Nancy Watson heard my primal scream when Molly was in the accident and I pleaded for prayers on social media. It was deeply familiar because her child had died two years earlier.

Nancy’s dear one came into the world as Emily and departed as Adam, a little over 7 years ago at the age of 26. Her EmilyAdam struggled with mental illness for their entire life, and she misses 'em every single day.

Yoga helped Nancy make it through days when her grief was overwhelming. It didn't fix anything, but it made her feel a little less terrible, and that was enough to keep her coming back to the mat. 

Nancy found her purpose in facilitating yoga for grief sessions, which she’s been doing for the past couple of years in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. She authored “The Yoga for Grief Workbook,” blending movement, meditation and journaling for those who’ve experienced loss. I love Nancy’s book because it’s thoughtfully designed and easy to use. The Yoga For Grief Workbook is available on Amazon using the link below. I highly recommend it.

More from Nancy Watson:

• Book: The Yoga for Grief Workbook

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

I couldn’t have a podcast without introducing ya’ll to my friend, Joylene Jose. We met when we were in the first grade and soon became inseparable. 

Joylene’s family provided me with security and stability I wouldn’t otherwise have had. I spent more time in their home than my own. I will forever be grateful and part Filipino at heart!

We were together through it all. Joylene’s dad’s death when we were in fifth grade, my tumultuous childhood, plenty of misadventures, growing up too fast. Joylene and I have a shared history that spans over four decades. I’ve lost most of my extended family over the years (to death, mental illness and addiction), making our relationship all the more precious.

I loved recounting some of our funniest coming of age memories from the 90’s, in Fresno, California. May we all be so blessed by friendship that runs this deep. 

Connect with Joylene Jose:

• Instagram: @joy.m.jose 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

This is one of my favorite episodes because Jennifer Lee Snowden (Bossi) is one of my favorite people. We met as young women in the fight of our lives against breast cancer. We're members of a club everyone wants to avoid at all costs, but our sisterhood is one of life's greatest gifts. 

Bossi remarks that breast cancer is both the worst and best thing that ever happened to her. You have an idea of the insanely difficult marathon required to survive cancer - listen to Bossi's poignant explanation of how battling this shit (twice!) shaped her into a fearless creative force and feminist icon. 

There are very few people who come into your life - especially as an adult - whose soul sings, even in the most desolate, obliterated place. In a world that feels increasingly dark, my friend, Jen, is pure light. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 

Check out Bossi's album, "Tell All The Other Girls," her "Finishing School," Substack, live performance schedule and more on her website. 

Connect with Jennifer Lee Snowden aka Bossi:

• Website: https://www.iambossi.com/
• Bossi - “Stars”: https://youtu.be/bXndcdOXahs?is=6jvX9c_cDg_ZNkAe 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

In this episode, I connect with a fellow writer whose work I deeply admire, Jason MacKenzie. Jason and I first crossed paths on Substack, where we both write about our beautiful, young daughters who left this world far too soon.
Jason joins us from Canada to share his raw, unfiltered journey through an obliterated place that began long ago. For over five grueling years, Jason’s first wife, Cindy — a dedicated police officer — was plagued by severe mental health struggles and trauma until she tragically ended her life. Suddenly a single dad of two small daughters, Jason thought he could simply "love them to healing." Jason coped by “drinking himself silly,” not understanding the connection to his grief until after becoming sober.
In 2023, Jason’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Chloe, passed away after her own agonizing battle with mental health. Jason opens up about his consecutive, profound losses and how his grief since losing Chloe is different from his experience after her mother’s death.
On his Substack, “Man Down, “ Jason shares the exact things he learned after losing his wife and daughter, and from coaching thousands of men. Every week, he breaks down what really happens when you get knocked on your ass and how to grow through it without losing your self-respect.
I highly recommend checking it out.

Connect with Jason MacKenzie:

• Substack: Man Down

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

In this episode, I was joined by another member of our extended Pacific Palisades family, Michael Geller. Like any family, we don’t share all the same political views. Mike and I vote differently. But it doesn’t matter. When we sat down, our superficial differences melted away. We became so immersed in conversation about life and loss that we never discussed the LA mayoral race (which we’d been debating online).

