The P-I-G: Stories of Life, Love, Loss & Legacy

What if everything we've been taught about moving on from grief... is wrong?

We're often told that time heals, that we need to be strong, and that eventually we'll find our way back to normal. But what happens when the life we knew no longer exists—and the love we carry refuses to fit into someone else's timeline?

Kym Hinchey knows this reality intimately.

During the pandemic, Kym lost her son Adrian to an accidental overdose. Just three months later, her husband John died suddenly. And as she struggled to find her footing, she experienced yet another devastating loss: the death of her beloved dog, a source of comfort and companionship through her grief.

In this deeply moving, honest, and surprisingly hopeful conversation, Kym shares not only what she lost, but what she's discovered about grief, love, connection, and learning to live again.

Together, we explore:

•  The extraordinary love stories behind Kym's losses
•  Addiction, accidental overdose, and the complicated emotions surrounding loss
•  What happens when grief changes our identity, relationships, and understanding of the future
•  Why familiar phrases like "time heals" and "you're so strong" don't always help
•  The importance of witnessing grief rather than trying to fix it
•  Continuing bonds, meaningful signs, and the ways we maintain connections with those we've lost
•  How to support someone who's grieving, especially after the initial attention fades
•  Why pet loss and other forms of grief deserve acknowledgment and compassion
•  Finding room for laughter, joy, gratitude, and hope without leaving love behind

Now a certified grief educator, life coach, and author of Then and Now: The Evolution of Grief, Kym brings both lived experience and thoughtful insight to a subject so many of us struggle to understand. Because perhaps the goal was never to move on from the people we've lost. Perhaps it's to learn how to carry their love forward while embracing the life that's still waiting for us.

Join us for a conversation that may change the way you think about grief—and the way you show up for someone experiencing it. Learn more about Kym’s work at agriefsupport.com.

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

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Some stories deserve to be heard again.

As Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month comes to a close, we're revisiting a conversation that has stayed with us since it originally aired on February 4, 2026.

Tiffaney Childers knows the aftermath of suicide loss in a way few of us can imagine. After losing both of her parents to suicide within a year of each other, she spent nearly two decades carrying much of that grief in silence.

But this isn't only a story about what Tiffaney lost. It's about what happened when she began speaking about it.

In this deeply personal conversation, Tiffaney shares the complicated reality of surviving suicide loss, the weight of unanswered questions, the ways grief can shape a life long after the immediate loss, and the healing that became possible when she stopped carrying so much of it alone.

We explore:

• Losing both parents to suicide—and the very different circumstances surrounding each loss
• The silence, stigma, anger, guilt, and unanswered questions that can follow suicide
• What it meant to carry those experiences for nearly 20 years
• The difference between surviving something and beginning to heal from it
• How sharing our stories can create connection where isolation once lived
• Learning to make room for joy, purpose, love, and life alongside grief
• What it means to move beyond survival and begin to rise back

We're bringing Tiffaney's story forward again because awareness doesn't end when the calendar turns to October. Neither does grief. And neither does the need for honest conversation, compassion, connection, and support.

This conversation originally aired February 4, 2026, and includes a newly recorded introduction.

If you or someone you know needs support: The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support 24/7. Call or text 988, or connect through the 988 Lifeline. 988 Lifeline

Additional resources for those affected by suicide loss are available through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and L.O.S.S. Team. AFSP offers survivor resources including Healing Conversations and support-group information; L.O.S.S. Teams focus specifically on postvention support for people bereaved by suicide.  

Explore more from The P-I-G: thePIGpodcast.com

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

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What if you could live an entire life without realizing you'd somehow lost touch with yourself?

For Jenny Cohen, that realization didn't come all at once. It came after decades of adapting, achieving, caregiving, surviving, and becoming whoever life seemed to require her to be.

Jenny's story begins in Taiwan and winds through immigration to the United States, childhood experiences that taught her to adapt quickly, a lifelong relationship with dance and performance, marriage and motherhood, caregiving, cancer, family health crises, and ultimately a profound realization:

She didn't simply want to find the woman she was before cancer.
She wanted to find the person she had been before life happened.

In this deeply personal—and often wonderfully funny—conversation, Jenny explores what it means to reconnect with ourselves after years of living through roles, responsibilities, expectations, and experiences that can quietly shape who we become.

We talk about:

•  Immigration, childhood, belonging, and the early experiences that taught Jenny how to adapt 
•  How survival skills can serve us—and sometimes separate us from ourselves 
•  Dance, movement, and the complicated journey of learning to feel at home in her body 
•  Love, marriage, motherhood, IVF, caregiving, and the many roles that became part of Jenny's identity 
•  Cancer and the health experiences that forced her to listen differently to herself and her body 
•  Parenting through diagnoses, mental health challenges, and her children's evolving identities 
•  Why presence can matter more than having the perfect answer 
•  Learning to stop “flying everyone else's plane” 
•  The body as a source of information, connection, and an inner compass 
•  Healing as an ongoing practice rather than a finish line 
•  Midlife, reinvention, “second spring,” and what becomes possible when we allow ourselves to be seen 
•  Why Jenny is still dancing, dreaming—and stepping into entirely new possibilities in her late 50s 

Because perhaps finding ourselves isn't about going backward. Maybe it's about remembering what has always been there—and deciding how we want to live from here.

