In this episode, Katie C Reilly sits down to talk double parent loss with Meghan.  The two parentless daughters discuss the hard lessons learned and role grief has played in life changes.

A Former Lawyer found her priorities shifting along with her emotions after her mother's death from ALS and then her father's death from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma soon after. Katie made a shift to writing, and hasn't looked back.

Katie C Reilly is a freelance writer based in Oakland, CA. Her writing primarily focuses on women's health, mental health and parenting and has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Elle Magazine and The Cut, among other publications. You can find more of her writing here. 

All Signs Point to Paris is the true story of my search for a second chance at love and it all happened because of a wild astrology reading. Natasha had hit rock bottom in almost every way in the fall of 2018: She was a divorced single mom struggling to make ends meet, she'd just broken up with the boyfriend she thought was The One, and, worst of all, her beloved dad was dying. Natasha's life seemed to be going from an all time low to worse. And then her occasionally woo-woo but always there for me best friend stepped in with an answer: a reading with her astrologer, who happened to be one of the most sought-after astrologers in the world. Natasha decided to try it, skeptical though she was. Why the f*ck not?, she thought. Whatever else had been guiding me was NOT working.

We don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but that reading led Natasha to search, very seriously, for hot soulmate: a man born in Paris on November 2, 1968. That date was aligned with her astrological point of destiny. It also happened to be Natasha's ex boyfriend’s exact birthday and birthplace. But she’d decided (for very good reasons) he could not and would not be The One. She became hell-bent on finding every other man who might be. It took almost a year, and a lot of help from friends, family, and even strangers around the world, but finally, in October of 2019, she was ready to pack my bags for Paris. She had found, if you can believe it, fifteen potential soulmates to meet. Natasha's older sister and two of my best friends (including the one who started all this in the first place!) came with her to Paris, riding shotgun on her search for love, each for their own reasons. It was the perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong?

https://natashasizlo.com

First Steps Founder & Creator Shane Phillips

has over 27 years of experience in banking and financial services, and two decades of community service in grief care, Shane Phillips offers a unique perspective on financial issues and death. At the age of 16, Shane experienced the loss of his parents and sister in a plane crash. His parents had no life insurance, no estate plan, a lot of debt, and few assets. Despite the loss of his family and the ensuing financial challenges, Shane graduated from high school and college. He went on to a successful career in financial services for both regional and international financial institutions.

In 2004, Shane co-founded The Children’s Grief Education Association (CGEA). For over six years, the CGEA provided free grief counseling to over 400 Denver area children. The CGEA was merged into The HeartLight Center in 2011. From 2011 – 2014, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The HeartLight Center. Shane and his wife Valerie live in Castle Rock, CO. They have five children ranging in age from 12-21.

https://firststepshelp.com

https://heartlightcenter.org/first-steps-seminar/

In this podcast Meghan talks with Ondi Timoner, a documentary film maker and daughter of Eli Timoner about her beautiful, revolutionary film The Last Flight Home.

"Behind a white picket fence, on an unremarkable suburban street, we discover Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida, the fastest growing airline in the world in the 1970's. During his final days, we discover his extraordinary life filled with incredible success and devastating setbacks, and most importantly, an innate goodness which won him the enduring love and support of his family. Through stunning verité footage recorded by his middle child, LAST FLIGHT HOME takes audiences on a heart-wrenching ride through Timoner’s life, illustrating a modern day success story built on the power of human connection.

Two-time winner of the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC) Ondi Timoner returns to the festival with an intensely intimate verité film about her family’s harrowing journey to find closure.  As they open up their lives to offer an enlightening view of a universal experience, they demonstrate the grace and connection that can emerge from embracing death. Through laughter and joy, they share a lasting legacy which demonstrates how we might live, even as we die."

In this podcast Meghan sits down with Denise Tordella, a trauma informed therapist from the DC metro area who works with women who have experience domestic violence and coercive relationships. Denise highlights the many losses that come living from being isolated in relationships and the complicated grief that can arise as survivors begin to heal.

https://denisetordella.com

https://www.theferentzinstitute.com

Jay Newton-Small is CEO and founder of MemoryWell, a patient engagement platform and SaaS that is personalizing how health insurers connect with their members.

Previously, Jay was Washington correspondent for TIME Magazine, where she remains a contributor.  At TIME she covered politics as well as stories on five continents from conflicts in the Middle East to the earthquake in Haiti and the November 2015 Paris terror attacks. She has written nearly a dozen TIME cover stories and interviewed numerous heads of state, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

She authored the 2016 best-selling book, Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works.

