneously: grief and menopause.

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Zanne Hollingshead, trauma-informed wellbeing advocate, certified life coach, and founder of Midlife Magic, for a conversation about an intersection that affects countless women yet is rarely discussed.

For Zanne, this topic is deeply personal. After losing her mother at age ten and later losing her sister, who had become a second mother to her, she found herself searching for answers about grief, hormones, and the profound ways both shape our emotional and physical well-being. What began as a personal journey became a mission to help other women understand what is happening in their minds, bodies, and hearts during midlife.

Together, we explore what happens when grief and hormonal change arrive at the same time. We talk about the sudden waves of rage, the exhaustion that rest doesn't seem to touch, the brain fog, anxiety, overwhelm, and the feeling that you've somehow lost access to the person you used to be.

We also discuss why so many women have been left uninformed about perimenopause, how outdated medical messaging has contributed to unnecessary suffering, and what women can do to advocate for themselves and get the support they deserve.

Most importantly, this conversation offers a different way of understanding what you're experiencing. Rather than viewing these symptoms as evidence that something is wrong with you, what if they are signals that your body is asking for care, attention, and a new way of living?

This is a conversation about loss, hormones, identity, resilience, and self-compassion. It is a reminder that you are not failing. You may simply be carrying more than anyone can see.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why grief and menopause can intensify one another in surprising ways

• The symptoms of perimenopause many women overlook or dismiss

• How hormonal changes can affect mood, memory, sleep, and emotional regulation

• The hidden burden of being "the strong one"

• How grief impacts the nervous system and why that matters in midlife

• Why so many women feel like they've lost themselves during this season of life

• What women need to know about hormone therapy and other forms of support

• How to stop fighting your body and start listening to what it may be trying to tell you

To learn more about Zanne Hollingshead and her work, visit her website and/or her menopause community, Midlife Magic, where she offers education, resources, and community to women navigating midlife. 

And if you're moving through grief, heartbreak, or a season of profound change, know that you don't have to do it alone. The Grief Healing Collective offers support, connection, and a community that understands the unique challenges of rebuilding life after loss.

If this conversation resonated with you, we'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or story at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com.

Because healing happens in connection. And no one should have to carry life's hardest seasons alone.

Some of us become caretakers. Some become achievers. Some become peacemakers. We learn how to earn love, avoid conflict, meet expectations, and survive the environments that shaped us. Over time, those adaptations can become so familiar that we mistake them for our personalities.

But what happens when the cost of staying disconnected from ourselves becomes too high to ignore?

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with renowned physician, bestselling author, and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté for a powerful conversation about trauma, grief, illness, addiction, and the lifelong journey back to ourselves.

For more than five decades, Dr. Mate has explored the ways our emotional lives shape our physical health. Through his work in family medicine, palliative care, and addiction treatment, he has witnessed a truth that challenges much of what our culture believes about suffering: many of the struggles we experience as adults are not signs that something is wrong with us. They are adaptations to experiences that once helped us survive.

Together, we explore the hidden costs of self-abandonment and the ways unresolved trauma can quietly shape our relationships, our health, our parenting, and our sense of identity. We discuss why so many people carry guilt that does not belong to them, why sensitive children are often misunderstood, and how the pressure to be strong, agreeable, or selfless can disconnect us from our own needs.

This conversation also became unexpectedly personal.

Just over a year after the death of my son Sammy, I found myself sharing parts of my own story with Gabor. We talked about grief, parenting, guilt, and the questions that haunt so many bereaved parents. What emerged was not a conversation about blame. It was a conversation about understanding. About seeing ourselves through a lens of compassion rather than judgment.

What I appreciate most about Gabor's work is that he never asks us to fix ourselves. Instead, he invites us to become curious about the stories we've been living, the wounds we've been carrying, and the parts of ourselves we've learned to leave behind.

This episode is an invitation to do exactly that.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• How childhood adaptations become adult patterns

• Why self-abandonment is often mistaken for being "good"

• The connection between trauma, stress, and physical illness

• Why women disproportionately carry emotional burdens in their bodies

• A new way of understanding addiction that moves beyond blame and willpower

• The hidden roots of guilt and shame

• What highly sensitive children actually need from the adults who love them

• How grief can reactivate old wounds and unresolved pain

• The difference between healing and simply coping

• What it means to reconnect with your authentic self

To learn more about Dr. Gabor Maté and his work, visit his website and explore his books, including The Myth of Normal, When the Body Says No, and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. His groundbreaking work has helped millions better understand the connections between trauma, health, relationships, and healing. 

