Parenting a Child in Hospice while "Sucking the Joy Out of Life" with Dr. Tasha Faruqui

A mother’s story of love, advocacy, and finding joy while parenting a child in hospice.What happens when the life you imagined for your child suddenly changes forever?For Dr. Tasha Faruqui, that question became her reality when her daughter, Soraya, was born with a rare and little-known genetic condition.A doctor herself, Tasha thought she knew how to navigate the medical world. But nothing prepared her for the mix of love, fear, and relentless uncertainty that came with parenting a child whose life would look very different from what she’d dreamed.In this week’s episode, Tasha — physician, advocate, and author of her debut book Keep Your Head Up: A Mother’s Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief — opens up about what it means to grieve the child you imagined while fiercely loving the one in front of you.We talk about how she’s learned to balance hope and surrender, the ways her other children have shaped her understanding of anticipatory grief, and how joy has become an act of resistance against the unfairness of it all.Nina and Tasha explore:What it means to grieve the ideal while embracing what isHow advocacy and agency intertwine in a child’s careThe quiet grief of siblings walking their own path beside medical complexityWhy hope and heartbreak can live side by sideHow spirituality and creativity help her family keep goingWhy joy isn’t found, it’s chosen, over and over againIf you’ve ever lived between grief and gratitude, this conversation will remind you you can hold both.Guest: Tasha Faruqui, DOPhysician • Author • Speaker • AdvocateRead: KEEP YOUR HEAD UPtashafaruqui.comFundraising & Merch@thefaruqui5Hosted by: Nina RodriguezCreator of Grief and Light, Grief Guidegriefandlight.com@griefandlightResting Grief Face on SubstackGrief Support Resources for the Road:Grief Tending ToolkitAccess our online communitySend us Fan MailSupport the showGrief and Light is an award-winning, independent podcast exploring the honest, messy, and deeply human experience of loss. We're on a mission to foster a more grief-informed, hopeful world, one conversation at a time. 🏆 Ear Worthy Best Life Lessons 2026 · TalkDeath Readers' Choice Best Podcast 2025 · Women Who Podcast Awards 2025 Winner · Podground Editor's PickNew episodes wherever you watch or listen.Connect with Nina Rodriguez:griefandlight.com@griefandlightResting Grief Face on SubstackThank you for listening! If this conversation resonated with you:✅ Share this episode with someone who needs it✅ Follow Grief and Light so you never miss a conversation✅ Leave a review! It helps this podcast reach more heartsDisclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers