Today’s episode is a little different: I share my thoughts on various grief topics – while taking a walk! I was inspired by Amber Jeffrey’s recent episode on her awesome podcast The Grief Gang, and wanted to give it a try (all credit goes to her for the idea!). Think of it as a voice note from a friend :)

I’ll still continue to do interviews on the pod, but will also have these Grief Notes every once in a while (especially now that summer is coming to Chicago!)

In this Grief Note, I muse about:

• Creative blocks I’m having with my memoir
• Continuing my friendship with Lauren
• My desire for community
• And more!

RESOURCES:

Grief Groups: Interested in joining a friend-loss peer support group? Fill out the interest form at ⁠⁠friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup⁠

Lifebooks: Want to create a memorial book for your loved one? Get $50-off with affiliate code friendsmissingfriends, or go directly to this link. Learn more about Lifebooks at https://lifebooks.io/

GET IN TOUCH:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends⁠

Leave a Voicemail at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so). Thanks y’all! Sending you love!

Just a heads up: today's episode discusses mother-loss. If that's activating or upsetting, please take care of yourself. David Kessler has great resources for mother-loss grief at mothersdaygrief.com.

In today's episode, I chat with Diandra Ford-Wing, a dynamic and innovative Sales Director whose profound journey through grief ignited her passion for storytelling. After the sudden loss of her mother, Diandra made the courageous decision to pause her thriving career, allowing herself the space to heal and reflect. This transformative experience ultimately inspired her debut novel, "Red Bird," a heartfelt exploration of loss and resilience. 

Diandra and I chat about:

• How we all express and experience grief differently

• Using writing as a tool for processing grief
• Signs from our loved ones
• Honoring our loved ones’ legacies
• And more!

RESOURCES:

Mother-loss Resources:

mothersdaygrief.com

Connect with Diandra:

IG: www.instagram.com/diandrafordwing

Website: booksbydiandra.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/diandrafordwing

Grief Groups: If you’re interested in being a part of avirtual peer support friend-loss group, fill out the interest form at ⁠friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

GET IN TOUCH:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a Voicemail at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so). Thanks y’all! Sending you love!

Today I chat with Toby Dorr, author of Living with Conviction and You Are Not Your Worst Mistake: Poems From Prison. Toby is a speaker and advocate for second chances and criminal justice reform. If you haven’t already, check out my other episode with Toby (18. Living With Conviction) – you don’t want to miss it! In this episode, Toby and I talk about her poetry book You Are Not Your Worst Mistake, and the unexpected sisterhood and lifelong friendships that she experienced while behind bars.  

Toby and I chat about:

• The power of stories and poetry
• The importance of sisterhood and true friendship
• Poems from her book
• Self-acceptance
• And more!

Resources:

To get in touch with Toby or learn more about her, check out her websites and podcast!

Websites: https://tobydorr.com/

https://2dorrsdown.com/

⁠https://fiercepublications.com/⁠

⁠https://theunleashedseries.com/

Check out her journals here: https://fiercegracemovement.org/

Podcast: Fierce Conversations with Toby

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s SO appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Grief Groups: If you’re interested in being a part of a virtual peer support friend-loss group, fill out the interest form at friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so. Thanks y’all! Sending you love!).

Today I chat with Ken Barringer, a licensed mental health counselor who provides individual and group counseling support to grievers as well as delivering training and consultation to schools, businesses and organizations following a loss. Ken is an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University in Cambridge Mass where he designed and teaches a course in grief. Additionally he produces a monthly newsletter and hosts the podcast Grief in Brief.

Ken and I chat about:

• The difference between empathy and compassion
• How crucial it is to ACKNOWLEDGE someone’s grief
• How grief can manifest in any or all of the 5planes: emotional, physical, cognitive, behavioral, and spiritual
• Grief and attachment
• How to respond with compassion to someone who isgrieving
• How grief evolves over time
• Self-compassion
• How grief is portrayed in the media
• And more!

Resources:

To get in touch with Ken or learn more about him, check out his website and podcast!

Website: www.healingforgriefandloss.com

Podcast: Grief in Brief

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Grief Groups: If you’re interested in being a part of a virtualpeer support friend-loss group, fill out the interest form at friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. (And if you want me to share your voice clip on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so. Thanks y’all! Sending you love!).

Hi friends! Today’s episode is quite different. Rather than an interview, this is me giving you a real-time update of my grief journey right after hearing some very important news about the man responsible for my friend Lauren’s death. This is sort of a Part 2 to episode 68 (My friend’s death is part of a True Crime. Can I talk about it?), though you don’t have to listen to that one for this one to make sense. I go into the crime in a bit more detail in this episode, so it could be triggering or upsetting.

TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault and rape.

Today I talk about:

• Gratuitous versus conscientious true crime

• The pursuit of justice

• The complexity of grief intertwined with rage

• Forgiveness is a personal journey

• Finding hope in justice

• What happens after justice? Where do I put my grief?  

Resources:

https://grief.com/resources/

If you or anyone you know is struggling, you can also reach out to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988.

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

If you’re interested in being a part of a friend-loss grief group, fill out the interest form at friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. I will respond! (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so. Thanks y’all! Sending you love)

Today I chat with Rebecca Feinglos, grief expert and founder

Rebecca and I chat about:

Resources:

To get in touch with Rebecca or learn more about her, check

Website: Grieveleave.com

Podcast: Grief'd Up The Podcast

Socials: @grieveleave

Rebecca’s book recommendation:

Grief is Love by Marisa Renee Lee

Some of my fave quotes from this episode:

“Grief will suffocate you if you don't make room for it.”

“We need more grief-informed workplaces.”

“Grief and love are totally intertwined.”

“Always go to the funeral.”

“Grief isn't logical.”

“Your grief is valid, no matter the relationship.”

“The limit to grief does not exist.” (catch the Mean Girls

“A life well lived is full of grief.”

“You have built close relationships with people if you are grieving.”

“The grief that we feel is totally parallel to the amount of

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

If you’re interested in being a part of a friend-grief

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. I will respond! (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly

Today’s episode is all about friendships. I talk to my guest Sydney about the book “Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship” by Kayleen Schaefer. This book includes history, sociological perspectives, research, and more, about how female friendships have evolved and changed over the years. (Surprise surprise, the Patriarchy has impacted how female friendships have been treated throughout history. So, yeah -- some of the history might make you mad…)

Sydney and I chat about:

 Resources:

Read “Text Me When You Get Home” by Kayleen Schaefer: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35268117-text-me-when-you-get-home

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you

If you’re interested in being a part of a friend-loss grief

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out by email or VM. I will respond! (And

Today it’s just me, thinking out loud about something I’ve been grappling with for a while: if my friend died in a situation that is now a True Crime, can I talk about it?

I speak about this struggle, and also what I learned in Lilly Dancyger's essay collection "First Love" about how to engage in conscientious, rather than gratuitous, True-Crime.

Resources:

Read “The Hot One” by Carolyn Murnick: https://www.carolynmurnick.com/the-hot-one

Read “First Love” by Lilly Dancyger: https://www.lillydancyger.com/books

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

If you’re interested in being a part of a friend-grief group, fill out the interest form at friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. I will respond! (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so. Thanks y’all!).

Today we’re hearing from Ariel, a listener who shares her story of grieving a friend she was disconnected from at the time of their death. It’s so important to talk about this, and I don’t think we talk about it enough.

Thank you so much, Ariel, for reaching out and sharing your story.

Resources:

If you’re interested in being a part of a friend-grief group, fill out the interest form at friendsmissingfriends.com/griefgroup

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. I will respond! (And if you want me to share it on the podcast, be sure to explicitly give me permission to do so. Thanks y’all!).

How do you process your grief when an ex-friend has passed away?

Today I talk to Alex Kuisis about the complicated and messy grief that can come after an ex-friend’s death – in her case, the death of a friend who had majorly betrayed her—falsely accusing her of 7 felonies she did not commit (which she details in her memoir Truth Matters, Love Wins).

Alex describes the complex tangle of feelings that came with this kind of loss, and how she chooses to focus on the happy memories, rather than the bad. We also talk about signs from loved ones who have passed, deciding how we want to remember someone, assigning meaning in our life, and more.

I want to mention too, that grieving a former friend/ex friend/distanced friend, whatever you want to call it—can look a million different ways. Alex’s experience might be very different from yours—and both are valid. We all grieve in different colors and shades. It’s the beauty of the universality and also the complexity of the human experience.

If you haven’t already, listen to my other episode with Alex (Episode 5: My Best Friend Katie). You can learn more about Alex at www.goaskalex.org

Resources:

Get your copy of Alex Kuisis’ book Truth Matters, Love Wins at https://www.goaskalex.org/truthmatterslovewins.html

Get in touch:

Thank you for listening to Friends Missing Friends. If you enjoyed it, please follow/subscribe, leave stars and a review—it’s so appreciated, and it helps the podcast reach more listeners!

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @friendsmissingfriends

Website: friendsmissingfriends.com

Spotify for Podcasts page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends

Leave a VM at FMF’s google voice number: 312-291-1781

Feel free to reach out, by email or VM. I will respond!