Remembering A Life

No two people grieve alike, but an autistic adult may experience and react to grief in unique ways that others may not understand. Dr. Kenneth Doka and Lisa Morgan help us better understand how to support an autistic adult who is grieving and how to approach grief as an autistic adult.

Honoring the life of a loved one takes many forms as we strive to find ways to do so in a way that is reflective of their interests, values and legacy. If a loved one enjoyed spending time outdoors, a memorial tree may be the perfect tribute. Max Anderson from the Arbor Day Foundation joins us to discuss this meaningful idea for a living memorial.

Funeral directors, of course, help families after a loved one has died and guide them in planning a meaningful service so family and friends can gather to say goodbye and begin to mourn. But there's much more to the profession than meets the eye. Funeral professionals LaShonda Martin and Timothy McLoone join us for an eye-opening discussion about the life of a funeral professional.

When Brian Rea first began jotting down notes and drawings about the things Death might do if given the time, little did he know they would become a book that would inspire so many to live their best lives. Poignant and humorous, Death Wins a Goldfish, Reflections from a Grim Reaper's Yearlong Sabbatical, invites us to make the most of the big - and more importantly, little - moments in our lives.

The grief we experience after the death of a friend can be very isolating in a society that often minimizes the significance of a non-family loss, leading to complex, disenfranchised grief. Death educator Dr. Sara Murphy joins us to talk about how we can be present and supportive when someone we care about experiences the death of a friend.

Grief can be difficult for anyone who has experienced a loss, but grief following the death of a loved one to suicide can be particularly complex. Shannon Donnick, Senior Manager of Loss & Healing Programs for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, joins us to talk about this unique kind of loss and how we can move forward on our grief journey in healthy ways.

Author and cemetery expert Loren Rhoads takes us on a journey to discover more about the final resting places of our ancestors, other family and friends - perhaps even our own. Loren helps us consider how visiting a cemetery can not only help us feel closer to loved ones who have died, but also give us a better understanding of the history of our families, the world around us, and our place in it.

In her book, From Scratch, A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, producer, actor and author Tembi Locke shares the poignant love story of her life with her husband Saro, his terminal illness and how she and her daughter Zoela found ways to move forward in their grief following his death. Tembi joined us to share her very personal story about life, love and loss.

We often hear about therapy dogs in nursing homes or hospices, but, increasingly, therapy dogs are also finding themselves at home in local funeral homes. Beth Johnson from Ultimate Canine, and Bob Prout and Julia Prout from Prout Funeral Home in New Jersey, join us to talk about the Prout's therapy dog, Morris V. Prout, and how his training helped him provide comfort to people who are grieving.

Dr. Sara Murphy joins us to discuss the incredible toll mass-fatality events are having on each of us personally and collectively as a nation. Recorded shortly after the mass shootings at Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo, New York, and at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, this episode explores how we can try to move forward in our grief following these and other mass-fatality events.