And if you're navigating grief, loss, or a season of profound change, know that you don't have to do it alone. The Grief Healing Collective offers support, connection, and a community that understands the challenges of rebuilding life after loss.

If this conversation resonated with you, we'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or story at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com.

Because healing begins when we stop running from our pain and start listening to what it has been trying to tell us all along.

What if the bond continues, even after death?

And what if some of the people who have shaped our lives most deeply, including our children, were connected to us long before this lifetime began?

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with psychic, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author Ainslie MacLeod for a conversation that challenged the way I think about grief, loss, and the soul's journey.

For more than 25 years, Ainslie has helped people understand the deeper purpose behind their struggles, relationships, fears, and life experiences through the lens of past lives and soul evolution. But this conversation is not just theoretical.

Two years ago, Ainslie and his wife Christine experienced every parent's worst nightmare when their daughter India died by suicide.

Together, we talk about what helped them survive the unimaginable, why grief affects each of us so differently, and what Ainslie's work has taught him about what happens after we die.

We explore the possibility that our souls travel together across lifetimes, that our deepest fears may have roots beyond this life, and that the people we miss most may still be far closer than we realize.

Ainslie also shares why he believes the universe holds no judgment for those who die by suicide, how he and Christine stayed connected through their grief, and what he has learned from thousands of readings about the enduring nature of love.

Along the way, I share a story about Sammy that still takes my breath away and reminds me why I believe our loved ones continue to find ways to reach us.

Whether you are curious about past lives or simply longing for reassurance that your connection to your loved one has not ended, this conversation offers hope, perspective, and a different way of understanding loss.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why two people can experience the same loss and grieve in completely different ways

• What Ainslie believes happens to us after death

• Why the universe holds no judgment for those who die by suicide

• How he and his wife survived the loss of their daughter without losing each other

• The surprising stories children sometimes tell about choosing their parents before birth

• How soul agreements may shape our closest relationships

• Why certain fears, phobias, and emotional wounds may not begin in this lifetime

• What karma really is and why it has nothing to do with punishment

• Why talking to your loved one after they die may be more healing than you realize

• What thousands of readings have taught Ainslie about the connection between souls

• How meaning can emerge from devastating loss without minimizing the pain

• Why love may be the one thing death cannot touch

If you've ever found yourself wondering where your loved one is, whether they can still hear you, or whether you'll see them again, this episode is for you.

But when her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Kris found herself facing something entirely different: the long, slow heartbreak of anticipatory grief.

In this deeply honest episode of Crying Out Loud, Kris opens up about the years between diagnosis and goodbye, the emotional exhaustion of loving someone while knowing you are losing them, and the conversations so many families are terrified to have until it’s too late.

Together, we talk about what happens when grief begins long before death, why caregiving can stir up old wounds and unexpected rage, and how loss changes not only your heart, but your body, memory, identity, and nervous system too.

Kris shares the moment she realized that real love sometimes means being willing to sit beside someone and talk openly about dying. We also explore the loneliness many dying people quietly carry, even when surrounded by people who love them deeply.

I also share my own experience after losing Sammy, including the moment on the beach that shifted how I understood presence, grief, and continued connection forever.

This conversation is ultimately about what it means to truly show up for the people we love, how grief reshapes us long before and long after death, and why love does not disappear when someone leaves this physical world.

In this episode, we explore:• What anticipatory grief really feels like when you are living beside illness every day• Why caregiving and grief can awaken old trauma, rage, and emotional exhaustion• The conversations about death most families avoid and why they matter so much• How grief impacts the nervous system, memory, body, and sense of identity• What it means to continue a relationship with someone after they die• Why grief changes form over time, but love never truly leaves

If this episode moves you, check out Kris's book I'm Not a Mourning Person. You can find her on Instagram and listen to her speaking online.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you.

None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.