Mike is an OG Palisades dude. He was born and raised in the town that our family joined in 2011. He grew up surfing, riding motorcycles and idolizing his older brother and best friend, Damon. Our audience will remember Episode 5 with Damon’s wife, Lili Geller. Mike took us back to the night when he was surfing with Damon under a full moon and suddenly couldn’t find him. When he paddled in, Damon was face down on his board, not breathing. Despite doing everything humanly possible to save his big brother, Mike said goodbye to Damon on the beach, where they’d surfed together throughout their lives. It was the first time Mike had been face-to-face with death.

Two weeks later, Mike and his wife, Jaimie, held her father’s hands as he died from a rare form of leukemia. Jaimie and Mike have been together since they were teenagers. Her father was an extremely important person in Mike’s life. Mike found himself in an obliterated place because of these profound losses, which was further complicated by the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic.

When light finally started to emerge through the darkness, Mike, Jaimie, and their three sons built their dream home. They’d recently moved in when the Palisades fire burned it to the ground. The Gellers also lost their business, Jaimie Geller Jewelry, in the location where Mike’s family had been in business since 1982.

Mike takes us inside the fire's immediate aftermath, sharing the surreal story of recovering his business safe — full of melted gold and jewels — just days after the destruction. We talk frankly about the exhausting, ongoing battles with insurance adjusters, the false myth that our community is "just fine" and doesn't need help, and the incredible grassroots support that is allowing Jaimie Geller Jewelry to reopen this July.

Last December, Mike’s mother passed away following a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. After a grueling medical trial, she utilized the California End of Life Option Act to choose her final day. Mike once again finds himself in an obliterated place, asking, “How much more can I take?”

We’re all carrying more pain than most people realize. The human experience is to suffer. It’s infinitely more bearable when we lock arms and lift each other up during the long journey home.

Connect with Michael Geller:

• Website: www.jaimiegellerjewelry.com 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

In this episode, I am honored to sit down with my friend Libby Boyce, whose only son, actor and philanthropist Cameron Boyce, passed away suddenly in 2019 at the age of twenty from a nocturnal seizure. To my children, Cameron was a bright, joyous presence on their favorite shows like Jessie and Descendants. To Libby, he was a deeply loyal, affectionate, and philanthropic soul who loved his village fiercely.

Libby and I map out the uncharted terrain of the "obliterated place" that mothers inhabit after the unthinkable happens. We talk candidly about the survival instinct that leads you to find other grieving parents who want to thrive, rather than just shrivel up. Libby shares the massive adjustments couples face in a marriage when both partners are circling the drain, emphasizing the vital importance of giving each other grace and respecting vastly different timelines and methods of processing pain.

We also pull back the curtain on the medical realities of epilepsy. Libby shares the hard-won wisdom that drove her to spearhead The Cameron Boyce Foundation, discussing the hidden risks of nocturnal seizures, the hormonal vulnerabilities of the teenage years, and the crucial distinction of seeking care from an epileptologist. This is a deeply raw, life-affirming conversation about transmuting the ultimate tragedy into a legacy of medical advocacy and profound, enduring love.

Connect with Libby Boyce & The Cameron Boyce Foundation:

• Website: thecameronboycefoundation.org
• Instagram: @thecameronboycefoundation / @libboyce

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

Children can serve as our greatest teachers if we let them. My guest in this special episode is my ten-year-old son, Eli William Steinsapir. A boy with the sweetest smile and a glint of playful mischievousness in his eye, Eli brings sunshine everywhere he goes. If you met him, you’d never guess what he’s been through. Eli lived the first years of his life in the dark shadow of my battle against breast cancer. Just as our lives were beginning to stabilize, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. After months of sheltering in place and attending Zoom preschool, Eli’s favorite person in the world, his older sister, Molly, went on a bike ride with her best friend one morning and never came home. Molly died in the hospital two weeks later. Four years later, our town of Pacific Palisades burned down, including Eli’s elementary school.

Despite these immense losses, Eli views the world with positivity. He sees what’s there instead of what’s missing. Eli has a gentle spirit, always kind and quick to apologize when he makes a mistake. During our conversation, we spoke about his memories of the Palisades fire, the terrible stress of watching our town burn, and what it was like to go back afterwards. Eli also shared some of his dreams of Molly where they visit inside of old memories, and the secret comfort of reading her books at night when the lights are supposed to be out.

