So you’ve sent flowers and cards to the bereaved, and

If you’ve ever wondered how to support your loved ones who are grieving – far beyond the initial weeks of grief – you don’t want to miss this episode. My conversation today is with author and psychotherapist Aly Bird about her book Grief Ally, which teaches us how to support the bereaved.

We talk about:

Aly Bird is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) who is changing the way our culture recognizes and supports those who are grieving. Aly is the author of Grief Ally: Helping People You Love to Cope with Death, Loss, and Grief.

Beyond writing, Aly offers virtual therapy and coaching to youth and adults in advance of death or after as well as supporting individuals who are actively dying themselves. Aly is also a speaker who is passionate about teaching beginners that grief is unique to every individual, natural to being a human being, and deserving of more attention than is usually given in the world today.

To learn more about Aly, visit www.alybird.com

Connect with Aly on social media @thealybird

Join her Facebook Group Grief Ally Nation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/880590376440855/

Resources:

Get your copy of Aly Bird’s book Grief Ally at https://alybird.com/book/

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

If you have a question, want to reach out, or want to share a story with the podcast listeners, leave a VM at our google voice number: 312-291-1781

Today I talk to Jenna Golias, the founder of The Light Hereafter. She is a Registered Nurse, End of Life Doula, Grief Educator, and Energy Practitioner. Her mission is to not only change how we provide end of life care, but to create a world where we no longer fear the end of it. Providing mind, body, and soul support at the end of life, she is dedicated to making the transition one of comfort and peace. 

You can learn more about Jenna here:

IG: @thelighthereafter

Website: https://www.thelighthereafter.com/

On today's episode, Jenna and I talk about the work she does as an End of Life Doula (which is another word for Death Doula), how our society deals with grief, how grief has affected how we approach life, and so much more.

We also talk about:

Resources:

Find out more about End of Life Doulas here: https://inelda.org/

Find an End of Life Doula near you: https://inelda.org/find-a-doula/

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!

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip on the Spotify for Podcasts page https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/friendsmissingfriends, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Today I talk to Rob Farquhar, a Sydney voiceover talent and podcaster. If you haven’t already, you’ll want to check out my previous conversation with Rob in Episode 59: Life’s Too Short to Rush. In that episode, Rob was getting ready to make a big move across the country, and we talked about what it looks like to redesign your life, friendships, and relationships after a major loss.

Today’s episode was recorded one year after Episode 59, and we talk about how his big move went, how he’s been redesigning his life, what it’s like to build a community of new friends, and so much more.

We also talk about:

You can learn more about Rob here:

http://www.robf.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/RadioRobVO/

Twitter/Instagram: @gmradiorob

Facebook: Rob.Farquhar

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Today I talk all about dreams with Alejandro Salinas, including:

Alejandro is one of the co-founders and current president of the Chicago Death Doula Collective, a non-profit collective dedicated to providing support, advocacy, education, and care around death and dying in Chicago. It was formed in 2020 not long after the death of his father. He has hosted death cafés for 6 years and has recently created The Coffin Cards, a deck of 115 questions about death, dying, and grief, and The Coffin Cards Podcast to have even more conversations on the topic with various guests. He fronts the Chicano goth rock / post punk band Grave Love. He teaches yoga twice a week at Chi Yoga Shack, practices massage, and is a former teacher at The Soma Institute. He previously co-hosted The Dream Freaks podcast with Tree Carr and Jennifer Claroscura.

Check out the Chicago Death Doula Collective here: https://www.chicagodeathdoulacollective.com/

Check out The Coffin Cards here: https://www.thecoffincards.com/

Listen to The Coffin Cards podcast

Follow the band Grave Love @grave_love_band

Resources:

The list of books Alejandro recommended:

The Toltec Secret: Dreaming Practices of the Ancient Mexicans: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21535017-the-toltec-secret

The Art of Dreaming: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12847.The_Art_of_Dreaming

Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4803306-lucid-dreaming

Dreaming through Darkness: Shine Light into the Shadow to Live the Life of Your Dreams: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34196974-dreaming-through-darkness  

Man’s Search for Meaning: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

If you're looking for a film about friendship and grief, look no further! Dan Levy's 2023 film Good Grief is about a man mourning the loss of his husband as his two best friends help him on his journey of grief.

(SPOILER alert: I don't give away juicy details but I do discuss the main character's emotional arc related plot points -- if you don't like to know anything before a film then just be aware!)

I also talk about how the movie acknowledges the nuances and complexity of grief, the realities of supporting a grieving person, some of my favorite quotes, and more!

Do I recommend the film? Yes! Maybe just grab some tissues first.

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Today I talk to Sydney Bauer about what it’s like to grieve a friend who’s still alive. When she was in high school, her best friend of 9 years abruptly ended their friendship, leaving her reeling. We talk about what that’s like, including:

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Today I talk to Rob Farquhar, a Sydney voiceover talent and podcaster, about redesigning his life after a major loss.

After the loss of his wife of eighteen years, Rob is moving back to be closer to his longtime friends. We talk about adult friendships, making big life changes after loss, and how the good stuff’s on the other side of fear. And a lot of that requires patience, not rushing the grieving or building of new relationships, and better getting to know ourselves and what we really want.

You can learn more about Rob here:

http://www.robf.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/RadioRobVO/

Twitter/Instagram: @gmradiorob

Facebook: Rob.Farquhar

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Today I talk to Shannon MacFarlane (she/they). Shannon is a compassionate, creative, kind, and quirky human who enjoys being outside, hoarding eclectic information, scratching dog and cat butts, and snacks. She's working on her PhD in psychology with an emphasis in Thanatology. She supports mourning and grieving humans with art and education.

Learn more about Shannon at www.slobberedlens.com and @slobberedlens (Facebook and Instagram)

Shannon and I discuss

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

This episode is a little different and special -- it takes place in the car, on a road trip with my friend Michele!

We talk about:

Resources:

Read the book Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52766000-big-friendship

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with Andrew Gallant, where we talk all about acting and the wild side of grief. (To catch Part 1 of our convo, listen to episode 55!).

A bit about today’s guest, Andrew Gallant: Andrew is an actor and acting teacher extraordinaire. He holds an M.F.A in Acting from DePaul University, a postgraduate diploma from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a BA in Theatre from UW-Madison and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity. For the last 15 years, Andrew has worked professionally in Chicago as an actor, playwright, director, and artistic director.

He is the founder of Green Shirt Studio, an acting school in Chicago specializing the Meisner approach to actor training. His students have appeared in Stranger Things, Moonlight, Molly’s Game, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Chi, Easy, Empire, Fargo, The Book of Mormon (Broadway), and many other projects all over the world.

Today, Andrew and I discuss:

Resources:

Learn more about Sacred Fire Asheville:

https://www.sacredfireasheville.org/

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! 

You can send in your questions to [email protected], send a voice clip to our google voice number 312-291-1781, and follow us on IG @friendsmissingfriends. For more information, you can visit our website: friendsmissingfriends.com.