"How do I help someone who is grieving?" This is the perennial question when it comes to showing up for people we care about after someone dies. Zack Wheat, a Board Certified Chaplain, knows more than most about what people who are grieving need - and don't need. Professionally, Zack knows about this from his work as a hospital chaplain for an inpatient palliative care team. He also knows about it from his time volunteering as a facilitator in peer grief support groups at Dougy Center. But, long before he was a hospital chaplain or a grief group facilitator, Zack learned about how to be there for others when he was 21 and his friend Leanna died in a car accident. 

In this episode we talk about:

• What it was like for Zack to speak at his friend’s funeral 

• His draw to working as a chaplain 

• The difference between hospital and hospice chaplaincy 

• How the pandemic impacted Zack and his hospital colleagues 

• What people who are grieving need – and don’t need 

• How to be human with other humans who are grieving 

• What keeps people from showing up for others 

• The value of acknowledgment, empathy, and presence 

• What Zack’s learned as a facilitator in a peer grief support group