Our conversation was also lighthearted and funny. Eli offered his strong opinion that we all should have a four-day school and work week and life advice on thoroughly enjoying each Saturday, the best day of the week. Eli is currently writing and illustrating his first book, which he’s calling “A Kid’s Life.” Expect to see it on your bookstore shelves in the future!

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

Grief and loss don't look the same for children as they do for adults, but the "obliterated place" is just as real for them. In this very special episode, I sit down with my youngest son, Eli Steinsapir, who is the youngest guest to ever join me in the studio. Turning ten years old, Eli has already navigated his own profound series of "before and after" moments — from losing his sister Molly when he was just four, to running from the traffic of the Palisades fire and losing his toys, books, and school campus.

Eli brings a beautiful, unfiltered vulnerability to our conversation. We talk about his memories of evacuation day, the stress of watching our street burn, and what it’s like to return to a beloved school campus made of temporary bungalows. Eli opens up about missing his sister, sharing the sweet and surreal reality of dreaming about Molly where they just visit inside old memories, and the secret comfort of reading the books he saved from her room at night when the lights are supposed to be out.

This conversation is a gentle reminder to let children feel exactly how they want to feel. Whether he is sharing his perspective on the absolute necessity of a four-day school week or offering his ultimate life advice to simply cry when you need to and really enjoy your Saturdays, Eli shows us that carrying a heavy burden doesn't mean we have to stop looking for the light. 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

In this episode, I am honored to sit down with my Rabbi and dear friend, Daniel Sher, from Kehillat Israel (KI) in the Pacific Palisades. Rabbi Sher has been a steadfast anchor for our congregation, even as he navigates his own "obliterated place" — having personally lost his family home and all their belongings in the devastating Palisades fire. 

We sit down to discuss the profound psychological genius embedded within Jewish mourning rituals, from the complete surrender of Shiva to the gradual re-entry of Shloshim. Rabbi Sher shares a beautiful framing of grief as a series of heavy items we carry forever in our pockets; we do not hold them out for the world to see at all times, but their weight permanently alters how we carry ourselves. We also talk about his perspective on rebuilding a community after a disaster with deep intentionality, choosing never to "waste our tragedies." 

Our conversation also turns to the complex, painful realities facing the Jewish people in the wake of October 7th. We explore the profound alienation of feeling iced out by former allies in social activist circles, the historical burden of being a "universally welcoming tradition forced to choose between safety and welcome," and the true definition of "chosenness"—not as a gold star of privilege, but as a sacred obligation to carry the weight of historical burden while fiercely choosing to see the light anyway.

Connect with Rabbi Daniel Scherr: 

• Kehillat Israel Podcasts 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation

After the tragic loss of his teenage children, Ruby and Hart, in a drunk driving accident, Colin Campbell found most books on grief unhelpful. I had a similar experience, with the exception of the one that Colin wrote shortly after Ruby and Hart died, when his grief was raw and often felt unbearable. Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose resonated deeply. It made me feel less alone at a time when nothing made sense. 

Colin offers practical advice. His practice of always saying "yes" to invitations, like joining someone on a walk, even when he felt like staying under the covers, encouraged me to avoid isolation. When I wanted to succumb to despair, I remembered Colin's approach of active grieving. For example, Colin and his wife, Gail, gave friends their "grief spiel" whenever they came to visit. They told them exactly what they needed at that point in their grief. It sounds obvious, but nobody does it! Including my husband and me, until I read "Finding The Words." It helped us and our friends.

Like my husband, Colin found solace in the Jewish rituals around death and mourning. Although I converted to Judaism over a decade earlier, I hadn't experienced the death of anyone Jewish before we lost Molly. Colin helped me to better understand and appreciate them. Doing a prescribed ritual at a time when you can't think is helpful. Being held by your community is essential.

Most of all, I loved talking with Colin about our kids, Ruby, Hart and Molly. It was an honor to spend an hour with him. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Connect with Colin Campbell: 

• Instagram: @colincampbellwriter
• Website: https://colincampbellauthor.com/colin/ 

Connect with Kaye Steinsapir: 

• Subscribe on YouTube
• Instagram: @teammollyofficial 
• Substack: Transforming Pain Into Purpose
• The Molly Steinsapir Foundation