Grief doesn’t just affect the heart—it changes the brain. If you’ve felt forgetful, distracted, or mentally foggy after losing a spouse or partner, you’re not alone. What many call “grief brain” is a real, natural response to profound loss—not a sign that something is wrong

🎧 Listen now and give yourself permission to heal—one moment at a time.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

After renting and filling a 20-foot dumpster by myself, I discovered that the physical labor was only part of the challenge. The real work was deciding what to do with decades of belongings left behind by my husband, his parents, my parents, and even pieces of my own past.

In this episode, I explore the unexpected emotional weight of sorting through the possessions of loved ones who are gone, the guilt that can come with letting things go, and the realization that memories don't live inside objects. If you've ever found yourself as the last keeper of family history, standing at the intersection of remembrance and practicality, this conversation may resonate with you.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Shopping for one is an experience filled with bittersweet memories. As I wander through the aisles, it feels like I'm tracing the footsteps of someone who once enjoyed this routine. Now it's all mine, and I don't much care for it.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Living in someone else’s ADHD-driven rhythm for years can leave a surprising mark on your body, mind, and emotions. What happens when that pace disappears?

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Grief isn’t just emotional — it’s physical and mental. From the tasks they used to handle, to the conversations that are now missing, we explore the hidden labor of loss and the unexpected strength it can reveal.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Losing your person doesn’t just break your heart—it can dismantle who you thought you were. This episode explores the quiet identity collapse that follows and the slow, gentle becoming that comes after.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

This year, grief can walk beside you —
But it does not get to carry you, and you do not have to carry it into the new year.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Sadness isn’t simple—and neither is grief.
This episode unpacks how layered emotions inside sadness can lead to an identity crash, and what happens when the old version of you no longer fits.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Grief isn’t just emotional — it’s physical. Losing a spouse disrupts the balance your nervous system relied on. In this episode, I discover co-regulation and how I’m learning to live with his absence.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.

Thanksgiving alone - Grief isn’t something I want to decorate over. In some twisted way, I want to allow myself to feel the sting of the empty chair, the silence in the room, the absence of a familiar laugh.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.