You've done the therapy. You've meditated. You've read the books. You've "done the work." And then life hits you with a pandemic, a friend's suicide, a divorce, and a toddler, all in the same week.

So now what?

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Devi Brown, a meditation teacher, podcaster, author of Living in Wisdom, and a self described wounded healer. Devi has spent over a decade studying healing traditions from around the world, but nothing could fully prepare her for the cascade of loss she experienced during the pandemic. What she discovered, in her own words, is that when you stop trying to tape the pieces back together and instead let yourself shatter completely, something miraculous happens: you meet God in the rubble.

Devi is warm, radically honest, and refreshingly un precious about pain. She doesn't promise that meditation will make it all go away. Instead, she offers a guide for staying present, feeling the feelings society tells you to hide, and finding tiny, daily moments of joy even when your heart is at the bottom of the ocean.

In this episode, I also share my own journey of losing my son Sammy and then navigating my eldest child's suicidal crisis, and how that "assignment" forced me to finally build a relationship with God. Devi and I explore why the original wound is always the root, why awareness is only the first step, and how mudras  can unlock energetic channels you didn't even know were closed.

In this episode, we explore:

• What it's like to lose a friend to suicide and a marriage in the same week while parenting a toddler during a pandemic

• Why the more healing work you do, the harder life sometimes seems to hit back

• The difference between self esteem and self worth, and why worth cannot be earned

• How to outsource your emotional safety from people to God even if you weren't raised with faith

• The tiny joys practice and how a leaf, a copper dish, and sunlight through smoke can save your life

• Why your original wound is the queen bee and how healing it dissolves everything else

• The trap of intellectualizing your feelings instead of actually feeling them in your body

• What mudras are and how simple hand positions open energetic channels you didn't know were closed

• Why meditation often makes you angry or restless at first and why that's actually a good sign

• The difference between chasing happiness and recognizing enoughness

• How bearing witness to deep sorrow creates more capacity for real joy

• What it means to be a wounded healer and why God sometimes commands you to be on your knees

• The guilt and surrender of watching a child struggle with suicidal thoughts after already losing another child

• Why you don't need to know what God looks like to start a real relationship with the divine

• What it feels like when advanced meditation becomes deeply pleasurable and even euphoric

Devi Brown is someone who has done the work  not the performative kind, but the real, on-your-knees, let-it-all-shatter kind. You can find Devi Brown on Instagram, tune into her Deeply Well Podcast, or join the Presence app for her daily meditations. Her new book, Living in Wisdom, is available on Amazon.

If you are seeking community, don’t forget the Grief Healing Collective is there for support, connection, and hope.

If this episode moves you, share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. None of us are meant to walk these roads alone—let’s feel, heal, and awaken together.

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Kelly Rizzo, food and travel creator, host of the podcast Comfort Food, and the woman who loved Bob Saget. She is warm, self-aware, and honest about the strange terrain of sudden loss, unexpected joy, and the guilt that seems to follow both.

Kelly met Bob the old-fashioned way; he slid into her DMs and fell for him slowly, then all at once. Their marriage was only three years old when he died suddenly in January 2022, after what she describes as the best show of his life. What followed was a grief that was both deeply private and relentlessly public, played out on morning shows with swollen eyes and in quiet moments alone in a kitchen that would never feel the same.

In this conversation, Kelly shares what it was like to navigate loss at a level of visibility most of us can't imagine, how she learned everything she knows about grief from Bob himself, and why, four years later, she's finally in therapy and newly, beautifully in love.

We also go deep together. I share my own experience of navigating a suicidal child after losing Sammy, and what it taught me about releasing control and trusting my own resilience. And together we talk about what grief does to the people around us, the surprising anchors and the unexpected boats, and why sometimes a hand emoji from John Mayer says everything.

In this episode, we explore:

• What it’s like to grieve a partner in the public eye while the whole world is watching

• The private love story behind Bob Saget and the man most people never saw

• Why grief reshapes every relationship and who actually shows up when it matters

• The guilt of feeling joy again and how to let yourself love without betrayal

• What it really takes to release control after devastating loss

• The small moments of connection that can carry you through the darkest time

• How to navigate letting go of a shared life while still honoring it

• The difference between holding on and staying connected

• What it looks like to open your heart again after you thought you never could

• How grief, when you move through it, can become a portal into resilience, love, and a more honest life

Kelly Rizzo is a force, not because she has it all figured out, but because she shows up honestly for herself and for others, even when it's hard. You can find her on Instagram, and tune into her podcast Comfort Food wherever you listen. To join her warm and intimate community, check out Comfort Club.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And make sure to pre-order my new book, Crying Out Loud, to be supported through loss and learn how to use your pain as a portal of transformation. Also, if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.

