Sally McQuillen, LCSW, CADC, is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in addiction recovery, grief and trauma healing. An avid reader with a double major in writing and dance criticism in college, she began working in public relations and marketing prior to obtaining her master’s degree in social work. Reaching for Beautiful is Sally’s first book. She and her husband live on the north shore of Chicago where they raised their three children.

https://www.sallymcquillen.com/    

Key topics in this conversation include:

• The Nature of Grief: Sally describes grief as a complex experience where many deep emotions can exist at once. She and Kendra discuss how past losses don't always prepare you for new ones, and even with coping tools, they may not be accessible in the moment of trauma.
• A Family's Journey with Addiction: Sally opens up about the legacy of addiction in her family, from her father to her own recovery, and finally to her son's struggles. She shares how she became fully transparent about her past when Christopher needed help at age 16.
• The Loss of Christopher: Christopher passed away in a canoeing accident with three friends during a college break. After being sober for three years, he had relapsed, wanting to fit in with his fraternity brothers. The tragedy of multiple families losing their children at once was an overwhelming and traumatic experience.
• Parenting from Love Over Fear: Sally reflects on parenting Christopher from a state of "fight or flight" and emphasizes the importance of parents calming their own nervous systems. She found that consciously letting go of fear deepened her connection with her son before he passed away.
• Signs and Hope: Sally's belief that Christopher is still alive in spirit has been fundamental to her survival. A pivotal conversation on an airplane introduced her to A Course in Miracles, which reinforced her path of choosing love over fear.
• Honoring Christopher's Legacy: Sally and her family keep Christopher's memory alive by supporting two charities in his name: The Penguin Project for young adults with special needs and the In Balance Ranch Academy, which provides scholarships for addiction treatment.
• A Message of Hope: Sally offers a powerful message to any parent who has lost a child: the loss is survivable, even when it feels impossible. She aims to offer hope to others walking this difficult path.

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Randi Pearlman Wolfson is a Los Angeles based grief educator and author. After experiencing the death of her dad when she was ten years old, it became her life-long dream to provide hope and healing to grieving children and adults. For over twenty years, she has educated the community, including mental health professionals, clergy, students, teachers, and various other professionals, on the topic of grief.

As founder/writer at Grief & GRITS™ on Facebook and Instagram, Randi provides a caring heart and voice for little grievers™ and adult grievers. She is the author of “Eddie’s Brave Journey: How one little elephant learned all about grief” a story for the littlest of grieving hearts. To learn more about her book please go to: EddiesBraveJourney.com

• Meet Randi Pearlman Wolfson: Introducing Randi, the founder of the popular grief community Grief and Grits and author of the children's book, Eddie's Brave Journey.
• A Lifelong Griever: Randi shares how the death her father when she was 10 in 1966 shaped her life, combining her personal experience with over a decade of professional work in the grief space.
• Writing for Her Inner Child: Randi's book, Eddie's Brave Journey, was written for her own 10-year-old self. In 1966, there were no children's grief books, so she created the resource she never had.
• The Story of Eddie: The book follows a little elephant named Eddie grieving his grandpa. Elephants were chosen because they are known to grieve as a community. The story uses direct language like "died" and teaches kids they can hold two feelings at once.
• Grief in Everyday Moments: Randi and Kendra discuss how small, daily disappointments (like a meal not turning out right or a friend canceling) are also forms of grief, and how these can be used to teach children about loss before they experience a major death.
• Talking About Grief Isn't Always Sad: Randi explains that creating a safe space for grief to "come out" is one of the greatest honors of her life and not inherently sad.
• Identifying as a "Little Griever": One of Randi's missions is to help adults who experienced the death of a parent in childhood identify as "little grievers," validating how that  continues to shape them.

Contact Kendra Rinaldi at [email protected] for more information about how to schedule a coaching call

To book a podcast https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/book-online

DonnA Meador is a women's dating coach, author, and speaker who helps smart, soulful women over 50 find love again without repeating old patterns or sacrificing who they are. At 66, DonnA has walked the path of love, loss, and rediscovery. She became a widow at 57 when her late husband, Pietro, passed away suddenly just 15 days after his 70th birthday.

As a self-proclaimed "dating intuitive," DonnA combines her strong intuition with lived experience to see beneath the surface, sense the energy behind choices, and guide women to trust their inner knowing. Her own journey of navigating "grief brain" and learning to open her heart to love a second time—she is now happily remarried to her husband, Jeff—gives her a unique and compassionate perspective on dating after loss.

