Amanda Held Opelt is an author, speaker, and songwriter. She writes about faith, grief, and creativity, and believes in the power of community, ritual, shared worship, and storytelling to heal even our deepest wounds.

In today’s episode Amanda discusses the art of lament and how deep-rooted communal practices of shared grief can help us heal and grow through the difficult experiences of our lives.  

Drawing from her book Holy Unhappiness: God, Grief and the Myth of the Blessed Life, Amanda shares her journey of grappling with experiences of disillusionment when life with God didn’t feel the way she expected it to feel.  

Support the podcast

As a member of our Patreon community, you can join other artists and creatives from around the world as we support one another along this journey of art and faith.

We host regular book clubs, artist check-ins where we share our wins, challenges, inspirations and knowledge.

We’re eager to connect with you! Join today!

Music in this episode by Some Were At Sea

Send us a text

Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.