We plan weddings. We plan careers. We plan retirement.But when it comes to the end of our lives, most of us are completely unprepared… emotionally, practically, and spiritually.

And what if that avoidance is actually costing us something much bigger than we realize?

In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Alua Arthur, death doula, attorney turned activist, and New York Times bestselling author of Briefly Perfectly Human. Her life’s work is built on a powerful truth: when we are willing to look directly at death, everything about how we live begins to shift.

Alua didn’t arrive here in a straight line. After building a life that looked right on paper but felt misaligned inside, she found herself in a deep depression that forced her to stop. During that time, she took a trip to Cuba where a chance conversation on a bus with a woman facing terminal cancer changed everything. Talking about that woman’s death brought her back to her own life.

Today, as a death doula, Alua provides non-medical, deeply human support to people at the end of their lives and to those who love them. She helps people face their fears, make meaning, and create a more conscious, intentional relationship with dying.

But this conversation is not just about death. It’s about how grief itself is a kind of death.How loss reshapes us. And how, when we stop resisting what ends, we can begin to live more honestly, more fully, and more aligned with what actually matters.

We talk about what it means to accompany someone to the edge, and what that process asks of us as the ones still here.

This is one of those conversations that stays with you.

In this episode, we explore:

• What a death doula actually does and why this work matters
• The moment on a bus in Cuba that changed the trajectory of Alua’s life
• How facing death can bring clarity, meaning, and even freedom
• Why grief is its own kind of death and how it can transform you
• The difference between dying happening to you and dying as a conscious process
• What it really means to have a “good death”
• Why witnessing death can be both devastating and deeply clarifying
• How to support someone who is in the dying process
• Why so many people seem to die when loved ones step out of the room
• The emotional and spiritual impact of what is left unsaid
• What end-of-life planning actually includes (and why it matters now, not later)
• How thinking about death can radically change how you live

If this conversation moved you, pick up Alua’s book Briefly Perfectly Human, it’s part memoir, part manifesto, and a powerful reflection on what it means to be alive. You can find her death meditation series, Grace in Dying  at her website, Going with Grace, where you’ll also discover information on death doula trainings, retreats, and ways to engage more deeply with your own mortality. Connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn, and explore her offerings there. 

As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.

Most of us think grief is something we move through, step by step, until we’re “on the other side.”

But what if that’s not true?

In this deeply moving episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with pastor, storyteller, and grief advocate John Onwuchekwa to explore a different truth. One that might completely reframe the way you understand loss.

Because according to John, tragedy doesn’t ruin us.

Hopelessness does.

On April 14, 2015, John’s life split into a before and after when his younger brother Sam died suddenly. What followed wasn’t a neat “healing journey.” It was the unraveling of everything he thought he knew about faith, control, and what it means to survive loss.

And then, two years later, on that exact same date… something unexpected happened.

A moment John calls a “small wink.”

A moment that didn’t erase his grief, but changed the way he carried it.

This conversation is about what it really looks like to live with grief, not past it.

It’s about questioning the stories we’ve been told, finding language for the unspeakable, and discovering how hope can exist without forcing meaning too soon.

If you’ve ever wondered:Am I grieving the “right” way?Why does this still hurt so much?Will I ever feel like myself again?

This episode will meet you exactly where you are.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the idea of “grief as a journey” can quietly harm more than it helps
• The subtle ways we’ve been taught to perform our grief
• How storytelling becomes a lifeline in the aftermath of loss
• What it means to live “another life” after everything changes
• Why grief doesn’t expire… and what that actually means
• The difference between numbness that protects and numbness that traps
• How loss can dismantle faith and rebuild it into something more honest
• Why doubt might be the very thing that deepens your connection to the divine
• What it means to speak grief fluently, with just a hint of hope
• Why patience is the most underrated (and essential) grief practice
• How to truly show up for someone at rock bottom

If this conversation resonates with you, check out John’s book We Go On for more insights. You can also explore more of his work at johno.co and connect with him on LinkedIn. His nonprofit, We Go On Studio, hosts gatherings in cities around the world for people learning how to live with both grief and hope.

