Becoming is Messy

Death, Reclamation and Vanderpump Rules – Living and Loving After Traumatic Loss


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Death, Reclamation, and Vanderpump Rules – Living and Loving After Traumatic Loss

What does it mean to love again after loss—and to keep living after your world has shattered? In this episode, Meghann is joined by Dr. Red Hoffman, a trauma surgeon, hospice and palliative care physician, writer, speaker, and host of The Surgical Soul and Surgical Palliative Care podcasts.

Dr. Red’s life has been shaped by profound loss—including the violent death of her father, her boyfriend’s suicide, and her own path through addiction and an eating disorder. But through it all, she’s found a way to turn pain into purpose. Red opens up about making meaning from grief, offering whole-person care in medicine, and choosing joy again and again—even in the messiest of seasons.

We talk about:

  • Body grief and learning to feel again
  • What it means to show up imperfectly (but still show up)
  • Grieving while healing from betrayal
  • How being present at the end of life transforms how we live
  • The unexpected tools that save us (like baths, comedy, and yes… Vanderpump Rules)

This episode is a mix of grace, messiness, and the kind of honesty that connects us all. If you’ve ever felt like your story is “too much,” Red is here to remind you: it’s not. And you don’t have to be fully healed to be worthy of love, community, or your next chapter.

🔗 Links & Resources

✨ Join the Messy community on Instagram: @BecomingIsMessy

✨ Follow Meghann for more real, raw, and messy wisdom: @MeghannDawson

✨ Explore coaching, workshops & more: www.meghanndawson.com (sign up for Meghann's weekly email)

✨ Shop the Messy Collection: www.meghanndawson.com/shop

🌿 Connect with Dr. Red Hoffman @ https://redhoffmanmd.com/

🌿 Watch Dr. Red Hoffman's TED Talk @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DyHplYUc9o

🌿 Check out the book referenced on this episode, This is Body Grief by Jayne Mattingly @ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740125/this-is-body-grief-by-jayne-mattingly/

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Becoming is MessyBy Meghann Dawson