PODCAST · health
Grief Out Loud
by The Dougy Center
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 yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families in Portland, Oregon.
Episodes
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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…
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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…
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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...
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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…
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 Joél 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…
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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…
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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…
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 12th birthday. She has since navigated almost four decades of holiday…
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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 student where she often felt unseen in her grief by faculty and the wider institution....
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Going To College With Grief - Loss In Young Adulthood
When Hilary was 18, her oldest sister, Kelly, died from a rare cancer called DSRCT (desmoplastic small round cell tumor). In the same year, Hilary left for college and her parents divorced - three life-altering events that reshaped her relationships, sense of stability, and the early years of...
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The Friends We Make In Grief
When Cassie arrived at Dougy Center for her first peer grief support group for young adults after her dad died, she sat in the parking lot wondering if she could even walk inside. When she did, she found people her age who understood what it meant to have a parent die - people who would end up...
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Caring For The Caregivers
When you're grieving, "Take care of yourself," might be the last thing you want to hear. So what does self-care actually look like for a parent or caregiver who is grieving? Rebecca Hobbs-Lawrence, MA, who coordinates the Pathways Program at Dougy Center for families facing an advanced serious...
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Mourning Air - Leena Magdi On Grieving Her Brother And Her Homeland
When Leena Magdi's younger brother, Hamoodi, was killed, her world shifted entirely. In her debut book Mourning Air, Leena explores how grief reshapes identity, faith, and love. In this conversation, Leena shares what it meant and means to be Hamoodi's sister, how sibling grief is often…
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Grieving A Sudden Or Unexpected Death With Dr. Jennifer Levin
When someone you know dies suddenly, everything changes in an instant. The world you once knew can feel unfamiliar and unsafe, and finding your way back to even the smallest sense of stability can feel impossible. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Jennifer Levin, therapist, educator, podcast…
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Grief Is Forever, But So Is Love: Tiriq Rashad On Loss & Creativity
When Tiriq Rashad, artist, poet, and performer, sits down to write, he's not just telling his own story - he's carrying his daughter, his brother, and his mother with him. In this conversation, Tiriq shares the layered ways grief has shaped who he is: from the death of his first child before she...
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Now I'm An Adult Orphan: Tyler Feder On Dancing At The Pity Party, Again
When Tyler Feder was 19, her mom died of cancer, an experience she captured years later in her bestselling graphic memoir Dancing at the Pity Party. In the years since, Tyler has described herself as a "dead mom person" - reflecting just how much of her life was shaped by the death of her mother....
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Rabbit Heart - A Mother's Murder, A Daughter's Story
In 1986, when Kristine S. Ervin was eight years old, her mother was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in Oklahoma. Decades later, Kristine tells her story in Rabbit Heart - A Mother's Murder, A Daughter's Story, a memoir weaves together her fragmented childhood memories, growing up with...
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Relief With Some Grief - When An Abusive Parent Dies
When someone dies, the story is often one of sadness, longing, and loss. But what happens when the person who died was also someone who caused great harm? For Kathy, who was sexually and emotionally abused by her father, his death when she was 11 brought more relief than grief. In this...
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Befriending Grief: Why She's Your Guide, Not Your Enemy – Dr. Jamie Eaddy
How do we move from seeing grief as something to fix or overcome, to understanding it as a lifelong companion and guide? In this conversation with Rev. Dr. Jamie Eaddy CT, CTP - educator, death doula, founder of Thoughtful Transitions, and creative force behind The Ratchet Grief Project® - she...
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One Last Stroller Walk - Navigating Pet Loss
Welcome to a special "podcast takeover" episode. This week, Lindsey Whissel Fenton, creator of Speaking Grief and Learning Grief, steps in to interview Jana. Their conversation centers on Jana's beloved Boston Terrier, Captain, who died in December 2024 at the age of 15. Lindsey understands this...
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Grieving The Death Of A Child - Susie And Nick Shaw's Story
When Susie and Nick Shaw's nine-year-old son William died in a skiing accident, their world shifted permanently. In the six years since that day, they've found ways to carry their grief and stay connected to William, while continuing to honor the boy who inspired so much good in their lives and…
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"We Just Kept Going" - Two Sisters, Twenty Years After Their Mom Was Killed
Jessie was 21. Molly was 11. Two days after their joint birthdays, their mom, Jill, was murdered by Molly's father. In the hours, days, and years that followed, there was little room for grief. Jessie and Molly were expected to keep going — and they did. But that forward momentum came at a cost....