As always, I’d love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And if you’re looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you.

None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let’s cry out loud together.

That quiet voice that says you should be further along… that you should be handling it better… that somehow, if you had done one thing differently, they might still be here…

I hear that voice every single day in my work. And I’ve felt it in my own grief too.

But here’s the truth: you’re not doing grief wrong. We’ve just been taught to understand it wrong.

In this episode, I’m joined by David Kessler, one of the world’s leading grief experts, known for his work on the five stages of grief alongside Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and the author of Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief.

But to me, David isn’t just an expert.

He’s a friend. And he’s the man who stood in my backyard less than a week after my son Sammy died… who sat with my husband and my youngest son, holding our fear and our shame without trying to fix it.

When I felt called to go deep into the redwoods to face my own darkness, David was the one who said, “I’ve got them.”

He supported my family then, and he remains a steady presence in our lives today.

David Kessler isn’t just a grief authority. He’s someone I deeply trust.

In this conversation, we pull back the curtain on what healing actually looks like beyond the myths and the stages we’ve been sold. We explore why grief is never linear, why acceptance isn’t a finish line, and why meaning doesn’t come from the death itself, but from the life you live afterward.

We explore: 

• Why the pressure to “move on” actually keeps people stuck in grief

• What the sixth stage of grief really looks like beyond the theory

• The subtle mistake people make when trying to “find meaning” too soon

• Why grief has no timeline, and what to trust instead

• A powerful reframe for guilt that can instantly soften self-blame

• What we misunderstand about “prolonged grief” and why it matters

• Why old wounds resurface during loss and how to work with them

• The difference between surviving your grief and being transformed by it

• One belief about healing that quietly holds so many people back

• How even the most traumatic loss can eventually become something sacred

Don’t forget to check out David’s work at grief.com. His new workbook, Finding Meaning, is available at griefbook.com and comes with a free three-part class to help walk you through it. 

As always, I want to hear from you. Share your story or send questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And if you need a place to connect with people who truly get it, visit the Grief Healing Collective. None of us were meant to do this alone. Let’s cry out loud together.

As two mothers who have both experienced the devastating loss of a child, we speak honestly about what grief teaches us. Iyanla shares about losing two daughters, Jamia and Nisa, and how those experiences were profoundly different. When Jamia crossed over, grief taught her the difference between grief and mourning. By the time Nisa transitioned, she had already spent decades doing the deep inner work of spiritual hygiene. Because of that, she was able to meet the second loss from a very different spiritual place, still grieving but grounded in what she had learned.

Iyanla  reminds us that it’s from our most broken states that we can begin to reconfigure our body, mind, and soul in new ways.  

We explore:

• The idea of spiritual hygiene and why healing begins with returning to wholeness

• Why the loss of love pulls us into grief quickly and deeply

• Grief as a powerful teacher and  initiator in a grief-illiterate society

• The key difference between grief and mourning

• The moment Iyanla  realized she had to let her daughter go nine months before she passed

• How to stop the  “should have, could have, would have” guilt loops in which  so many grievers stay stuck. 

• How to release negative thoughts that feel sticky. 

• The spiritual moments that shaped Iyanla’s path, including a mysterious encounter during postpartum depression and the message she received after her second loss

Remember to check out Iyanla’s book Spiritual Hygiene and her new show The Inside Fix. You can also connect with Iyanla through her website and on Instagram.

If you’d like to share your story or ask a question, email cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com.

And if you want to get healing support and connect with others on the same path, visit the Grief Healing Collective.

None of us were meant to grieve alone.

Let’s cry out loud together.

As I share throughout this podcast, on February 7, 2021, my 16-year-old son Sammy was sent a drug dealer by Snapchat who sold him counterfeit drugs laced with  fentanyl. Like many parents, I believed my child was safe at home. We had talked about social media safety. I worried about online predators, explicit photos, and the risks teenagers face online. But it never occurred to me that drugs could be ordered through social media and delivered to our home as easily as ordering takeout.

