Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Certified Grief Support Specialist, was walking distance from the World Trade Center in NYC on 9/11/01, at 22 years old, under 8 months after her mother died (on 1/20/01). In this episode, Dr. Sarah discusses anniversaries of deaths/losses, and also shares her story of what transpired on that day. Connections are made between the healing journey after grief, and also with trauma/PTSD.

Link to online and in-person Grief Healing Circles.

Link to Netflix documentary.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Certified Grief Support Specialist, invites Jessica Sullivan-Wilson to share her experiences with grief-with-a-lowercase-g after job loss, and to also compare and contrast this type of grief with capital-G-grief after death of a person and pet. Jessica also gives a beautiful shout-out to her fabulous therapist, Gracie Bates-Davis at Envision Counseling.

In this episode sources for free or inexpensive therapy were mentioned including:

The Loveland Foundation

OpenPath Collective

Insight Timer FREE App

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

In addition, sources that weren't mentioned but are available include:

Asian Mental Health Collective

National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network

Boris L Henson Foundation

This episode is another example of a very common experience of grief, that people don't always think of as grief, grief-with-a-lowercase-g after divorce. Even though no one necessarily died, the relationship had such a significant change (ending of the way it had been or the way it was hoped to be), that grief is very common.

In this episode, divorce coach Melissa Kahil shares her expertise about the grief after divorce that is so common.

Details about upcoming Grief Healing Circles, this includes for people healing from divorce, or other significant relationship changes are here.

Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Certified Grief Support Specialist, hosts Grief Healing Circles online and in person in Chicago, and realized many people have never attended one, and may wonder what they entail.

Grief Healing Circles were inspired by a different type of Healing Circle created by Dr. Gail Christopher. They are NOT whole group the whole time, and they are not only sad.

Please listen for more info, and join us for an online Grief Healing Circle in August, or in person in Chicago Oct 3 or Nov 7. More will be scheduled online for Sept and the Fall/Winter. For updated dates, visit Dr. Sarah's LinkTree (until she creates a website).

Also, feel free to email her at [email protected] if you'd like one on a specific date, and/or a specific focus, like grief after the loss of a pet (fur family), or divorce, etc. Dr. Sarah will do her best to accommodate requests.

One attendee of an online Grief Healing Circle communicated the following day, "I have to say  I really didn’t know I needed that until I did it. That was excellent, cleansing, warm, sad and enjoyable. Thank you, Sarah, for putting that together!”

Another attendee after the first in person Grief Healing Circle wrote, “I loved your Grief Healing Circle! You really made it safe to talk and brought up such meaningful ideas. There was a lot of warmth saying goodbye at the end-we felt like a family-wow.”

In this episode, guest Syda Segovia Taylor, founder and Executive Director of Organic Oneness, shares three examples of grief-with-a-lowercase-g, after the ending of each year of high school when Seniors graduated from their dance troupe, after vacations including one with Dr. Joy DeGruy, and after her young adult daughter moved to another state. Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Certified Grief Support Specialist, references a beautiful children's book called The Invisible String, about how we can remain interconnected even when we're apart geographically. Let's continue to normalize conversations about grief, even grief-with-a-lowercase-g. It's so very human and normal to feel a range of emotions with life changes, including sadness and loss. Let's continue to heal together.

For upcoming Grief Healing Circles, please consider registering here.

Grief is most commonly associated with death, and the term grief may be less commonly associated with the messy, unique, combination of non-linear emotions after a huge variety of experiences such as divorce/change in relationships, changes of employment, changes with residences, changes with aging, changes with growing of children/teens, even births, graduations and weddings.

As clinicians have discussed Trauma with a capital T, and trauma with a lower-case t, in this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Certified Grief Support Specialist, theorizes and shares her thoughts that the same is true for grief, there is Grief with a Capital G, and grief-with-a-lowercase-g. There is a continuum of experiences from most severe to less severe that can still be considered grief. People have a wide range of life experiences, and responses to those experiences. Shame and isolation need not be a part of grief. Grief is part of life, and a very human experience.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth references the Messy Ball of Grief Graphic and Beth Erlander's graphic around the Mess of Grief.

Info about upcoming online and in person Grief Healing Circles (in Chicago) is here.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Grief Support Specialist, invites co-founders of Widowhood Recovery, Judy Jury and Bob Tarragano, to share parts of their own experiences after each of their spouses died 12.5 and 5 years ago respectively, and their experience creating and leading their Widowhood Recovery program. Their Roadmap to Widowhood Recovery is linked here.

Dr. Sarah Elizabeth is facilitating four online 90-min Grief Healing Circles in August including one specifically for the West Coast time zone! See here for details.

Previous Grief Healing Circle participants said BEFORE the Circle that they felt: nervous to share, apprehensive, excited but nervous, and excited to join...and

AFTER the Circle the same participants said they felt: heard, not judged, grateful and less lonely, connected, relieved, and glad they did it.

Please join us, and/or invite friends/family, thanks.

Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, of HealingTogether444, has been releasing episodes alternating weeks since Jan 20th, the 25th anniversary of when her mother's body stopped working.

This mini-episode of Sarah alone marks the 6 months of the podcast, and the 25 & 1/2 year without her mother in body on Earth.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, Grief Support Specialist, shares a bit more about her personal experience with the non-linear rollercoaster of grief. Here's the 2019 blog she mentions with a photo of her mother (from 1998), and here's the recipe for the Spinach Cheese Casserole!

In this episode, a young woman, Kat, age 25 when her Lola passed, (Lola is grandmother in Tagalog), shares about her Lola, her relationship with her Lola, and her grief, including lack of support from peers.

Grief is part of life, and most people benefit from support while grieving. When people experience grief at young ages, including childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, grief is commonly less understood by peers.

This episode is specifically aimed at younger people experiencing grief, or people who love and support younger people experiencing grief.

If you're in Chicago, we hope you'll join us at an in person Grief Healing Circle, and Sound Bath, this Saturday July 11th, 5-7pm.

This episode also mentions Gilda's Club, free support for people with cancer, and friends/family of people with cancer or who died from cancer.

This episode also celebrates ALTAR: Chicago's Inspirational Space for Women's Empowerment & Connection. If you're in Chicago, we highly recommend you consider attending one of their free events to check out the space and connect with beautiful people.

When a death occurs unexpectedly, there are many decisions that need to be made, while grieving. Funeral Director, Brooke Benjamin, of Inclusive Funeral Care, provides specific information that can be helpful to have before a death. Dr. Sarah Elizabeth, certified grief support specialist, highly recommends this episode, and sharing it with friends. Talking about death and grief is part of the journey for all of us to HealTogether.

If you're in Chicagoland, you're invited to join us Saturday, July 11th 5-7pm at the Chicago Fair Trade Museum for a Grief Healing Circle AND Sound Bath. Info here.