Grief Circle with Sammy

"It's sad when someone old dies, it's tragic when someone young dies."

This quote speaks to some of the amazing themes Sarah (or Bug as I know her) and I got to speak about on this episode. Sarah has a very special story in that not only did she have to experience grief, but she had to do so through the perspective of divorce. Listen to hear her story and how her life experience has not only shaped her life but also her artwork.

On this episode of Grief Circle I had the privilege to speak to another one of my Kesem friends, Brianna (or as I know her Flamingo). I got to hear Briannas powerful story about how she lost her dad when she was young, when she was faced with her worst nightmare of her mom also getting sick. Listen to hear her story and how she was able to come through stronger on the other end.

Welcome back to Grief Circle! I can't believe I have been away for 6 months but I am so happy to be back on this NEW season of Grief Circle with such an amazing guest, Felicity. On this episode, Felicity and I spoke about the shared experience of losing a parent in middle school and the social stigmas that come with that. Felicity also shared about her experience with her mothers two independent run-ins with cancer and how that informed her grief journey. I hope you enjoy my first episode back!

On this episode of Grief Circle, I got to speak with Ann and Carly from Camp COPE - a bereavement weekend camp. Ann is the director and has been with the camp since its inception, and Carly is the clinical director and took on the role around 2 years ago. We got to speak about the opportunities COPE provides for children to come together with other kids in their situation and just "be kids" while also acknowledging what makes them different from other kids. It's also important to note COPE has a caregivers retreat at the same time as the kids camp, right across the river, which is great because often times guardians can be overlooked in these situations. Listen to hear more!

The link is attached below to find out more about Camp COPEhttps://www.copefoundation.org/camp-cope/

On this episode of Grief Circle I got to speak with two representatives from OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center NYC (website linked below), Casey and Brady. The three of us got to speaking about the amazing programs that OUR HOUSE offers for not only children who have just lost someone close to them, but also family programs that focus on the adults and kids as a unit. Programs like this are rare in this world which is why the work at done here is so amazing. We also spoke about their father who passed away when they were young and how that has affected their past and future lives.

Welcome back to Grief Circle in 2026! In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Shruti Trivedi, a life coach who helps mothers that recently suffered a miscarriage or who lost their baby to complications. Shruti had some spectacular insights on how to help the unborn child's siblings understand what loss. Not only did she give great tips for young children who may not know what death is, she also gave some advice to mothers on how to handle this profound loss in their life.

Welcome back everyone! It has been a while since I have been active and I am thrilled to be back and better than ever with guest Michael Cholbi, a philosopher at the University of Edinburgh who explores grief and the human relationship with death. On this episode we got to speak about how grief, especially in children, can be looked at through a philosophical lens. One of my favorite things we got to speak about was how grief can be considered as an "identity crisis" and of course, we got to hear some of his favorite metaphors for grief. To learn more about Michael Cholbi and his work check out his website linked below.

https://michael.cholbi.com/

On this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Diane Namm, a picture book author who has published countless books throughout her career. However, there is one book of hers that especially caught my eye: What Happens After? This picture book is so special because rather than serving as an instruction manual for teaching kids how to grieve, it draws from Namm's personal experience with loss and offers gentle guidance to young readers. The words beautifully capture what it means to grieve as a child, while the illustrations work alongside the text to tell the story visually. To learn more about What Happens After? check out the link attached to the episode. ⁠https://whathappensafter.store/⁠

On this episode of Grief Circle, I got to speak with Sabrina, a recent graduate at Villanova. I found myself in contact with Sabrina after a TikTok of hers landed on my "For You" page, where she was telling her grief story. Sabrina unfortunately lost her mom on her second day of college, which as you can imagine, was not an easy loss to take. Tune in to hear how she got through grief even when the odds were stacked against her.

On this episode of Grief Circle with Sammy, I got to speak to Esme H who lost her father to bile duct cancer in her teenage years. Esme and I got to speak about all the various ways her and her family cherished the time they had with their father throughout COVID, what his presence meant to those around him, and how they keep his legacy alive. Listen along to hear about the wonderful ways Esme has been able to remember her dad!