Podcast · Health

Grief Out Loud

by The Dougy Center · English · Health

Remember the last time you tried to talk about grief and suddenly everyone left the room? Grief Out Loud is opening up this often avoided conversation because grief is hard enough without having to go through it alone. We bring you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 47 min
Latest: 6 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026 · 45 min

What's It Like When There's No Tomorrow? - Ami Baio On Grief, Games, And Her Dad

From an early age, Ami Baio was curious about death and grief. As a game designer and the creator of Pink Tiger Games, she eventually turned that curiosity into Proof of Life , a conversational game about death, grief, and talking about what matters most to the people in our lives. In a professional and personal overlap, as Ami was finishing the game, her father was dying of cancer. Ami's relationship with her dad had changed dramatically over the course of her life. After her parents divorced when she was five, she and her father became separated from each other, and their relationship was…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E366 · 25 Sep 2026 · 53 min
Learning To Grieve Together - Kelly & Miguel Cervantes
In this episode, we talk with Kelly and Miguel Cervantes about their daughter Adelaide, who lived with epilepsy and complex medical needs . Kelly and Miguel share what it was like to parent a child who couldn't speak or move but who still made her preferences known – including smacking her brother when she was done playing and loving anything by Frank Sinatra. They talk about the very different roles they occupied during Adelaide's life: Kelly as a full-time caregiver who became fluent in her daughter's medical world, and Miguel, who moved in and out of that world while performing eight…
E365 · 17 Sep 2026 · 42 min
The Grief That Doesn't Get A Funeral - Juniper Wong On Ambiguous & Ancestral Loss
Sometimes grief and how it shows up is obvious. Other times we might not recognize our experience as grief until something shifts our perspective. This was true for Juniper Wong, MSW, LICSW , a therapist who specializes in supporting those who are grieving through self-compassion, mindfulness, somatic experiencing, and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Juniper shares how caring for her father during the final weeks of his life changed her understanding of grief, sparking a recognition of how much of her own life had been shaped by the loss and grief passed down her family line. Becoming a…
E364 · 11 Sep 2026 · 45 min
Easing The Bureaucracy Of Loss - Frank Flores & FamiliaLista
When Frank Flores's younger brother Marcelo died suddenly at 23, Frank found himself in an unfamiliar role: identifying his brother's body, navigating paperwork, and figuring out how to bring him home to the U.S. from Mexico. There was little room for grief. Instead, Frank went back to work - and then worked even more. Five years later, Frank's father died during COVID. Once again, grief was crowded out by the bureaucracy of death: bank accounts, debts, paperwork, family responsibilities, and the messy, exhausting task of untangling a life after death. Frank describes this as a "mountain of…
E363 · 2 Sep 2026 · 49 min
What If We Didn't Have To Do Death Alone? - Crystal Meneses on Culture, Care, & Community
What if we thought about death not as something that needs to be handed over to institutions, but as something that communities could face together? In this episode we talk with Crystal Meneses, a death worker, spiritual counselor, hospice chaplain, artist, musician, and longtime community caregiver. Crystal's path into death work began with watching a recording of her grandfather's funeral in the Philippines , which sparked questions around being able to one day provide a similar ceremony for her father . Questions that inspired her work to help us rethink how we approach death and dying.…
E362 · 13 Aug 2026 · 50 min
Holding The Both/And - Steph Tupper On Grieving Her Children
In 2022, Steph Tupper's two older children, Ali and Joe, were killed in a car crash. Ali was 16 and Joe was 14. Four years later, Steph is still learning how to live with the reality of losing her children while continuing to parent her youngest daughter. In this episode, Steph talks openly about the devastating night she learned Ali and Joe had died, the ways she continues to feel connected to them, and the complicated process of building a life around an absence that will never go away. She shares what she has learned about community, judgment from others - and herself , parenting after…
E361 · 5 Aug 2026 · 50 min
The Grief We Carry, The Love We Keep - Shanda McManus, MD
When physician and writer Sh a nda McManus was fourteen, her mother died after living with ovarian cancer. Three years later, her grandmother - the person who became home after that loss - was killed by a drunk driver. Then, while Shanda was in medical school, her younger brother Monir was murdered on Christmas Eve. For years, surviving meant staying busy. Planning funerals. Managing paperwork. Pushing forward. The grief itself was boxed up, held in place by what Shanda describes as an emotional tourniquet. It kept her moving, but it also kept her separated from memories of her mother,…
E360 · 31 Jul 2026 · 53 min
How To Support Kids Through Grief – Jessica Correnti, MS, CCLS