DonnA is the author of the book "Dating, It's Not Personal," which she began writing in 2004 and published in 2014 as a love story dedicated to Pietro. She is also the creator of the YouTube channel Smart Dating Divas, where she and her husband Jeff share dating advice and a man's perspective.

Her core mission is to help women understand and embrace their immense value in relationships, reminding them to "look for love where it is and not where it isn't". Through her coaching, book, and online presence, DonnA empowers women to reconnect with their feminine wisdom, reclaim joy, and attract love that meets them soul-to-soul.

https://smartdatingdivas.com/    https://www.facebook.com/donna.s.meador

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbsmeador/   https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingdivas/

Interview Highlights

• Sudden Loss & a Love Story: Donna shares her ten-year love story with her late husband, Pietro, who passed away suddenly from a heart attack and stroke while receiving cancer treatment.

• The Power of Declaration: Pietro had often declared he'd be happy to make it to 70 and didn't want to suffer. He passed away 15 days after his 70th birthday, getting everything he had declared, departing with hope in his heart.

• Receiving Support: A key piece of advice for the grieving: "allow people to love you the way they know how." Donna's community showed up with food and practical help because she was open to receiving it, even when she was too overwhelmed to ask.

• Navigating "Grief Brain": For nearly two years, Donna experienced "grief brain," which made her unable to perform simple tasks like reading a menu.

• Finding Love a Second Time: Donna discusses the challenge of opening her heart again, wondering, "How could I possibly fall in love when I'm already in love?". She explains that the heart simply grows to make room for more love and is now happily married to Jeff.

• A Continued Spiritual Connection: Donna shares that she still communicates with Pietro in his non-physical form and that he has even appeared to her now-husband, Jeff, as a spirit guide, offering his blessing and support.

• Donna's Core Message: Her passion is to help women understand their immense value in relationships. Her biggest tip is to "look for love where it is and not where it isn't".

Contact Kendra Rinaldi to be a guest on the podcast.

To book  a coaching discovery call email [email protected]

JULIE MCFADDEN, RN, is the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to Fear  and a hospice/palliative care nurse with more than fifteen years of experience. Passionate about normalizing death and dying, she has more than one million followers on TikTok as @hospicenursejulie. She has been featured in Newsweek, Time, USA Today, and The Atlantic, and has appeared on Dr. Phil Primetime, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, and elsewhere.  Her most recent book THE NOTHING TO FEAR JOURNAL is an invaluable tool for putting our beliefs about death into practice through thought-provoking questions that prompt reflection, clarification, and planning.

Interview Highlights:

• Introducing Hospice Nurse Julie: Meet Julie McFadden, an RN known as "Hospice Nurse Julie" on TikTok (1.6M+ followers) and a New York Times bestselling author of "Nothing to Fear" and "Nothing to Fear Journal"

• Breakups as Grief: She shares how a painful breakup at 28-29 was a "greatest gift," fostering self-discovery and growth, and how breakups represent profound, often unvalidated grief and transitions.

• Fear of Transition: Kendra and Julie explore how fear of the unknown, not death itself, makes life transitions scary, and criticize society's "fix-it" culture that avoids uncomfortable emotions.

• Finding Hospice: Unhappy in the ICU, Julie "took the plunge" into hospice nursing, even without prior experience, finding her calling and realizing the environment, not nursing itself, was the issue.

• Personal Beliefs on Death: Julie, having experienced tragic deaths young, believes we go to a place that feels "more like home" after death, a belief validated by her hospice work, though she emphasizes it's a personal journey. Faith can aid in peaceful dying, but is not a prerequisite; she's seen atheists die peacefully and religious people struggle.

• TikTok Phenomenon: Inspired by her nieces during COVID-19, Julie started TikTok, initially thinking it "stupid". Her fourth video went viral, leading to rapid organic growth across platforms (1.6M+ on TikTok, 1.3M on Facebook, nearly 500K on Instagram, nearly 600K on YouTube) and a book deal, indicating people were "more ready to talk about this than we knew.

• "Nothing to Fear" Book & Journal: Her New York Times bestselling book is an educational resource with intertwined stories and an index. The "Nothing to Fear Journal" offers step-by-step guidance for preparing for death, exploring existential questions, and uncovering personal belief.