What happened shattered my heart and my understanding of what “safe at home” really meant.

In the days, months, and years after losing Sammy, I began recording reflections simply to process what I was living through. I wasn’t thinking about creating a podcast. I was simply trying to survive the unimaginable. Those recordings eventually became what I now call The Losing Sammy Diaries.

This episode brings together four chapters from The Losing Sammy Diaries, recorded across the weeks, months, and years after Sammy’s death. Each chapter offers a snapshot along my trajectory through grief, showing how pain, understanding, and healing gradually evolve over time.

Chapter One: Ground Zero

One Week After Losing Sammy

• What the earliest days of grief actually feel like

• The story of what happened to Sammy and the growing fentanyl crisis

• The dangers of social media platforms that many families like mine were blind to

• The powerful and surprising response I got  from families across the country 

• The role of surrender and softening in the midst of devastating loss

• Why being present with pain and releasing it from the body can be an important part of grief healing

• Why I made the difficult decision to leave my home and family for a bit just a few weeks after Sammy’s death 

Chapter Two: The Redwood Odyssey

Three Months After Losing Sammy

• My profound personal odyssey experienced in the Redwoods of California

• How somatic experiencing opened a new doorway for processing grief

• The emotional releases that can happen when grief moves through the body

• The healing power of nature, long walks through the forest, and hugging trees

• My unforgettable “glittering forest” experience in the redwoods

• The seeds of something new that were beginning to form

Chapter Three: Two Funerals and a Birthday Party

Six Months After Losing Sammy

• What my mother’s death taught me about moving with loss

• The difference between spiritual connection and spiritually bypassing pain

• The unexpected role my dog played in my healing

• The fifteen-minute grounding practice that can help you move grief through the body

• Why allowing ourselves to receive love from others can be part of healing

• The beautiful release ceremonies and the two funerals we had honoring Sammy’s life

• Why there is no right or wrong way for partners to grieve in a marriage

• The deeper questions grief raises about what remains after death

Chapter Four: The Metamorphosis

Three Years After Losing Sammy

• The origin of the Crying Out Loud 

• The moment I realized grief had fundamentally changed who I am

• What happened on our first ever grieving mama retreat

• The insights I’ve gained around healing after years of navigating loss

• The practices that helped me begin rebuilding life

• The Six Pillars of Healing that grew out of this journey

• How grief can become a portal for transformation

This episode is about living our truth, feeling our feelings, and allowing love to continue even after loss.

We want to hear from you!. If you’d like to share your story or have a question or topic you’d like covered, reach out at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com.

If you’re looking for live healing resources and connection with others walking a similar path, check the Grief Healing Collective, a supportive community where people navigating loss come together to share experiences, learn tools for healing, experience live healing sessions and support groups.

None of us were meant to grieve alone. Let’s cry out loud together.

Five years ago, I never imagined I would be here. I was a well-known and busy  love and relationship expert. But on February 7, 2021, my 16-year-old son Sammy was sent a drug dealer by Snapchat who sold him counterfeit drugs laced with  fentanyl. I had experienced painful loss before,both my parents, my grandmothers and others close to me. But suffice it to say,  Sammy’s death showed me how much the heart can hold.

Grief can transform you. Not because it gets smaller, but because we grow bigger around it. In this episode, I share some of my grief journey and what I’ve learned is possible in healing. 

We explore: 

• The story of Sammy’s passing

• Why grief is not something to fix or finish

• The Six Pillars of Healing that changed my life and can change yours

• How to surf the waves of grief instead of drowning in them

• How grief can become a portal of transformation

• The concept of “getting bigger” around your grief

• Why it’s important to never  apologize for crying

• How loss reshapes friendships and relationships

• What it means to continue loving someone beyond form

This episode is about living your truth, feeling your feelings, and letting love continue beyond form. 

If you want to share your story or have questions, email me at cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. Check out The Losing Sammy Diaries at your leisure to get a sense of how grief evolves over time, and if you want to get healing support and connect with others on the same path, visit the Grief Healing Collective. None of us were meant to grieve alone. Let’s cry out loud together.