Grief Gratitude & Greatness

A victim of child sexual abuse, Nathan Langston published his story, I Need You To Tell Me Everything, as a web-based multimedia experience. Sarah speaks to Nathan about PTSD, the perspective he brings to his parenting, and how sharing his story is part of his healing journey.

Nathan Langston is a poet, musician, and software designer, living in Seattle with his two young boys. His new book, which is available online for free, took him more than 10 years to write.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

When Leslie Barber’s husband was ill and died of cancer, she became aware of the inconsistent and inadequate response that many companies have to supporting their grieving employees. Sarah talks to Leslie about the economic challenges of widowhood and the necessity to make significant changes in the workplace for the bereaved.

Leslie Barber is the founder of Grief Warrior. She is a business and personal coach and has spent the last two decades running her own businesses and supporting other entrepreneurs. She loves spending time as a head coach for Girls on the Run. She lives in Portland, OR, with her daughter and cavapoo.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

Following the deaths of several people close to her, Chelsea Granger began openly engaging with her online community about her grief and mental health. Her love of zines and postal mail led her to compile a monthly subscription newsletter full of resources for the grieving. Sarah speaks with Chelsea about how her grief triggered suicidal depression, the manic episodes she experienced, and the artwork she creates.

Chelsea Granger is an artist and illustrator based in Branford, Connecticut.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

As a long-term survivor of HIV, Jennifer Jako continues to advocate for prevention, empowering and informing the community about the virus that has killed many of her peers. Sarah speaks to Jennifer about her experience living with HIV, how she became a mother despite her diagnosis, and how the fight against HIV/AIDS continues.

Jennifer Jako is an activist, mother, media creator, maker and designer. She created the documentary film Blood Lines/It Could be You, which is used around the world to educate youth about HIV/AIDS, as well as consulting for story lines that appeared on Without A Trace and Grey’s Anatomy. She has spoken directly with over 250,000 people and her decades of media outreach has touched tens of millions.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

Confronting a lifetime of anxiety, Courtenay Hameister spent a year stepping far out of her comfort zone to try some new things, then wrote a book full of stories about the experience. Sarah speaks to Courtenay about her feelings concerning the nature of her father's death, how grief broke up a relationship and the opportunities she's passed by due to death, shame, fear, and mental health.

Courtenay Hameister is a writer, performer, teacher, editor, playwright, and screenwriter. For nine years, she was the host, head writer and co-producer for Live Wire, a nationally syndicated public radio variety show that records in Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Portland Monthly, Bustle, Medium, the web series The Benefits of Gusbandry, APM’s Marketplace and far too many Instagram posts about her cats. Her book Okay, Fine, Whatever chronicles her year of challenging her chronically-anxiousness and her attempt to become braver, one insanely awkward adventure at a time.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

Years into a successful career, Michael Namkung realized that he was unfulfilled. Having been discouraged from pursuing his interests and dreams as a child, he found himself grieving the hope and passion he’d lost. Sarah talks to Michael about giving up on security to rediscover himself, while reinventing his career as an artist, athlete, and poet.

Michael Namkung is what happens when Bob Ross becomes an Olympic athlete. A father, poet, artist and multiple world champion, he mentors men in expanding their self-expression and working with the power of their emotions, and leads private creativity retreats to help people access the depth of their creative power. Michael is currently preparing to tour Seeing The Invisible at the Fringe World Festival in February 2020 in Perth, Australia.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

This episode is also sponsored by professional financial advisor Lesley Tylczak from Edward Jones. She can help you with estate & legacy strategies, retirement strategies, college savings, special needs financial consideration, divorce finances and socially-conscious investing. Schedule a free consultation with Lesley to talk about your financial goals! She can be reached at 503-236-9900.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

Hey There — Happy New Year! We’re taking a New Year's break and reflecting on all the amazing guests, conversations and things we’ve learned over this past year. Thanks for listening and supporting our work to bring these discussions out of the shadows and help to change our culture around grief! We’ll be back January 14th with a new season and a new episode. We look forward to sharing more conversations with you.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

When Christy Wopat was pregnant with twins, she suffered from complications of PPROM, leading to her babies being born prematurely and dying shortly after. Sarah speaks to Christy about how she navigated the difficult interactions that she had to contend with afterward, and how she found community in writing about her experience.

Christy Wopat is the author of the award-winning memoir, Almost a Mother: Love, Loss, and Finding Your People When Your Baby Dies (Orange Hat Publishing, 2018). A 4th-grade teacher, busy mama, and wife, Christy has always relied on writing as a way to cope. Recently she decided to use that strength as a way to help others, so they don’t have to feel alone, especially in grief.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

As a young woman, Mary Zinkin survived a random act of gun violence and lived for years with undiagnosed PTSD from the incident. Sarah speaks with Mary about how her pursuit of mental wellness healing led to her work in conflict resolution, facilitating conversations between victims and their perpetrators.

Mary Zinkin, Ph.D., is a Buddhist chaplain and the founder of the Center for Trauma Support Services. As a trauma coach, trainer and dialogue facilitator, she offers survivors of violence innovative and essential support to heal and recover.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.

Sarah speaks with singer/songwriter Jen Myzel about the unexpected, debilitating and life-altering experience of pursuing her family history, later finding recovery and healing through shamanism.

Jen Myzel is a singer/songwriter, elementary school music teacher, author and activist in Oakland, California. She is the author of the children's sing-along book, Yellow Lotus Flower, and a song-leader in the Thrive Street Choir.

Grief Gratitude & Greatness is hosted by Sarah Shaoul and is a production of Recursive Delete Audio/Visual in Portland, Oregon.

This episode was produced & edited by Jack Saturn, with additional production by Sarah. The music was by Samantha Jensen.

This episode is sponsored by Grief Warrior. Grief Warrior delivers helpful, useful and healing items to a grieving person’s doorstep. Visit https://www.agriefwarrior.com/ and enter code GGG20 for 20% off the purchase of a Grief Warrior box.

If you appreciate the show, support us on Patreon!

If you have a story of your own that you’d like to share or topics you’d like to hear more about, we’d love to hear from you! Call or text our show at 503-454-6646, or send us a message via the contact link on our website at https://griefgratitudegreatness.com/ .

We're also on Instagram (@griefgratitudegreat) and Facebook.