Good Grief with Cheryl Jones

On a family adventure while white water rafting, Irene O'Garden had to depend on her siblings to navigate the river. For her, the trip connected to a life long effort to heal and to come to terms with her childhood. And although she was focused purely on survival during the trip, she found that afterwards, something had changed for her. She had added a new chapter to her lifelong journey. From the clearing of old hurts and losses came a deepened joy and appreciation for life, culminating in her later book, Glad to Be Human. How does facing our challenges lead to a greater joy in living? Join us as we explore life's sorrows and beauties.

In the seventy years Tim Seelig has lived, half was spent as a religious music conductor from a famous Christian family. But when Tim came out at 35, that life was over. He was unceremoniously ousted from everything and everyone he knew. His highly respected career was also over. And his second life began, as a conductor of LGBTQ choruses. This new life culminated in Tim becoming the director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. And although he had lost everything, there was no regret- for the second half of his life he would live as authentically himself. Through so many losses, including the death of his beloved daughter, knowing who he is and where he finds support has seen him through. His memoir, Tale of Two Tims: Big Ol' Baptist Big Ol' Gay, tells the story of all these losses (and gains) with humor and grace.

Why would anyone offer to listen, free of charge, to strangers as they share their deepest experiences? When Helena Dea Bala found herself confronting a profound lack of meaning in her life, she had a surprising and unexpected conversation with a homeless man she met outside the building where she worked. The depth of their sharing was so alive she wanted more. Eventually she would leave the career she had built as an attorney to listen to strangers every day as they poured their hearts out. Lending an ear gave her life more fulfillment than she could have imagined, and the stories she heard evolved into a book!

Needing a job to make ends meet, Gregor Collins stumbled into one of the most meaningful three years of his life. With absolutely no experience as a personal caregiver, his friend begged him to work for Maria Altmann, the inspiration for the film Woman in Gold. Having survived the holocaust she went on to live a life filled with meaning and depth, and also great love. She then pursued what many thought would be a hopeless lawsuit, fighting to having the art stolen from her family returned to them, including Woman in Gold, a Klimt painting of her aunt. Defying expectation, she won. And getting to know her Gregor could see how her tenacity, charm and sheer lovability must have contributed to the result. His initial reluctance to take on the job turned into three years of adventure, learning and love. At the end of her life and the start of his, their deep affection saw them both through and helped them towards the next steps; the end of her life and the fulfillment of his.

Dena Taylor's honest and excellent book, I Don't Wanna Be Pink, was a manuscript when she joined us on Good Grief in it's first year, 2014. Fast forward to 2020 and it is out in the world, still moving and hilarious. How has Dena's experience facing a breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and all the fears that come along with that impacted her since? And does she still hate all the pink ribbons and rah rah cheerleading that come along with that diagnosis? Refusing to be defined by that one experience, Dena joins us to talk about what a cancer diagnosis did, and didn't do, to her life.

Many people believe that grief can be completed and that when it is, we will have closure. We will no longer need to remember and think about the person we've lost. But more and more, we are recognizing that remembering our person and sharing our grief is a healthy way forward. As a response to her own loss, Fran Solomon founded Heal Grief, establishing on line program designed to connect grievers at every stage of life. Seeing an unmet need for young people to share their grief she established the program Actively Moving Forward. The program recognizes that one in three young adults is grieving and that young grievers have often moved to college or out into life without the crucial support needed to thrive. How powerful to connect grievers through an app which can be accessed anywhere! We'll be talking about this program, and all of the Heal Grief platforms insuring that no one has to grieve alone.

In a world where we need more civility, substance and compassion, Rabbi Daniel Cohen set out to try to define what it means to live a purposeful life. How do we define what really matters so that our lives match our deep beliefs and inspirations? Hi book, What Will They Say About Me when I'm Gone?, explores the questions of meaning through guided questioning and meaningful stories about people who have lived lives of purpose, leaving a legacy for their families and communities. Join us as we explore the most important questions we can ask ourselves and the way to find out own answers. Rabbi Cohen speaks with the voice of someone who has witnessed his congregation coming to grips with these questions, but also as someone who lives out the legacies of those in his own life who have defined meaning for him. As a result, he is intent on living a life that matters!