• Comfort in Biology: The most comforting aspect of death for Julie is the biology of the body, how it naturally prepares by shutting off hunger/thirst and increasing calcium, which she sees as a miracle and the primary reason she is not afraid of death.

TikTok   Instagram  YouTube  

HospiceNurseJulie.com

Contact Kendra Rinaldi for a Free Discovery call email her at [email protected] to set up an appointment.

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Leslie A. Rasmussen was born and raised in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA. She went on to write television comedies for Gerald McRaney, Burt Reynolds, Roseanne Barr, Norm McDonald, Drew Carey, as well as The Wild Thornberrys and Sweet Valley High. After leaving the business to raise her boys, Leslie obtained a master's degree in nutrition and ran her own business for ten years. More recently, Leslie has been published on Huffington Post over twenty times and speaks on panels discussing female empowerment. She’s a member of the Writers Guild of America, as well as Women in Film and the UCLA Alumni Association. After Happily Ever After is Leslie’s debut novel and has won over fifteen awards, and her second novel, The Stories We Cannot Tell, has won eleven awards. Leslie has been interviewed about it on NPR and XM radio. Leslie’s latest novel, When People Leave, was released in May 2025. When Leslie isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, exercising, and spending time with friends. Leslie lives in Southern California with her husband and two sons.Links:

https://www.lesliearasmussen.com 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leslierauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesliearasmussenauthor

 Show Themes:

• Grief in Life's Transitions: A heartfelt discussion about how grief isn't limited to death but is a natural part of major life changes, like children leaving for college or moving into new chapters of life.
• Art, Grief, and Humor: Leslie explores how writing can be a powerful tool to process grief and how humor is a vital and natural part of healing, often reflecting a loved one's personality.
• The Power of Perspective: Discover how art takes on a new life when shared, highlighted by a reader who saw one of Leslie's books not just as a story, but as a "love story of a woman falling in love with her life".
• Finding Meaning and Community: Leslie shares her belief that storytelling helps people feel less alone, starts important conversations, and reminds us that everyone is navigating their own struggles.

Contact Kendra Rinaldi to be a guest or for a free discovery call [email protected]

https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/

https://www.instagram.com/griefgratitudepodcast

Show Highlights:

• Understanding Grief in Life Transitions: Kendra introduces the concept of grief not just as a response to loss, but as an emotion felt during significant life transitions, specifically focusing on children going to college This is a major change that can bring about complex emotions for both parents and teenagers.
• Kendra's Personal College Experience: Reflects on her own experience of leaving Colombia at 18 to attend college in the U.S., highlighting the different communication methods of the time (calling cards, letters) and how being in a new environment might have made her personal adjustment "easier" than for her family back home, who felt her absence more acutely in familiar surroundings.
• The Coexistence of Joy and Grief: Emphasizes that it's "okay to feel grief and also to be excited for your kids" as they embark on their college journey. The episode explores this "complex" emotional landscape where joy and sadness can exist simultaneously.
• Grief from a Student's Perspective: Discusses that teenagers themselves will also experience grief as they leave for college, particularly after returning home and realizing what they've missed, or when they miss their friends, relationships, and established routines.
• Validating and Honoring Emotions: Stresses the importance of naming these emotions as "grief" to acknowledge their multifaceted nature and the many other feelings (like regret) that can accompany it.
• Open Communication and Support: Encourages honest conversations with your children, letting them know you're excited for them but also miss them, which helps validate their own mixed emotions. Connecting with others who are experiencing similar changes is also vital.

• Invitation for Accompaniment: If you are going throgh a life transition and want someone to walk alongside you as you figure it out. Reach out for a FREE 15 min Discovery call 

email: [email protected]

Hey friends—this episode’s a little different. I went rogue and recorded it straight from my phone, just me sharing some raw, unfiltered thoughts on grief.

I talk about how grief isn’t just about big losses—it’s something we all feel, every single day. Even little things, like when dinner doesn’t turn out the way we hoped, can bring up that feeling. That’s why this podcast isn’t just for people going through major loss—it’s for everyone.

It’s wild to think it’s been over 5 years since I started this show. I’ve learned so much, and one big thing is this: if we wait until we feel “ready” to share our stories, we might miss the chance to help someone who needs to hear it right now. So I’m here to remind you—your gifts, your voice, your story? They matter. Don’t wait.

This episode is a gentle nudge that you’re not alone in what you’re feeling. I hope it helps you feel seen, and maybe inspires you to share your own story too. Grief is heavy, yes—but it doesn’t have to be depressing. There’s so much growth and connection that can come from it.

