How are you supposed to respond when someone shouts, "Just be grateful!" across the holiday table?

If you're anything like me, you are tired of pretending it doesn't hurt and tired of wondering if it will ever stop hurting. But gratitude doesn't suddenly blossom when grief ends...because what if grief doesn't end?

This week, we're talking about practices to engage our gratitude and our grief in the same breath, without sacrificing our griever's integrity along the way.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• Become a Patron
• Connect with Mandy

• Learn more about Restorative Grief

What if preparing for death could actually help us live more fully?

Too often, we avoid end-of-life conversations because they feel overwhelming or sad. But leaning into planning can actually bring clarity, ease, and deeper connection. In this episode, I’m joined by Marni Blank, founder of Begin With The End, who helps individuals and families approach legacy, loss, and after-death logistics with compassion. We talk about how facing death directly can free us to live and grieve with more presence.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How practical planning creates space for emotional connection in times of crisis
• Why legacy work can become a meaningful, creative act of love
• Common fears that hold people back from talking about death—and how to move through them
• How aligning grief support with whole-person awareness (mind, heart, body, spirit) can restore presence and resilience

Links + Resources from this episode:

• Learn more about Marni’s work at Begin With The End
• Purchase Marni’s Plan Well Organizer for just $15 for a limited time!
• Follow Marni on Instagram
• Follow @MandyCapehart on Instagram
• Learn more about Restorative Grief coaching

When you ask how to live through estrangement, the answer may not be in reconciling or forgetting – it may be in noticing where your energy resides, and choosing the frequencies that allow you to keep living fully, even through uncertainty. This week, we're addressing a constant question I hear from listeners and clients - what can one do to navigate being estranged when you don't clearly understand where it all went wrong?

Links + resources from this episode:

• David R. Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness
• Restorative Grief Podcast
• Mandy Capehart – Learn more about coaching
• Become a Grief Patron and get the workbook

"Joy is sinewy, fibrous, raw. She shows up in the dark, not instead of it."

This week on Restorative Grief, we’re sitting with Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald to explore what she calls the “gritty joy” that grows right alongside our grief. In her newest book, The Joy Reset, she names six “joy thieves” that keep us from accessing healing and explains why our resistance to joy is not a failure—it’s part of how our nervous system protects us.

Together, we’ll talk about what it looks like to invite tiny joys back into our days without bypassing pain, how hope is wired into our brains, and why joy is not the opposite of grief but a companion that helps us keep moving forward.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• Connect with MaryCatherine on TT and IG
• Join our Patreon
• Learn more about coaching opportunities
• Follow Mandy on Instagram

“Nourishment is not just survival fuel. It’s the act of tending—to the heart, the mind, the body, and the spirit.”

In this episode, we explore what it means to care for ourselves in life’s most intense seasons. You’ll be guided through reflections and simple practices for the heart, mind, body, and spirit, and invited into a communal act of nourishment you can share with others.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• Learn more about Tara Brach, Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Richard Rohr, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, or Frances Weller.
• Become a Patron!
• Follow along on Instagram

"No matter what the risk is, the discomfort is huge. But for me, the discomfort is the compass."

When the life you’ve built no longer fits, how do you make the hard choice to walk away and begin anew? Today’s guest, Amy Murtola (AlignedSoulCo), shares her journey of uprooting—moving to a new state, single, alone—and discovering the enneagram as a guide through fear, reinvention, and deep transformation.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• AlignedSoulCo on Instagram
• Unfck Your Type - an Enneagram shadow work course
• Mandy Capehart on Instagram
• Become a Patron of the show

“What if there was a simple way to help your child feel understood when emotions get loud?”

Kids experience big feelings - grief, frustration, sadness, anger - just like adults do. But often, they don’t have the words to explain what’s going on inside. In this episode, we're sharing a gentle, kid-friendly tool that helps children (and their parents) notice what emotions feel like in the body and begin to put language around those experiences.

Together, we’ll explore:

• ​How to help kids recognize their body’s “signals” during tough moments
• ​Why saying “this is valid” builds trust in their own feelings
• ​How parents can respond with compassion instead of frustration
• ​A simple practice you can use today with your kids (or for yourself)

This episode is designed for kids and parents to listen to together - or for parents to play for their kids as a standalone tool. By the end, you’ll both have a new way to approach grief, frustration, and those “too big” feelings with more compassion and connection.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• ​Get the workbook for this episode
• ​Follow @MandyCapehart on Instagram (not always G, FYI)
• Learn more about Restorative Grief coaching

"It is entirely possible that what we've accepted as "normal" isn't normal at all, and that's the very place we can begin to heal."

Brandan Robertson stands as a beacon of love, hope, and unwavering support for anyone ready to reclaim their faith from the clutches of intolerance.

For the queer kids, for the queer adults, and for every single wonderful human wondering how they can fit in when they don't feel like they belong, Brandan's latest book is an invitation into what could be possible if we leave our need for "normalcy" behind.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• ​All About Love by bell hooks
• ​The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
• ​Queer & Christian by Brandan Robertson
• ​Connect with Mandy
• Become a Patron of the show

"Lowering the barrier to entry keeps creativity alive through grief, not in spite of it."

Grief doesn't mean we put our canvases away in a closet. It means we allow simply setting a blank canvas on the easel as creativity in itself.

This week, we're talking through one way grieving humans can invite the creative spark back into their daily lives without the pressure of producing something marketable with every stroke of the pen or brush.

Links + Resources from this episode:

• Join our Patreon
• Learn more about coaching opportunities
• Follow Mandy on Instagram

“I hope you look back and your life and when you think about the best parts it’s hard to decide.”

I've been a student and lover of music my entire life, so the opportunity to speak with a musician about grief?! Yes please!

Jay Putty is a folk pop artist with an impressive track record of heartfelt hits filled with heart, grief, and invitations into catharsis.

Our conversation is full of musical curiosities and the encouragement to explore your own grief in any way that feels right to you.

Links + Resources from this episode

• Listen to Jay's music: On Spotify
• Connect with Jay on social media: On Instagram
• Become a Patron!
• Connect with Mandy