When Janna Lopez hit 50, her world seemed to fall apart. In what she later describes as a Dark Flight of the Self, she seemed unrecognizable to herself which propelled her into a deep grief for who she had been. Unlike depression she had navigated in the past, insight was elusive and unattainable. Instead, she felt as if she was crawling along, unsure what was right ahead of her. Small things, photographing a hummingbird, slowing down, feeling her way along, began to help her form a new concept of herself and led her to a new life. Her book, Me, My Selfie and Eye, chronicles her unfamiliar path and describes the intersection of a youth culture, menopause and aging with clarity and humor. Join us to talk about it!

Miriam Feldman and her husband Craig were successful artists raising four children in Los Angeles. They were a happy family, with a great confidence in all their children succeeding in whatever they chose. Their son Nick, in particular, was a gifted artist himself, and they looked forward to watching him blossom and grow. But as he reached early adulthood, disturbing symptoms forced them to reckon with the fact that Nick was struggling with mental illness, which over time would be diagnosed as schizophrenia. Facing the challenges of his illness, each person had to find a new way to live and the family as a whole could no longer be as it once was. What did it take to navigate both the illness itself and the toll it took on all of them? How would they find their way forward, grieving what they once were and finding their new life? Join us as Miriam Feldman shares their way forward and where they are now.

When your child is a journalist working in dangerous locations around the world, worry goes with the territory. But the alert goes down when she is near home. Yett that is when Ingrid Wall's daughter lost her life covering a seemingly benign story. Along with the tremendous grief of facing her death came the horror of how she died and the fact that she became such a big news story herself. How did her parents survive those terrible days? By finding a way to honor her that emphasizes who she was, not how she died.

Ken Ross grew up immersed in the work of his mother, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Unlike most people in the West, he was immersed in a world where death, dying and grief wer openly talked about and explored. How did he come to view his unique experience with the pioneering author of On Death and Dying? We will talk about his mother's work, his childhood and how he carries her work forward, honoring the legacy she left. We'll also explore how he thinks his own perspective on end of life has been formed by his unusual upbringing.

Losing a sibling at any age has a deep impact on how we see ourselves in the world. Aside from parents, siblings carry more of our history than nearly anyone else. So what happens when your sister is diagnosed with a disabling and lethal cancer? When Lila Glasoe Franceses sister Carolyn was diagnosed with Glioblastoma she had no idea what lay ahead of them. All she knew was that she was going to do everything she could be there for Carolyn. Along the way, she learned more than she asked for and fulfilled her promise to see her sister through it- to the very end and beyond.

What does it take to prepare ourselves to do the work of anti-racism? At this time when there is an outcry against racism and oppression, many white Americans are confronting the hard truth that we benefit from the system that oppresses others. How do we face that truth, which involves a loss of who we thought we were, and find unique actions we can sustain to bring about change? Kate Schatz has been searching for answers to these questions for years and, when her friend W. Kamau Bell offered her up as a white person willing to help Conan O'Brien sort it out, she became a resource for many people asking the hard questions and searching for the true answers.

In times when the inequities and oppressions of the world are obvious to all whose eyes are open, how do we keep hope alive, not only for ourselves but for our children? Sean Perry dedicates his life to the mental health needs of kids and has plenty to say about what helps all of us find our way in the midst of challenges. Join us for a conversation about what each of us can contribute to a better world; for ourselves and for the generations of human beings that will come after us.

Alia Volz' mother sold marijuana baked goods in a time when that was illegal. At first, it was a rebellious way to make a living. But then the AIDS epidemic made it so much more; a struggle for the right of patients to use every tool available to feel better. Growing up in the midst of the political battle over marijuana, Alia also learned the history of why it was illegal when alcohol was not, a history of racism and criminalization. How did her unusual childhood affect her perspective on her family, her city and the world? Join us to talk about how her mom's work wove itself into her life.