When it comes to children and grief, there's a lot we misunderstand . Adults might think they are either resilient and unaffected, too young to understand , or irreparably broken by the death of someone in their life . In reality though , their experiences of grief can be just as profound and complex as those of the adults around them. In this episode of Grief Out Loud , Jana talks with C ertified C hild L ife S pecialist Jessica Correnti about what children actually need when someone they love dies. Drawing from more than a decade of working in pediatric hospitals and her private practice,…
E359 · 7 Jul 2026 · 51 min
Learning From Grief - David Ferrugio On Memory, Meaning, And Moving Forward
For many, September 11th is a shared, historical tragedy. But for today's guest, it is a personal anniversary - the day his father died. David Ferrugio was twelve years old when his dad was killed in the World Trade Center. Twenty-five years later, his grief continues to unfold - from recently sitting with his father's forensic file at the 9/11 Memorial to hosting his own podcast, DEAD Talks , where he invites people into honest conversations about death, grief, and what it means to keep living. In this conversation, David reflects on carrying his private grief through such a public loss. We…
E358 · 26 Jun 2026 · 1 hr
Brothers In Grief: Nora Gross On Cumulative Loss & Gun Violence
What happens when grief isn't an exception, but a constant presence? In this episode, Jana talks with researcher and educator Nora Gross about her book, Brothers in Grief: The Hidden Toll of Gun Violence on Black Boys and Their Schools , which follows the two years she spent embedded in a Philadelphia boys' high school where students were grieving repeated losses from gun violence. Through interviews, observation, and simply showing up, Nora witnessed how grief shapes friendships, school life, ideas about the future, and the social constraints Black boys face when it comes to grief. Nora…
E357 · 18 Jun 2026 · 51 min
It's All Hard - Sudden vs Anticipated Loss
Is it harder when someone dies suddenly, or when you know their death is coming? It's a question that comes up often in grief spaces, and there's no easy answer. Both are hard - just in different ways . In this episode, Aimee Craig talks about grieving the deaths of both of her parents under very different circumstances. Aimee's dad died suddenly when she was 23, during a season of major life transitions. Nearly two decades later, her mom died after living with cancer for many years, including five years with a terminal diagnosis. Aimee reflects on how differently she experienced these…
E356 · 12 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 10 min
How to Talk With Children About Grief & Loss
How do you talk with children about death, dying, and grief - especially when the truth feels impossible to say? Most adults feel unprepared to tell a child that someone in their life has an advanced serious illness or has died. There's often a deep desire to protect kids from pain, avoid overwhelming them, or wanting to wait until there's a "better" time to talk. But children often already sense that something has changed. In this episode, Jana is joined by Dougy Center colleagues Rebecca Hobbs-Lawrence, M.A. and Sat Kaur Khalsa, M.S.W. to talk about how adults can approach these…
E355 · 4 Jun 2026 · 47 min
What Happens When You Stop Outrunning Grief? Camila Crews & Sorry For Your Loss (Cards)
Have you ever found yourself trying to outrun grief? That's what Camila Crews did when she was 19 and her mother died. Twenty years later, following the heartbreaking disappearance and death of her father, Camila stopped running and started feeling. Unable to just keep pushing through, she had to face her grief and learn how to care for herself in the process. Facing her grief inspired Camila to start Sorry for Your Loss (Cards) , an initiative to help people better understand grief and show up for those who are mourning. Centering the experiences of Black and Brown communities, Sorry for…
E354 · 29 May 2026 · 51 min
When "It's Not Your Fault" Falls Flat - Grief & Guilt
In December of 2021, Sawyer was halfway through their final year of college in a world that was still reeling from the pandemic. Home for the holidays, Sawyer got the heartbreaking news that their older brother, Jason, had died by suicide - a before-and-after moment that continues to reverberate today. Sawyer shares their nuanced perspective on grief, delving into how mental health, incarceration, and other systemic barriers impacted Jason's life and death. We also explore how the phrase, "It's not your fault," while well-intentioned, can leave little space for those who are grieving to…
E353 · 12 May 2026 · 43 min
When Grief Gets Silenced: Supporting Black Youth & Families With Dr. Allen Lipscomb
Acknowledgment, validation, and curiosity – meeting grief with these three elements is crucial in creating supportive, culturally relevant grief support environments for children and adults. Dr. Allen Lipscomb has spent his career researching , designing, and implementing anti -racist interventions that directly support not just grief from death loss, but also the grief from ra cialized trauma exper ienced by those in the Black community . Dr. Lipscomb shares his personal experiences with grief, including the death of his grandmother when he was a child and being wrongly accused of a crime…