Before TIME, Jay was a reporter for Bloomberg News, where she covered the White House and politics.

Jay received an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and undergraduate degrees in International Relations and Art History from Tufts University. She is a 2017 Halcyon Incubator fellow, a 2016-2017 New America fellow and a 2015 Harvard Institute of Politics fellow. She is the 2016 winner of the prestigious Dirksen Award for congressional reporting and the 2016 Deadline Club award for community service reporting.

https://www.memorywell.com

Dr. Julie in her own words:

"Like every grief story starts.... My sister, Jennifer lost her battle with Lupus February 2020. I was not prepared to lose her even though I whispered to her so many times that I would be ok if she had to leave us.

When grief hits, you can never be prepared for the grief tsunamis that bring difficult emotions from the depths of your soul to the soft waves of beautiful memories. 

I am on my grief journey and figuring out what my life will be like and who I am without my most favorite person, my big sister, in my life. She was/is a mom of two, the glue of our family, a dedicated nurse practitioner, loyal friend, and one of the toughest warriors you could have by your side.

She will forever be my why to giving grief a voice and building a community through grief awareness and visibility. Thank you for being here and saying hello to grief."

https://helloimgrieving.com

About Jessica

I’m a writer. I write poetry as well as creative non-fiction, essays that examine aspects of my life or the world around me and try to find the deeper meaning and connection in what I observe. I also write about media and culture, faith, and the intersection of the two. I wrote a sort of sermon once and it went viral. I write for places like Sojourners,  Think Christian, The Good Men Project, the Madeleine L’Engle Blog, Our Bible App, and Together Rising.

I’m an author. I have three published books and am working on my fourth. The Long Night, Readings and Stories to Help You Through Depression came out on May 19th, 2020 through Broadleaf Books, and its companion book, Blessings for the Long Night: Poems and Meditations to Help You through Depression will be out on April 19th, 2022, also through Broadleaf Books. In between those I self-published the “peace poems” I’d been writing into Twitter every evening for a year as 365 Days of Peace: Benedictions to End Your Day in Gentleness and Hope. I also created a journal to go with 365 Days of Peace.

I’m a theologian. I have a BA in World Religions and a Master of Divinity in Christianity. I’ve traveled to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and Europe to study Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I did part time ministry for many years — leading worship, teaching the Bible, leading discussion groups, working with teens, and teaching English as a second language. After I graduated I went to work for a campus ministry, doing interfaith outreach, but burnt out after a year and a half of fundraising and training. I try to use my education and experience in my writing, both to deepen my perspective and to minister to my readers.

I’m an editor. In my editing work I help scholars from all over the world who are working on academic dissertations. I’ve also edited books, journal articles, newsletters, cover letters, and more. Find out more here.

I’m a workshop leader. I’ve developed and teach the Finding Your Voice Writing Workshops for aspiring writers who struggle with depression or other mental illness.

https://jessicakantrowitz.com

Mangda Sengvanhpheng is an artist, healing practitioner, and the founder of BACII - a digital space that focuses on end-of-life topics such as loss, grief and death while providing services and offerings that renew our engagement to life. Her life and death work is guided by her Laotian last name, which means “the light of the full moon.” Mangda’s work has been featured in Vogue, Brydie, NY Mag’s Curbed, Chacruna Institute and more.

https://bacii.co

Charlene Lam is a certified grief coach, speaker and the founder of The Grief Gallery. After her mother died suddenly in 2013, she leaned into her creativity and instincts as a curator to guide herself through grief.

That work led her to help other people to process their grief and losses.

Charlene believes we are ALL curators after a loved one dies. Her Curating Grief coaching framework is designed to be a creative and accessible way to process grief.

She provides grief coaching to help bereaved people to feel less alone and better equipped to deal with the practical and emotional aftermath of losing a loved one. And when they’re ready, to transform their pain, loss and grief into something beautiful so they can move forward with living their own fullest lives.

As curator of The Grief Gallery, she presents exhibitions exploring death and grief during international design events and festivals, including NYCxDESIGN, DesignTO (Toronto) and the London Design Festival.

She speaks about the power of art, creativity, story and meaning making for healthy grieving and post-traumatic growth.

She’s the author of the forthcoming book Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies. Her podcast guest appearances include Late Bloomer Living, and the What Works podcast with Tara McMullin. A proud Chinese-American New Yorker (like her mother!), she's currently based in Lisbon, Portugal and works with clients worldwide.