Suzanne Falter's life came to a halt when her 22 year old daughter died. She was no longer able to overwork, give more than she had, and keep up with the constant demands to achieve. Brought to her knees, she discovered that if she listened to what she really needed, even in those most terrible days, she could find her way to a greater sense of peace. Over time the discovery of self care in her life led to a brand new career encouraging other women to care for themselves. More than that, it led to a new way to live, putting herself before all the demands. And surprisingly, instead of reducing her successes, everything got better. Perhaps taking care of herself was, after all, the way to a happier and more fulfilling life!

There is solace in speaking our grief and yet many of us are unprepared for true listening. How can we honor the voices of grief, the true feelings that come along with the death of someone we love? In Lindsey Whissel Fenton's film Speaking Grief she shares the voices of people living with loss and suggests ways we can become better at supporting and honoring those voices. In the process, we are able to make space for our own grief and feel the relief that comes when we hear the simple message that what we feel is normal, expected and sacred.

Novelists are often asked whether the book comes from their own experiences. The answer can be complex. For even when the story is not autobiographical, there is a thread of who we are and what we've experienced running underneath. After writing Godshot, Chelsea Bieker realized that her separation from her mother when she was a child, and the course of their severed relationship, led her to explore the themes of separation through fiction. Join us to talk about how her loss has influenced her life and her art and what came out in the book. How did she come to realize that in a book of fiction, she was exploring her own story?

Bernie Siegel MD, NY Times bestselling author of Love, Medicine and Miracles continues his profound contribution of wisdom and insights to our world with his new book When You Realize How Perfect Everything Is co-authored with his grandson Charlie Siegel. Based on the anonymous quote 'When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.' Bernie and Charlie Siegel share through their poetic short writings their belief that the imperfections of life are truly what is perfect about it. Bernie and Charlie remind us that we are all knocked down sometimes by life’s difficulties, but it is the rising back up that counts. That when we dare to experience life to its’ fullest, the imperfections of life are an opportunity for us to grow.

What makes us human? In a culture oriented towards the mind, it is easy to think that how well we can reason and express ourselves hold the keys. But this leads to a rejection of those of us who lose that ability. What about people with Alzheimers, or developmentally disabled people, or people with declining mental powers in old age? It is tempting to think that without mental powers and memory, human love and interaction ceases to matter. But what if it matters more, or at least as much? In her work as a chaplain Lynn Casteel Harper noticed how often people with memory and cognition disabilities were under attended as human being. She noticed that although her patients were less able to express themselves, active engagement was still possible and made a huge difference. As time went on this perspective became critically important for loving family members with the same deficits. In her book, On Vanishing, she proposes a new way of looking at people who have lost memory.

Across the great divide in America, city dwellers and the nation's farmers often fail to understand each other. Marie Mutsuki Mockett set out to close the gap, going back to the place in Nebraska where her family owns a farm and listening with her whole heart to the many of the men and women who raise the food that keeps all of us alive; midwest rural America. She travelled to seven states to participate with them in harvest. In the process, her ideas, assumptions and beliefs were challenged, leaving an indelible mark on her heart and mind. When we are able to truly listen to each other, how does it affect our view of the world? Does it lead to greater understanding and tolerance? How can we be true to ourselves while truly respecting the other person? Marie comes back from the heartland with some answers and many questions, inviting us to share with her a profound lesson in acceptance. Launching as we are all facing the effects of COVID-19, the book is timely in that it also takes a look at front line workers who help keep our food supply open.

Finding a way to live our truest lives is not always easy. Growing up in a religious household, Steve Disselhorst had trouble accepting that he was gay and believed he would lose the dreams he had for himself; especially having children. Through facing the adversity he encountered in his life, he came to believe that the only way to live his best life was to live his most true life and this fed a determination to have those things he most longed for; marriage and family. Join us as we talk about what he faced along the way and how he transformed his roadblocks into even greater determination. We'll share what helped him to keep going and the rewards that awaited him when he realized his dreams.

Nina Impala, certified by the American Academy of Bereavement, combines intuition with professional education in the End-of-Life Field, including 10 years in hospice. She is a graduate of Mueller College of Holistic Studies and was a licensed massage therapist for more than 17 years, also incorporating Reiki. Nina’s book Dearly Departed, What I Learned About Living From the Dying, was inspired by 10 years of volunteering for hospice. She’s a member of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce and has won awards for her writings with The National Hospice and Palliative Care Association. Nina previously hosted the podcast Tutoring for the Spirit and will join the Voiceamerica network in May 2020 with Inspiring End of Life Conversations. She’ll be interviewing Near Death Experiencers, hospice professionals, Pet psychics that assist after your furry family members pass away and those who have survived cancer and what they have learned in life from it.

After twenty-seven years of marriage, John Sardella lost the love of his life when his wife, Margaret, passed away following a seven-year battle with cancer. John looked for a book that would give him space for his pain and inspire him to move forward, but all he found were clinical books written by psychologists. That was John’s motivation to write this book and share how he worked through the grieving process in the hopes of reminding others not only that they are not alone, but also that they will be okay. A Journey Without a Map gives you permission to not only feel those real and true feelings you have, but also permission to move forward. Sharing stories that span from Margaret’s battle with cancer to her funeral and John’s life since, John demonstrates the power of connection and shows that with the proper perspective, you can still live life to its fullest extent. You can get back to being the person you’re capable of being—John wants to help you get there.

We've all heard we need to get enough rest. But what KIND of rest leads to restorative, rejuvenating wellness? After her own burn out brought her to the ground, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith set out to discover the many aspects of rest we need to live well and authentically. Her book, Sacred Rest, describes 7 types of rest we need to be well, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sensory and creative. But in this busy world, how do we make time for all these aspects of rest and, if we make the time, what leads to actually feeling rested? Based on experience and research, Dr. Dalton-Smith has answers. And when her patients ask her how they can possibly afford the time for true rest, she asks how they can afford NOT to take the time.

Running from death was a big part of Sue William Silverman's response to early adulthood. Over time, she began to see that running from death was also about running from those things in her life that she didn't know how to cope with; fearful and traumatic events. Over item, Sue would unravel those fears and face up to what she came to realize she could not escape. How did she find her way? And what has resulted from making the trip? Sue has written a compelling book about what scared her, why, and how she began to face up to it all. In a world where we all have reason to fear and cause to run, talking about how to live with these uncertainties is something we all need!

Throughout human existence, creative expression has helped people process difficult experiences, including loss. For William Lychack, writing fiction was the vehicle through which he came to terms with loss, including the absence and then early death of his father. So when his friend since childhood took his own life, it was natural that Bill's grief would find its way into his writing. The result is an exploration of how two people can evolve in such different directions coming from similar experiences. Why do some of us thrive after loss while others seem paralyzed or destroyed by it? In the novel Cargill Falls, we begin to see the glimmer of some answers to that profound question.

Raised with a keen awareness that everything is impermanent, that all life ends, Sunita Puri was challenged to find a way to come to terms with medicine's inability to accept these truths. Her perspective was at odds with the training she was receiving as a medical student, where any death, even an inevitable one, was a failure. When she was finally exposed to a palliative care rotation she found her home in medicine. Palliative care, which supports patients to live well for as long as possible, brought these two parts of her together. How do her early family teachings in a Hindu family inform her work now? And how does her medical training support her palliative care work and the training she offers to others?

What happens when a successful, capable business woman experiences unimaginable loss? For Adriana Monique Alvarez, the still birth of her daughter plunged her into a kind of grief and isolation she had never experienced before. She longed for just one person to acknowledge the depth of her loss and offer support and comfort. Unlike her successes, there was nothing that would take away the pain or lead to a different outcome. But over time, Adriana was able to find support and nurture by talking about her loss and by allowing her grief to matter to HER. Now she has become an impassioned advocate for other families facing the same loss. She knows first hand what a difference it makes when someone hears the pain and offers solace and understanding.

