Carried Forward

"I'm just carrying it. I don't know where forward is anymore." That's what Katie said when I asked her what carrying grief forward meant to her. And I think it might be the most honest thing anyone has said on this show.In this solo episode, I do something I've never done on The Carried Forward Podcast before: I explain the framework that runs underneath every conversation. The Carried Forward Framework — five phases called Named, Heard, Reclaimed, Reframed, and Reconnected — is the map I use in my coaching work and the thread that runs through every episode of this show.Using real moments from conversations with guests Katie Rizzo (episode 4) and Nikki J. Borger, I walk through what each phase actually means, what it looks like in a real person's life, and why the goal was never to get over grief — but to carry it.We talk about:Why you can't carry something well if you don't know what it isWhat happens when grief goes underground because the world moves on before you're readyThe difference between being defined by a loss and being built by itWhy reframing isn't positive thinking — and what it actually isWhat it looks like to carry grief forward in ordinary, daily lifeAt its core, this episode is about one thing: wherever you are in your grief is a real place on a real map. You're not behind. You're not doing it wrong. You're carrying something that matters.Resources: robertdelfave.comFree audio series: Not Alone — robertdelfave.comBook a free discovery call: robertdelfave.comThe Carried Forward Podcast is hosted by Robert DelFave, grief coach, David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and author of The Other Side of This: The Messy Truth About Grief for Teens.

“I’m just carrying it. I don’t know where forward is anymore.”In this episode, I sit down with author, poet, and grieving mother Katie Rizzo for one of the most honest conversations I’ve had about addiction, shame, identity, and what it means to survive the loss of a child.Katie’s son Nicholas died in September 2024 after struggling with opioid addiction. But this conversation is not just about addiction or loss. It’s about Nicholas himself. Who he was. What grief does to a body, a marriage, a family, and the impossible task of learning how to keep loving someone after they’re gone.We talk about:grief as something physical, not just emotionalthe shame and isolation surrounding addiction losswhat it means to “carry” griefhow identity changes after losing a childthe fear of moving forward without forgettingwhy grief groups can both heal and trap usthe pressure grieving parents place on themselvesthe role creativity and writing can play in surviving lossKatie also shares the story behind her upcoming memoir, The Trimesters of Grief, and her poetry collection, None of Them Are You.At its core, this conversation is about love that refuses to disappear.Connect with Katie:Website: katierizzo.comInstagram: @katierizzo007Upcoming Books:The Trimesters of GriefNone of Them Are YouResources: robertdelfave.comFree audio series: Not Alone — robertdelfave.comBook a free discovery call: robertdelfave.comThe Carried Forward Podcast is hosted by Robert DelFave, grief coach, David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and author of The Other Side of This.New episodes released regularly.

“Everyone asks how the parents are doing. Nobody asks how the siblings are doing.”In this episode, I sit down with author, speaker, counselor, and sibling grief advocate Zander Sprague for a deeply honest conversation about sibling loss, overlooked grief, and what it means to carry someone forward after tragedy.Zander’s older sister Lucy was murdered in 1996. Nearly thirty years later, he’s helping sibling survivors feel seen through his writing, counseling, advocacy work, and communities like The Compassionate Friends and TCF Sibs.We talk about:why sibling grief is so often overlooked the loneliness of becoming “the forgotten mourner” grief ambushes and emotional triggers what it means to let grief shape you without defining you why people never truly “get over” losing someone they love the power of community after loss how remembering someone keeps them alive in our livesAt its core, this episode is about recognition.About finally hearing: “I see you. Your grief matters too.”Connect with Zander: Website: ZanderSprague.comInstagram: @epic_beginsYouTube: @epicbeginsLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ZanderSpragueBooks: Epic Begins With 1 Step ForwardMaking Lemonade: Choosing A Positive Pathway After Losing Your SiblingWhy Don’t They Cry?: Understanding Your Living Child’s GriefResources: robertdelfave.comFree audio series: Not Alone —robertdelfave.comBook a free discovery call: robertdelfave.comThe Carried Forward Podcast is hosted by Robert DelFave, grief coach, David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and author of The Other Side of This.New episodes released regularly.

“Grief is love that has nowhere to go.”In this episode, I sit down with therapist and grief counselor Zulma Williams for an honest conversation about grief, trauma, healing, and the emotional unpredictability of loss.We talk about why grief has no timeline, how loss reshapes identity, what grief ambushes actually feel like, and the difference between carrying grief and being consumed by it.Zulma is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with clients navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and major life transitions. But more than that, she’s someone who deeply understands the emotional reality of loss.At its core, The Carried Forward Podcast is about one thing:learning how to live with grief without losing yourself inside of it.This conversation explores:why grief and trauma are so deeply connectedthe pressure people feel to “move on”what healing actually looks like after losswhy grief changes identityhow to support someone who is grievingthe emotional reality of grief ambusheswhy it’s okay to not be okayConnect with ZulmaWebsite: www.dragonflytherapyservices.netInstagram: @theswearingtherapistResources: robertdelfave.comFree audio series: Not Alone — robertdelfave.comBook a free discovery call: robertdelfave.comThe Carried Forward Podcast is hosted by Robert DelFave, grief coach, David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and author of The Other Side of This.New episodes released regularly.

What's the grief milestone nobody prepares you for? Not the funeral. Not the first year. The weird specific one nobody talks about.I asked that question recently and over nine hundred people answered. Their responses told me everything I needed to know about why this show exists.In this first episode I'm introducing The Carried Forward Podcast — what it is, who it's for, and why I built it. I'm Robert DelFave, grief coach, David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and someone who lost both parents before the age of thirty. For twenty years I carried that grief alone. This show is what I wish had existed back then.Every episode of The Carried Forward Podcast asks one question: what does carrying grief forward actually look like? I'll be sitting down with grief professionals, researchers, therapists, authors, and people with profound lived experience to find out.Grief doesn't end. It transforms. And the goal isn't to get over it — it's to carry it forward.In this episode:Why nine hundred strangers on the internet changed how I think about griefThe four month drop-off nobody talks aboutWhat the Carried Forward Framework is and why I built itWhat to expect from this showResources mentioned:robertdelfave.comFree audio series: Not Alone — robertdelfave.comBook a free discovery call — robertdelfave.com