2 Girls With Grief

This season of 2 girls with grief we are doing 5 hot takes per episode. This isn't meant to cause division amongst grievers, but instead open conversation because we believer grievers should be the loudest voice in the room and not other people telling them how to feel.

Every episode we share our own opinions on these hot takes from our own experiences.

Have a hot take you want us to discuss email [email protected]

This season of 2 girls with grief we are doing 5 hot takes per episode. This isn't meant to cause division amongst grievers, but instead open conversation because we believer grievers should be the loudest voice in the room and not other people telling them how to feel.

Every episode we share our own opinions on these hot takes from our own experiences.

Have a hot take you want us to discuss email [email protected]

Apologies for the delay with the last episode of our Season 3. We had Sara Rian, Grief Poet and Therapist on as a guest.

We discuss how writing can be a tool to help process your grief emotions.

Welcome to the 2 Girls with Grief podcast! We are your hosts Kendel & Rachel, we aren’t professionals just professional grievers.The podcast where we have honest conversations breaking down the stigma of grief one episode at a time so you don’t have to grieve alone.Grief is such a huge part of life, yet it is still very taboo to discuss and generally misunderstood by the masses, we hope by sharing our stories that we help change the narrative.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays. This is a special episode recorded on Christmas Eve to share our Christmas thoughts and be a friendly voice on a hard day.

Grief doesn’t just live in our minds — it lives in our bodies.

In this episode, we’re joined by Jessica Maguire, physiotherapist and globally recognized nervous system expert, to explore how grief, trauma, and emotional pain are stored in the body — and how healing begins through the nervous system.

Drawing from over 20 years of study, 14 years of clinical practice, and her own lived experience of loss, Jessica helps us understand why grief can feel overwhelming, unpredictable, and exhausting — and what we can do to gently support our bodies through it.

• How grief shows up in the nervous system

• Why grief can resurface long after a loss

• What “trauma lives in the body” really means

• The long-term effects of chronic stress and burnout

• How to build emotional safety biologically, not just mentally

• Small, accessible ways to find calm in early grief

To learn more: https://www.jessicamaguire.com/

In this episode, we explore one of the most surprising parts of grief:
the moment a tiny spark returns — a glimmer of joy, curiosity, creativity, or energy — even while your heart still aches.

To talk about this, we’re joined by Lila Sullivan, founder of Flourish Plants, whose grief journey has inspired thousands. After losing her dad, Lila found a note from him encouraging her to keep living well — even after he was gone. That message became a guiding force in rebuilding her life, eventually leading her to start a plant business rooted in healing, creativity, and the belief that small sparks matter.

Lila’s story is tender, brave, and incredibly relatable — especially for anyone trying to figure out what it means to keep living after loss.

In this episode, we explore one of the most tender parts of grief: allowing ourselves to feel joy again — without guilt, without pressure, and without making it mean that our grief has disappeared.

We’re joined by Joseph Jay, widower to his wife Casey and dad to Annie. Joseph has been an early and loyal listener of Two Girls With Grief, and recently crossed his one-year death anniversary — a milestone that has brought reflection, growth, heartbreak, and moments of unexpected joy. His honesty, vulnerability, and commitment to healing (both his and Annie’s) make this conversation incredibly special.

This episode is heartfelt, spacious, and real. If you’ve ever felt afraid of joy, guilty for laughing, or unsure how to live fully while grieving, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

• What the early days after losing Casey looked like

• How becoming a solo parent shaped his grief

• What the one-year mark revealed about where he’s been — and where he’s going

• How fatherhood, survival, and grief collide in unexpected ways

The holidays have a way of magnifying absence — especially a holiday centered on gratitude, family, and tradition. In this special 25-minute mini-episode, Rachel and Kendel talk honestly about what Thanksgiving feels like when someone you love is no longer here. Whether this is your first holiday without them or the year where it quietly hits harder than expected, this episode is a gentle companion.

Together, we explore how grief shows up at the table, how to navigate complicated emotions, and how to create space for both gratitude and grief.

Special Tuesday Episode release:

In this heartfelt and incredibly important episode of Two Girls With Grief, we sit down with Kelly, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Camp Erin Online Programs Manager at Eluna. With more than eleven years of experience supporting grieving children and teens, Kelly has dedicated her career to ensuring young people feel seen, understood, and never alone in their grief.

In this heartfelt episode, we sit down with Jack Ciapciak, a TV writer and storyteller who has captured hearts online through his honest reflections on grief and love after losing his fiancé, also named Jack.

Jack opens up about their beautiful love story, the Hudson River Park bench that became both a place of proposal and remembrance, and how he continues to live fully — not in spite of grief, but alongside it.

We explore what it means to honor someone’s legacy, how love continues to evolve after loss, and the quiet power of rituals that keep memory alive. Jack’s perspective reminds us that grief doesn’t end — it transforms, deepening our capacity to love, to create, and to keep showing up for life.

• Jack’s story of love, loss, and the memorial bench that holds so much meaning.
• How his late fiancé’s words — “Find out who you are, try not to be afraid of it” — continue to guide him.
• The importance of creating rituals and physical spaces that honor loved ones.
• How grief and authenticity intertwine — and how to keep living fully in their memory.
• The role of storytelling and creativity in processing loss.
• What it means to build legacy, both for those we’ve lost and for ourselves.Follow Jack @JackCiapchiak