What are the paths to connect with our soul, especially in hard times? Christian de la Huerta believes the breath is such a path. Seeking to connect with the spiritual dimension of his life, he was drawn to work with the breath and found power in the practice and in what he learned about our connection to all living things through the breath. He came to the realization that coming out as a gay man was just the beginning of his quest to come out spiritually and that looking inward to discover who he was had helped to lead him in this direction. 30 years later Christian teaches others how to use the breath to heal, to support themselves in challenging times and to live a deeper more connected life. He teaches that there is an element in the air we breathe that remains unchanged, connecting us to every being who ever has or ever will walk the earth. What wonder in the power of the breath!

Steve Grant could never have imagined that both of his sons would die of accidental drug overdoses. Despite the differences in each of their lives, losing both of them to the opioid epidemic demanded that Steve struggle with his own choices in trying to help them. Taking an honest look at what he tried, what he did, and what experts say about how families respond led to a book, Don't Forget Me, offering hope to all who struggle with a family member's addiction. Along with the questions Steve needed to answer for himself, there was also the painful process of grief from the unimaginable; the loss of both his sons. As a man of action, grief inevitably led Steve to make use of the experience through his writing and through the foundation he founded to support other people struggling with the same difficulty. In small and large ways, Steve vowed to make a difference, using his business expertise and his personal experience to support young people and families affected by addiction.

It was a day like any other. Rob Alessi was on a business trip and he and his wife Marie and kids were talking twice a day. Then suddenly, he wasn't calling. The worst had happened- he had died of a brain aneurism and would never return to their happy and satisfying life. Marie, a life coach by profession, had a decision to make. Would she now live a limited and diminished life or would she continue to live the happy and fulfilled life they'd planned? What would it take to choose life, and joy and happiness? Marie was determined to choose joy, stead in the knowledge that her beloved husband would not want less for her. Yes, there would be painful moments. Yes, she would need to make room for her own grief and the grief of her two children. But Marie had to believe it was possible. And as time went on, she found that not only was it possible, but essential. And not only did SHE need to make a commitment to her life, she needed to support others to find their way too.

When Chris Meyer bought a funeral home, looking for a business opportunity to support his family, he never expected to learn so much about life from caring for families after the loss of a loved one. Coming into people’s lives at this most poignant time, he paid attention to what mattered to is clients, what they most appreciated about the person they’d lost and what they wanted to carry with them going forward. He’d found a new way to live! Carrying these lessons into his own life he began to think about what he’d learned from his own loved ones and how he wanted his family to remember him. His priorities changed and his appreciation for the ones he loves deepened, leading to a better, more fulfilling personal life.

What is music's power to support us through the passages of life? Gary Malkin has spent his career seeking answers to that question. His attention to sound and music and how they affect us led to work with patients and families at the beginning and end of their lives. He is a fierce advocate for music's role in healing and support. Join us as we talk about what he's learned and how he believes we can use music. His belief in its power has only continued to grow since his first interview on Good Grief. How has his work changed and deepened over time? He has incorporated sound and music (which he calls organized vibration) into work with health care systems, patients and families, workplaces and environments of support for resilient health. What can we apply to our own lives, sick or well, to use sound for our own wellbeing? Join us as we explore both the research and the practice of sound and music for healing.

We're all familiar with the truth that the only constant is change. Yet we often resist change as an unwelcome guest, especially when it comes from acute loss. How can we learn to embrace change as an invitation for growth, and honor what comes of it? Patricia Cagganello and Kathleen O’Keefe Kanavos immersed themselves in the subject, collecting stories of people who found new meaning and growth through change which may not have been, at first, welcome. Their book, Chaos to Clarity, tells these stories and offers inspiration to anyone who is faced with the daunting task of responding to one of life's chaotic moments. We'll be talking about how they found their way to this work, leaving behind the lives they’d lived before. They offer hope and inspiration to those who are facing tough moments, for any of a multitude of reasons.

