Beauty In The Breakdown: Living & Loving Life After Loss

As the year (and decade!) come to an end, I wanted to offer some affirmations and intentions as we move further away from the moment of our losses, and step further into our futures, which are precious and ours to live. Tagged on at the very end is a request which I hope you are able and willing to take on. 

Nancy Marmolejo, author of "Don't Say That, Say This: Navigating Grief & Loss in the World of Social Media," is my guest. The key, it turns out, is empathy. How do we express it, and how do we avoid saying inappropriate or hurtful things when responding to someone's loss? How we do so on social media is covered in particular, but our conversation reveals that empathy can be expressed anywhere, both written and spoken. 

Nancy experienced several losses which spurred the writing of her book, but she is primarily an executive coach and social media consultant. Her book can be purchased here, and her website is at: TalentAndGenius.com. 

Grief isn't funny. It's dead serious. But at some point, you might want to consider inviting laughter back into your life. This episode considers that possibility. 

My first podcast guest, Mary Tuchscherer, and I explore writing as a tool for claiming your voice at any time, but especially after loss. 

Mary is a writer in her own right, has edited and published two anthologies, and is the founder of VoiceFlame. VoiceFlame works with women and girls in Malawi, Africa using writing as the portal to greater educational opportunities, economic independence, and self actualization in a culture which historically disenfranchises and devalues women. 

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Mary offers writing workshops, and is soon to be launching an online series in January 2020 about finding your unique voice through writing and other creative expression. Email her at: [email protected]. Explore her website at: www.marytuchscherer.com. 

"Using a pen is like healing a wound. It ends my worries. One day I will change the lives of other girls." - Mphatso [Malawian writer]

There are a lot of myths about how we’re supposed to “do” grief, and a lot of misinformation about what we can expect from the grief experience. Let’s debunk that.