Steph Jagger explores one of the most common ways we experience ambiguous loss - when someone we love is in the grips of Alzheimer’s Disease. In our conversation, just like in her exquisitely written memoir, Everything Left to Remember, Steph reveals what she learned when she took her mom, who was diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s, on an adventure into big nature under the big Montana sky. While what she learned on this trip wasn’t what she expected, she gained more than she bargained for including insights on childhood, motherhood, personhood, the lessons of Mother Nature, and what it means to love someone who doesn’t quite remember the person she spent her lifetime becoming.

Steph Jagger is a sought-after mentor and coach whose offerings guide people toward a deeper understanding of themselves and their stories. Her work, including speaking and facilitating, lies at the intersection of loss, the nature of deep remembrance, and the personal journey of re-creation. Steph grew up in Vancouver, Canada and now lives and works on Bainbridge Island, WA. Everything Left to Remember is Steph’s second book. Her first, Unbound, was published in 2017.

Pick up a copy of Everything Left to Remember at your favorite local bookstore or online here

(30:00) Steph explores what she had hoped to discover on this trip through big nature with her mother versus the gifts she received along the way.

(47:00) As we wrapped up our conversation, Steph and I explored what it means to practice being with our emotions in grief and the suffering we experience when we resist or hang on too tightly.

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