E352 · 1 May 2026 · 46 min
A Mother's Legacy, A Daughter's Grief - N'keya Peters-Camille
In this episode of Grief Out Loud , Jana is joined by N'keya Peters-Camille , LCSW, RYT® 200, a social worker, certified Grief Yoga teacher, facilitator for e-motion grief meet ups, and creator of Hope: A One Line A Day Journal for the Bereaved . N'keya shares the story of her mother, Hope - a woman she describes as her soulmate - who died of pancreatic cancer in 2021 at the age of 46. N'keya reflects on growing up alongside her mother, witnessing her overcome immense challenges, and experiencing firsthand what it meant to be deeply seen, supported, and loved. After her mother's death,…
E351 · 23 Apr 2026 · 20 min
Tips For Grieving Through Mother's Day
Mother's Day is approaching - Sunday, May 10th, 2026 - and it's a "holiday" that comes with lots of mixed emotions for those who are grieving. Whether you're a child grieving a parent, a parent grieving a child, or anyone who is carrying grief into the day, this episode might be for you. We explore why holidays connected to particular relationships can be so tough in grief and outline ideas for navigating both the lead-up and the day itself. This episode originally aired in April 2015. Other Grief Out Loud episodes related to mothers, mothering, and Mother's Day: Ep. 127 What God Is Honored…
E350 · 16 Apr 2026 · 42 min
What If Grief Care Is Preventative Care? Dr. Kailey Bradley
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kailey Bradley about support for grieving a death loss, but also the more overlooked non-death losses, including chronic illness, infertility, shifting identities, and the futures we imagined but don't get to live. Dr. Bradley is a clinician and educator who specializes in working with children and families navigating grief and illness . Kailey shares her experiences growing up with chronic illness and being diagnosed with premature ovarian failure at age 12, and how those layered losses affected her at different life stages . We explore what it means to…
E349 · 9 Apr 2026 · 37 min
Throughlines: Keeping A Connection With My Mom
Jeremy's mom was a protector, an optimist, and someone who held onto a sense of lightness - even after a cancer diagnosis that led to her death just a few months later. In this episode, Jeremy shares what it was like to navigate such a short window between his mom's diagnosis and death, and how her outlook continues to shape him and his grief. From visiting her just before her death to to time spent in the woods bow hunting, he describes the ways he still feels connected to her. After her death, Jeremy's connection to nature and hunting became a foundation for staying close with his mom.…
E348 · 2 Apr 2026 · 46 min
Waiting for Dawn: Marisa Renee Lee on Living with Grief, Illness, and Uncertainty
What does it mean to live with uncertainty - especially when your body, your capacity, and your sense of self are all changing at once? In this episode, Jana is joined again by author and advocate Marisa Renee Lee . You may know Marisa from her first book, Grief Is Love , or from her work helping people tell the truth about grief. In this conversation, she returns to share about her new book, Waiting for Dawn , and the realities of living with long COVID - an experience that has reshaped her daily life, her work, and her understanding of grief. Marisa reflects on the many losses she's…
E347 · 13 Mar 2026 · 51 min
Words Matter: What To Say When Someone Is Grieving - Shelby Forsythia
Shelby Forsythia is well acquainted with grief. After a series of losses that started in her late teens and culminated in the death of her mother from cancer, Shelby became an expert in avoiding and outrunning her grief. Then, an incident with a stolen wallet broke through that avoidance; in the aftermath of letting those feelings out, she realized she needed to give herself permission to grieve. Since then, Shelby's done so much in the realm of grief support—as a coach, author, and host of the Grief Grower podcast. Shelby's newest book, Of Course, I'm Here, Right Now , written for friends,…
E346 · 5 Mar 2026 · 41 min
The Million Stages Of Grief - Michael Reed On Finding His Way After Catastrophic Loss
What does grief look like when you lose your wife, two daughters, your home, and nearly everything you own - all in a single night? In this episode we talk with Michael Reed , a husband, father , and author whose life was forever changed when a wildfire swept through his community, taking the lives of his wife Constance , his older daughter Chloe, his youngest, Lily, their pets, and reducing their home to ashes . Nearly a decade later, Michael shares about the darkness he fell into, who was there to hold him and his son up, the ways he stays connected to his wife and daughters, and how he's…
E345 · 20 Feb 2026 · 42 min
Tending To The Roots Of Ritual With Joél Simone, The Grave Woman
In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with death & grief care professional, educator, and cultural advocate Jo él Simone, also known as The Grave Woman . Joél shares the story behind a childhood drawing that declared her future as "the grave woman," and how that early curiosity about death grew into a lifelong vocation in funeral service, grief education, and cultural competency. Drawing from decades of experience, Joél reflects on the spiritual, cultural, and embodied dimensions of grief , including what she's learned by listening closely to families, children, and traditions that are…