And hey—if you’re in the middle of a life transition and feel that little nudge to have someone walk alongside you as you figure out what this next chapter looks like, I’d be honored to connect. I offer a FREE discovery call to see if working together feels like the right fit. Just head over to my website to inquire and take that first step.

https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/resources

María Paulina tiene un título en educación y por más de 15 años enseñó a niños, adolescentes y adultos. Sin embargo, siguiendo las directrices de su alma, desde hace poco más de 10, se dedica a la comunicación intuitiva. Con el deseo de apoyar procesos de transformación en personas y animales a través de la comunicación intuitiva, precisamente, creó Amada Vida Mía… desde donde presta varios tipos de consultas y enseña comunicación animal, entre otras cosas. Y es la fundadora del Hogar Animal El Rincón. Además, María Paulina ha escrito 3 novelas tranformativas, un libro de autoayuda y un libro testimonial de edición limitada sobre la vida de un gran tenor colombiano. Porque escribir es algo que lleva dentro desde niña.

https://www.mariapaulina.co/

Canal de Youtube: https://youtube.com/@yosoymariapaulina?si=5SSE96nqhtVi9W15

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yosoymariapaulina?igsh=eGxwdjBiZjk3MDMy&utm_source=qr

Temas que hablamos:

• Experiencias Intuitivas Tempranas: Desde los cuatro años, María Paulina sintió un profundo "dolor de mundo" y vivió experiencias de desdoblamiento y viajes espontáneos a vidas pasadas, lo que transformó su visión de la existencia.

• Transición a la Comunicación Intuitiva: La grave enfermedad de su hija en 2014 la llevó a la meditación, abriendo sus canales para que seres fallecidos y animales comenzaran a comunicarse con ella, un proceso que describe como "soltar las riendas" y ser su yo auténtico.

• Nueva Percepción de la Muerte: Su comunicación con el "otro lado" ha transformado su relación con la muerte de dolorosa a una certeza de "plenitud absoluta" para quienes parten, aunque el dolor humano por la ausencia física sigue presente.

• Inquietudes Comunes de Clientes: La pregunta más frecuente que recibe es "¿están bien?" (personas o animales fallecidos), especialmente cuando la muerte fue por eutanasia, buscando aliviar la culpa y traer tranquilidad.

• Proceso de Comunicación: María Paulina no requiere objetos físicos (salvo foto de animales para centrar la energía); los seres se manifiestan con claridad solo durante las consultas, razón por la cual se describe como "comunicadora intuitiva" en lugar de médium.

• Mensaje de Animales Fallecidos (Honrar la Vida): Los animales que han partido piden a sus humanos "honrar la vida de ellos en lugar de sufrir su muerte", recordando su felicidad y contribuciones, lo que ayuda a cortar un hilo energético para su evolución.

• Mensaje de Animales Fallecidos (Animales "Atrapados"): Si persiste la inquietud sobre un animal fallecido, se recomienda buscar un comunicador animal que pueda liberarlo de un estado de "atrapamiento" del otro lado.

• Acompañar la Muerte Animal: Al acompañar a un animal moribundo, lo más importante es la "quietud energética" y un acompañamiento digno (calma, sosiego, poca interrupción física) para que su alma pueda desprenderse en un entorno amoroso.

Contacta a Kendra Rinaldi https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/

Grief can leave us feeling exposed, overwhelmed, and unsure of how to ask for what we need. In this solo episode, Kendra shares compassionate wisdom and practical tips for setting healthy boundaries and reaching out for support while grieving. Drawing from personal experience, she reminds listeners that protecting your energy isn’t selfish—it’s sacred. Whether you’re grieving now or supporting someone who is, this episode is a gentle guide for creating space to heal, one boundary at a time.

Contact Kendra Rinaldi if you'd like to be a guest or want to invite her as a guest speaker 

https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/

How can we support our teenagers when they're grieving—especially when their pain feels unreachable? In this  episode, Kendra speaks directly to parents navigating the delicate role of helping their teen through loss. Drawing from her own experiences of grieving as a young person, she offers practical, compassionate insights to help parents show up—not with perfect words, but with presence, patience, and love. Whether your teen is quiet, angry, or seems “fine,” this episode reminds you that your steady, caring presence can be an anchor through the storm.

Get in touch with Kendra Rinaldi https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/