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It Opened Me Up To Love - Danielle LaRock
How do you keep your heart open to love after it's been broken apart by grief? Danielle LaRock was just 19 when her father died of a heart attack. In 2022, her partner Ian died suddenly. Then, in 2024, her beloved dog Blue died, and with Blue went many shared memories of time spent with Ian. The...
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How They Died Matters, A Daughter's Story - Kari Lyons-Price, MSW
Sometimes we can't really begin to understand grief - ours or anyone else's - if we don't have space to talk about the death. The context surrounding how someone died matters and can shape our grief in meaningful ways. This was true for Kari Lyons-Price, MSW, who was a caregiver for her parents,...
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The Longevity Of Grief
In this episode, Camila returns to Grief Out Loud six years after her first appearance to share how grief continues to evolve. What began with the sudden loss of her mother at age 21 has now expanded to include the ongoing grief of caregiving for her father, who is living with dementia and...
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When Death Is Scheduled – Mark Chesnut On Grieving His Sister
In this deeply personal episode, Mark Chesnut returns to Grief Out Loud to share his experience of losing his sister Glynn to ovarian cancer. Glynn chose medical aid in dying after nearly four years of treatment, giving Mark and his family the unusual experience of knowing when death would occur....
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Closer In Grief - Building A Relationship After Someone Dies
When someone dies, our relationship with them doesn't just disappear. Sometimes the relationship changes in ways we never expected, allowing us to feel closer to them than we did when they were alive. This can leave us learning to grieve not just for what we had, but for what never got the chance...
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The Grief We Bury: Daria Burke on Childhood Loss, Collective Grief, & Estrangement
Daria Burke is an author, executive, and healer-at-heart. She's also a grandchild grieving for her grandmother and a daughter estranged from her parents. In this episode, Daria shares the profound impact of losing her maternal grandmother at age seven and how that early loss reverberated through...
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Going Beyond Words: Supporting Children With Autism Who Are Grieving - Jennifer Wiles, M.A., LMHC, BC-DMT, FT
In this episode, we delve into the grief experiences of children and teens with autism. Our guest, Jennifer Wiles, M.A., LMHC, BC-DMT, FT - Director of the HEARTplay Program and a dance movement therapist with decades of experience - joins us to discuss how children with autism process grief and...
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When Grief Comes Home - Parenting & Grief
Grief often arrives without warning and changes everything we thought we knew about ourselves, our families, and the world around us. In this episode, we talk with Erin Nelson and Colleen Montague about their new book, When Grief Comes Home, a resource created from years of both personal loss and...
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When You Lose Your Anchor People: Renée Watson & Making Space For Grief
What does it mean to lose your anchor people? In a short period of time, Renée Watson experienced the death of her mother, her mentor Nikki Giovanni, and her childhood friend, Charnetta. Renée shares how these experiences influenced her latest novel for young readers, All the Blues in the Sky,...
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Fifty-Seven Fridays: Myra Sack On Love, Loss & Grieving Her Daughter
In this deeply moving episode we talked with Myra Sack about the love, loss, and legacy of her daughter, Havi. Diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease at just 15 months old, Havi's life was brief but profoundly impactful. Myra shares how she and her family navigated the unbearable reality of their...
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Living With Incurable Cancer: Caroline Catlin On Time, Grief, & Mortality
What does it mean to live with an incurable illness while navigating grief, time, and the complexity of human connection? In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we sit down with Caroline Catlin—writer, artist, and grief care worker—to explore her experience of living with an incurable brain cancer...
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What Now? Carla Fernandez & Renegade Grief
In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we welcome back Carla Fernandez, co-founder of The Dinner Party, to talk about her new book, Renegade Grief, in which she explores the question: "Now what? What are we supposed to do after someone dies?" Carla reflects on the death of her father, the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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 yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families in Portland, Oregon.
HOSTED BY
The Dougy Center
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Grief Out Loud have?
Grief Out Loud currently has 373 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Grief Out Loud about?
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...
How often does Grief Out Loud release new episodes?
Grief Out Loud publishes regularly with 373 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Grief Out Loud?
You can listen to Grief Out Loud on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Grief Out Loud?
Grief Out Loud is created and hosted by The Dougy Center.
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