On a day like any other, Jonathan Santlofer was suddenly dropped into the chaos of intense grief when his wife of 40 years suddenly died. His losses before this did not prepare him for his upended life. It did not prepare him for the insensitive and alienating things people said to him when he was too vulnerable to respond. It did not prepare him for the internal conflict of whether and how much to share about his intense mourning. He also had the sense that his inability to share his feelings and ask for help were deeply affected by the expectations he felt because he is a man. How did gender affect people's expectations of what would happen next? How much of that was a conflict within his own heart? He found an anchor in writing down what he was experiencing. In his notebooks he was able to say it all, and to hear himself. And ultimately, the lifeline he found in writing became a beautiful book, A Widower's Notebook.

What if painful grieving was not inevitable? What if the person you loved most in the world died, and you did not descend into the pain everyone expected? For Jen Mathews, grief came not as a sadness but as a revelation. When her beloved died, she felt more connected to life, more passionate about her spiritual values and more alive. In this hour, we’ll talk about how this could be, and the work Jen does to favor such a result in others. What do laughter, spiritual practice and mindfulness do to contribute to a positive outlook on loss? And how does such an outlook contribute to a life of purpose and meaning. When Jen feels the lack of her sweetheart’s physical presence on earth, how does she carry herself through it?

Facing challenges in our lives, the need for support becomes so clear. But the support we receive may or may not truly do its job. Through her own life challenges, including the breast cancer diagnosis and death of her mother, Marisa Lee learned first-hand that her community of support often got it wrong. Marisa understood that this reflected a general lack of information about what helps and what doesn’t. Ultimately, she created a platform to offer practical and sage advice on how to help. Sharing the stories of those who have faced hard times and what helped them, those who care get an inside view of how to show up, avoid common support pitfalls, and say the helpful thing, instead of the platitude or cliché. When we know what to do, it is MUCH more likely that we'll step up and do it. Join us as we explore what led to Supportal and what Marisa has learned about supporting our loved ones in their most challenging moments.

When Karen Trench's beloved husband died by suicide, her life as she knew it ended. But somewhere deep within her a new life began to form. By surrendering to her grief and longing she began to follow her instincts towards healing and creation of a life worth living. Out of her anguish, blessings began to emerge. She discovered her true capacity for love, faith, forgiveness, surrender, transformation and a deep connection to herself and her life. By allowing her grief to teach her, she found a new calling and sense of purpose. Slowly, unpredictably, she became a deeper version of herself, ready to find joy and inspiration where she had felt only pain and destruction. And out of this miraculous evolution she felt an undeniable call to share what she had found, offering it as solace and direction for other grievers. Love Life Loss is the book that emerged.

When Michelle Hoffmann's husband died, she joined the club no one wants to be a member of; the widow's club. But over time, she noticed that her community was directing new widows to her for help - they had observed her finding her way forward. A new calling was born, defining a way through widow grief and supporting other grievers. The lessons she learned about how to access help effectively, plan for a new future and find her children what they needed to thrive proved deeply useful to other women who were now facing life on their own. Michelle became a coach, author and guide, laying out the skills that had helped her so much. In the process, she learned how deeply rewarding it can be to give back what is so hard won. She had truly found a way through!

What is stunning about human beings is our capacity to search for meaning even in our losses. So often, that meaning becomes a driving force in our lives. Lily Myers Kaplan considers these epiphanies a legacy our loved ones have left to us. It's our healing and our responsibility to take what we've been given and share it, just as she has done. Her book, Loss to Legacy, shares the tools she found to help make meaning out of her deepest losses. The book itself is a testament to what can come when we go towards our grief and trust that it will guide us to what we need. Join us as we talk about what helped her and what those how that became a life calling. Practical yet transformational, the tools she describes can help along the way to meaning with any of our various human losses.

When Charles Fontenot's son died of cancer at 21, it sent Charles on a quest to discover who he is. Grief showed him that he didn't really know himself. When he was ripped open he did not recognize the person inside. His greatest tool for discovering the real Charles was poetry, written to express his loss but also to express himself. How could the most terrible thing ever to happen to him also be the key that unlocked his inner truth? At first, he wrote because he had to. Eventually, he saw that these writings could be of use to others searching for meaning and living after loss.

