In 2012, Beth’s partner went mountain biking and that was the day their lives changed forever. In Accidental Grief, guest Beth Erlander explores what it was like to process the news that her life partner was quadriplegic, the grief that accompanied that news, how her personal, professional, and spiritual practices helped her healing process and how she’s using all that she’s learned to tend to those of us who tend for others. I really can’t wait for you to meet her.

Beth Erlander, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (in the state of Colorado), an Art Therapist, a Creative Grief Support Practitioner, and an EMDR practitioner. She recently became a Cowry Shell Diviner taught by blessed memory Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé. She’s also an unofficial nurse or CNA for her partner with quadriplegia. She’s passionate about helping others navigate loss from having apprenticed to her own grief process when her partner broke his neck in 2012.

Beth is currently writing her memoir about the trauma and grief of losing her able bodied partner to quadriplegia. She currently runs an online support group for therapists called Tending the Tenders where she provides grief support and teaches about how to do grief better. She strives to live in a world where grief is as normal as eating, peeing and sleeping. Learn more at https://betherlander.com/

(01:48) - Beth’s first encounter with grief: Wearing Great Aunt Abba's hat

(06:21) - Life upside down: Dealing with her partner’s life-changing moment

(14:18) - Assumptions and first steps when seeking help after a tragic event

(19:07) - Beth’s findings doing a grief ritual from the Dagara African tribe

(24:53) - On guilt associated with feeling anger during grief and how to handle it

(31:49) Why is EMDR so helpful for processing trauma?

(36:40) - Grief is forever: How have those different practices evolved and melted together

If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. Host Lisa Keefauver, is a grief and empathy activist who holds an extensive grief resume herself, as a social worker, narrative therapist, grief guide, and widow.

From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!

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