Host Kim interviews Liz on The Corner of Grief and Mourning podcast. Liz opens up about the sudden loss of her husband, Craig, whom she describes as the kindest, most loving person and an amazing cook who loved bringing people together. She reflects on the fog of early grief, finding strength through her dogs and family, and learning to navigate well-meaning but hurtful comments from others. Liz highlights how grief pushed her to become more self-sufficient—learning to drive a tractor, use a chainsaw, and maintain her property.

Throughout the interview, she shares touching ways she stays connected to Craig, including finding a secret love note under a dresser drawer he hand-built for her. The conversation touches on the importance of finding a good therapist, setting boundaries, removing the social stigma around talking openly about grief, and recommended resources like Soaring Spirits for widowed individuals.

• – Remembering Craig: Liz shares what made her husband Craig special—his kindness, capacity for love, and generosity.
• – The Early Days of Loss: Navigating the memory fog of early grief, relying on daily routines with pets, and receiving support from loved ones.
• – Handling "Clunky" Comments: Dealing with well-intentioned but hurtful advice from strangers and professionals.
• – Unexpected Growth & Self-Sufficiency: How loss forced Liz to tackle new challenges, from land maintenance to operating heavy machinery.
• – Keeping the Connection Alive: Wearing meaningful tokens, sensing presence, and the special story of a hidden love note in a handmade dresser.
• – Setting Boundaries: Choosing what feels right versus listening to other people’s "shoulds".
• – Practical Tools for Healing: Therapy, organized distractions, and finding a sense of presentness through working with young children.
• – Advice for Couples: The importance of discussing end-of-life wishes before sudden loss occurs.
• – Resource Spotlight: Soaring Spirits International and Camp Widow for widowed peer support.

• Soaring Spirits International: A non-profit organization offering peer support, weekly groups, pen-pal programs, and events (like Camp Widow) for individuals who have lost a spouse or partner. https://soaringspirits.org/

Grief is a landscape most of us are entirely unprepared for, often leaving us feeling like we are standing at a lonely intersection while the rest of the world moves fast. In this episode, Kim and Kathy pull up a chair to talk about the love Kathy carries for her brother Brandon, who passed away by suicide at the end of his ninth-grade year.

For 34 years, Kathy navigated life by staying constantly busy—a mechanism she now recognizes as a desperate avoidance of her grief. Praised for being "strong," she stuffed her emotions away, which eventually took a toll on her physical health. Through traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and dealing with the compound grief of recently losing her 13-year-old dog, Kathy has entered a season of beautiful evolution where she is finally letting herself feel the depth of her losses. Now, she focuses on keeping Brandon’s memory alive by speaking his name, celebrating his life on his birthday, raising depression awareness, and using her lived experience to be an empathetic anchor for her students and her own family. Her ultimate message to fellow grievers is simple yet powerful: Continue.

• Welcome to the Corner: Kim introduces the podcast as a safe space to sit in the middle of pain without performance or pretense.
• Remembering Brandon: Kathy describes her brother Brandon as a jokester, an incredible athlete who shot up past 6 feet tall, and a deeply kind soul.
• The Survival Run: Kathy opens up about throwing herself into endless high school activities and phone calls in the 90s just to avoid a single moment of quiet peace.
• Clumsy Comments & Hurtful Beliefs: A look into the well-intended but deeply painful comments people make after a suicide, and how it impacts families.
• Redefining the Bittersweet: Choosing to celebrate Brandon’s birthday and life rather than just focusing on the heavy month of May.
• Compound Grief & Holistic Healing: How decades of running manifested into severe physical health issues, and how acupuncture and the recent loss of a beloved dog helped Kathy finally let the tears out.
• Finding Purpose in the Pain: How Brandon’s story influenced Kathy’s career in teaching, helping her save students struggling with depression, and navigating her own son's mental health battles.
• Leaving a Message on the Wall: Kathy's one-word piece of graffiti for anyone walking through their own valley of grief :Continue

If you or someone you know is struggling with grief, emotional distress, or thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please know that you are not alone and support is available. Reach out to any of the free, confidential resources available 24/7:

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (Spanish: press 2 or text "AYUDA").
• Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.
• The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth): Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678.
• Online Chat: 988lifeline.org/chat

• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.

• Samaritans Hotline: Call 116 123.
• National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK: Call 0800 689 5652.

• Lifeline Australia: Call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.

If you are outside these areas, please visit findahelpline.com or iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ to locate confidential crisis support available in your country.

In this deeply personal episode, Kim steps onto the very intersection her podcast was named after. Originally planned as the show's first guest interview, plans shifted when Kim's father died on Father's Day morning.

Kim opens up about the heavy reality of anticipatory grief—the emotional and physical pain experienced before a loss occurs—and shares the beautiful, witty, and fiercely loving eulogy she delivered at his service. Through her father’s signature "Chuckisms," his history as a Navy veteran and union painter, and his profound lessons on resilience, Kim explores the vital difference between internal grief and external mourning. This episode is a gentle invitation to anyone standing at the crossroads of loss to slow down, breathe, and learn how to let their grief breathe.

• The Sudden Detour: How the reality of losing her father on Father's Day brought Kim right back to the center of the grieving landscape.
• Understanding Anticipatory Grief: A look at the complex, sometimes guilt-ridden emotional bracing that happens when watching a loved one decline over many years.
• Celebrating his life: Kim shares her father's eulogy, highlighting his dry humor, his love for his family, and being where things make sense.
• Grief vs. Mourning: Why grief is the heavy internal weight of a permanently changed world, while mourning is the essential outward expression—speaking their name, laughing at memories, and keeping their legacy alive.
• The Ultimate Lesson: What it means to live by her father’s deepest piece of advice: "Honor those who honor you."

Content Warning: This episode contains personal discussions regarding Sudden death, car accidents and health crisis. Please listen with care. [If applicable: If you or a loved one are in crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.]

• The Landscape of Grief: How sudden loss forces our world to completely stop while the rest of society moves fast.
• Remembering Paige & Chad: A celebration of Kim's siblings—Paige’s summer-loving, crabby-yet-loyal spirit, and Chad’s hilarious, outdoor-loving "schemer" personality.
• Cumulative and Compound Grief: What happens when new losses pile on top of unhealed ones before you can even catch your breath.
• Disenfranchised Sibling Loss: Validating the pain of siblings—the "forgotten mourners"—who are often pushed into the shadows of a societal hierarchy of grief.
• Grief Triggers: Breaking down the difference between predictable milestone triggers and sudden, overwhelming ambush triggers.
• The Compassionate Friends Network www.compassionatefriends.org
• The Dougy Center www.dougy.org