E344 · 13 Feb 2026 · 44 min
Restrung: Music, Grief, And Fatherhood With Matt Fogelson
When Matt Fogelson's father died of lung cancer during his senior year of college, he turned to music to express what words couldn't - rage, self-loathing, and grief so profound he didn't know where to put it. In this conversation, Matt - author of the new memoir Restrung - talks about the silence that surrounded his father's terminal illness, the vacuum left by an absent but beloved parent, and how grunge music (especially Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) created space for him to feel what was hard to put into words . Matt shares how his Aunt Wendy became his unlikely guide, why he wore his…
E343 · 3 Feb 2026 · 51 min
When Grief and Trauma Collide – Christina Babich, MA
When Christina Babich's partner, Alex, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm while they were visiting his family in Italy, her world shattered in more ways than one . In addition to the grief of losing the person she loved and the future they were building together, Christina was also left to navigate the aftermath of a deeply traumatic event - one that profoundly impacted her nervous system, sense of safety, and identity. In this episode, Christina shares what it was like to grieve a sudden, "out-of-order" death while also navigating the derealization, hypervigilance, and other ways the…
E342 · 26 Jan 2026 · 41 min
Echoes Of Her - Adell Coleman On Grieving Her Mother & Finding Community
In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with Adell Coleman about her mother who was killed when Adell was just 24 years old. Adell reflects on the closeness of their relationship and how her mom's death radically shifted her sense of safety in the world. She shares how the circumstances around her mother's death, including being the person who found her, has made it difficult to remember how her mom lived, without reliving how she died. Adell also talks about what it's been like raising two daughters who never met their grandmother, but somehow carry her presence in surprising and…
E341 · 8 Jan 2026 · 44 min
Why Grief Isn't A Journey (And What It Is Instead) - John Onwuchekwa
What if grief isn't a journey for us to eventually finish, but more a language we become fluent in? In this first episode of 2026, we talk with writer , storyteller , and social entrepreneur , John Onwuchekwa , whose life was profoundly shaped by the death of his brother Sam in 2015. John shares how Sam 's death altered not just his relationships and priorities, but his understanding of grief itself. Rather than framing grief as a journey with an endpoint, John offers a different metaphor: grief as a language that we learn over time, one with past, present, and future tenses. He explores how…
E340 · 22 Dec 2025 · 50 min
Time Keeps Moving, But She Doesn't: Mackenzie Galloway-Cole On Grief And New Year's
In the fall of 2023, Mackenzie Galloway-Cole was living out her rom-com-worthy love story with her wife Megan in New York City. Then, on an ordinary night in November, Megan collapsed and died a few hours later from a sudden cardiac event. In the aftermath, Mackenzie had to find her way in this newly shattered world without Megan, her anchor and biggest cheerleader. Mackenzie reflects on the shock of becoming a young widow, the added layers of grief that come with queer partner loss, and the painful realities of navigating death care systems that often default to heteronormative assumptions.…
E339 · 11 Dec 2025 · 44 min
Brennan Wood On How Grief Is To Feel, Not Fix - Even At The Holidays
It's our annual holiday episode, this time with Dougy Center Executive Director and TEDx speaker Brennan Wood . Brennan first encountered Dougy Center after her mom, Doris, died of breast cancer three days after Brennan's 12 th birthday. S he has since navigated almost four decades of holiday season s w ith grief along for the ride. She shares about the early years that were awful; the young-adult years she spent volunteering away from family; and how, as an adult, she's learned to hold both grief and joy while creating new traditions for her own family. Whether this is your first or 41 st…
E338 · 4 Dec 2025 · 48 min
Beyond Silence: Kyndal Parks On Honoring Her Grandfather & Advocating For Better Grief Support
When Kyndal Parks' grandfather died on Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving – she lost one of her biggest supporters and confidants. While navigating her grief, Kyndal was also navigating life as a college st udent where she often felt unseen in her grief by faculty and the wider institution. What began as a class assignment turned into a powerful audio piece about loss, legacy, and the urgent need for grief-informed spaces on college campuses, particularly at HBCUs where collective trauma, silence, and resilience intertwine. In this conversation, Kyndal shares about her grandfather's…

About Grief Out Loud

Grief Out Loud is a English health podcast from The Dougy Center. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: The Dougy Center
Language: English
Category: Health
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 47 min
Latest episode: 6 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1736792046

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