The so-called justice system in our country has led to an unjust prison pipeline, undermining families and communities. Communities of color and other marginalized communities are especially hard hit. What is the history that led to these outcomes and how can we restore justice to communities that have felt the impact the most? World Trust, an organization founded by Dr. Shakti Butler, is impassioned about bringing heart to conversations about oppression. Their fifth film, Healing Justice, brings their recognized expertise at generating these conversations to the subject of justice and injustice, sharing the deep heartbreak of the current system yet offering strategies for a better way. Join us on Good Grief as we learn from Dr. Butler how this film came about and what she wants you to know about the many losses that come from an oppressive justice system.

Imagine your beloved husband never comes home from a brief drive to the lake. And this leads to weeks of uncertainty and questioning about what has happened. And then his body is found. And all of this happens in the public eye. How do you talk about what is happening with your two young children? How do you prepare for the birth of your third child? How do you get from one day to the next? When Katie Stifter faced the unimaginable, it was her family, her community and her faith that held her through these terrible days. And all these things helped her commit to going forward even as she lost every dream she had had for her life.

Ken Ross grew up immersed in the work of his mother, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Unlike most people in the West, he was immersed in a world where death, dying and grief wer openly talked about and explored. How did he come to view his unique experience with the pioneering author of On Death and Dying? We will talk about his mother's work, his childhood and how he carries her work forward, honoring the legacy she left. We'll also explore how he thinks his own perspective on end of life has been formed by his unusual upbringing.

When Elena Schwolsky's husband was diagnosed with AIDS, the work she had been doing as a nurse for kids with AIDS suddenly came home. After he died, she wondered what would come next for her. The desire to find a way forward pushed her to take a chance on 6 months in Cuba, a place she'd felt a deep connection to ever since a visit in her twenties. She would go and work with Cuban people living with AIDS- in a new and unfamiliar environment with very different ways of addressing AIDS. In the sanitarium Cuba had created to curb the spread of AIDS, she found people she would come to love and care about, and a place to approach the healing that had eluded her at home.

After Roselee Blooston's husband died, she wrote a memoir about her experience going forward from his death and dealing with the government of Dubai to settle is estate. Then her life continued forward and she became committed to sharing a novel she had already written with the world. But the subject of the novel was relevant to what she'd been through. Her legal drama , Trial By Family, touches the subjects of family, loss, and the effects of complicated grief. Diving into these territories even before she herself was touched by them leaves the reader wondering what she thinks about this unusual turn of events. How does publishing this novel evoke the experience of her own loss? And what does her book have to tell us about families dealing with loss, however dismally?

How does someone find his way from the murder, at age 14, of both his parents to a life guided by big love? Scott Stabile evolved from putting his grief aside and going on with life to honoring and respecting, even inviting, his grief. In the process, he learned a lot about living with an open heart and loving himself and others as completely as possible in each moment. When he opened up to his deepest feelings, his deepest self, what he found was an unequivocal commitment to living a big, loving life and sharing what he'd found with other people.

After a loved one dies, what should we do with all that STUFF? And how about our own stuff, which we will some day leave behind? How does a loss change our relationship to stuff, both that of the person we lost and our own. Reflecting a deep personal experience with how possessions changed meaning for her after her husbands's sudden death, Rachel Kodanaz helps us approach what to keep and what to let go of with compassion and understanding. What gives a particular thing meaning and when the meaning is gone, what do we do with it? How do we follow our own individual time line as much as possible without getting stuck along the way. Rachel brings the same passion and grace to this subject as she has brought to audiences for over 20 years working with death in the workplace.

Some traumatic losses are beyond our imagination until we experience them. Bonnie Hirst's life was thrown upside down when her daughter was arrested for murder and then left changed forever when she was found guilty and given a life sentence. How could Bonnie, a mother with a close relationship to her grown daughter, and a deep lifelong faith, make sense of such a terrible tragedy? Navigating her way down a path with no light ahead of her, Bonnie had to change, to redefine what she believed about God, life and the world. But in the end, she cultivated a faith much deeper than any she had ever experienced. And she found a way to stay loving and connected to the child she had always adored.