Learn more about Jenny, her work & resources: dancetohealpodcast.com | linkedin.com/in/jennyccohen/

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

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At some point in parenting, the job changes. 

The children we've spent years raising begin building lives of their own. They need us differently. The relationship shifts. And somewhere between pride, worry, freedom, grief, joy, and the occasional urge to step in and fix everything, we're left with a question we may not have expected:

What happens to us when they begin to fly?

Hanna Bankier, founder of BirdyLauncher, believes it's time to rethink the way we talk about this transition. Rather than an “empty nest,” she sees launching as an opportunity—for our children to become more fully themselves and for parents to rediscover who they are becoming, too.

Drawing from her own experiences with immigration, motherhood, a high-powered television career, divorce, reinvention, and launching two sons, Hanna joins us for a wonderfully candid conversation about letting go without disconnecting and staying close without holding on too tightly.

We explore:

• Why Hanna believes language like “empty nest” gets this transition wrong
• The complicated mix of grief, relief, pride, worry, freedom, and joy that can accompany launching children
• Why parenting older kids may have as much to do with managing our own anxiety as managing anything they're doing
• How relationships can evolve from authority toward mutuality
• Navigating college departures, returns home, changing boundaries, and new expectations
• Why letting our kids struggle, choose, fail, and figure things out can be one of the hardest forms of love
• What launching children can reveal about identity, relationships, careers, and the roles we've allowed to define us
• Hanna's hilarious—and surprisingly powerful—new parental “job description”
• How curiosity, community, values, and a willingness to ask “What if?” can help us find our own way forward

Because launching isn't only about helping someone else find their wings. Sometimes it's an invitation to remember that we have wings, too.

Learn more about Hanna and Birdy Launcher at BirdyLauncher.com.

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

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Eight weeks ago, we stepped away from the microphones with an invitation: go live a little more. Make room for wonder. Rest. Friendship. Courage. Adventure. Legacy.

Now we're back—and maybe not quite the same.

In this candid conversation between sisters, we look back at what P-I-G Summer Camp taught us, beginning with the childhood summer camp experience that helped shape who we became. From years spent at Camp Alleghany to two very different summers as adults, we explore why stepping away doesn't have to mean leaving your life behind—and why sometimes creating even a little space can help us return more awake to the life we're already living.

We talk about:

• The lasting impact Camp Alleghany had on our childhoods, relationships, independence, and understanding of community
• What wonder, rest, friendship, courage, adventure, and legacy looked like for each of us this summer
• Why rest and restoration don't require a month-long vacation
• The importance of protecting the life we're working so hard to build
• The devastating fires, floods, and personal losses that unfolded around us while we were away
• What those losses reminded us about grief, gratitude, hope, and living legacy now
• Some of the extraordinary guest conversations coming next
• Why we're finally ready to bring our children behind the microphones—and begin unboxing more of our own story

Because Summer Camp was never really about taking a break. It was about creating enough space to notice what matters—and deciding what we're ready to do with that awareness. 

And as we begin this next chapter of The P-I-G, we're ready for more. Learn more, explore resources & connect with us: thePIGpodcast.com

Watch the summer adventure video mentioned in this episode, find memorial and donation resources supporting the families and communities we honor in this conversation, explore additional resources & connect with us: thePIGpodcast.com/episodes/back-to-business-but-not-back-to-normal 

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
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One act of belief changed Angel Mollel's life.

In Part Two of this extraordinary conversation, we discover what happened next—and how that same belief continues to ripple across families, villages, and generations.

After arriving in the United States as a fifth-grade student from a small Maasai village in Northern Tanzania, Angel could have focused solely on building her own future. Instead, she chose something bigger.

Together with her adopted father, Tony Matteroli, she founded 1 Love, a nonprofit dedicated to creating educational opportunities and improving daily life in the community that first shaped her.

What began as a high school service project has grown into a mission that continues to transform lives through education, clean water, electricity, safer homes, transportation, and opportunities that create lasting change.

Together, we explore:

•  How 1 Love grew from an idea into a thriving nonprofit 
•  The life-changing impact of clean water, electricity, and education 
•  Why empowering women transforms entire communities 
•  Angel's journey from CU Boulder to FOX31 Denver 
•  Being named Colorado's 2021 Remarkable Woman 
•  Returning home to Tanzania after four years away 
•  Tony's reflections on fatherhood, adoption, and legacy 
•  What family truly means when it's built through love rather than biology 

At its heart, this conversation isn't about recognition. It's about responsibility. It's about choosing to take the opportunities we've been given and creating them for someone else.

Because the greatest legacy isn't what we accomplish ourselves.
It's what we make possible for others.

Learn more about Angel's work and 1 Love: https://www.1loveorg.org

Explore episode resources and photographs:
 thePIGpodcast.com/episodes/tony-matteroli-angel-mollel-part-2

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
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What happens when one person chooses to believe in someone they've only just met? Sometimes... everything changes.

In Part One of this special two-part conversation, we sit down with Tony Matteroli and Angel Mollel to share an extraordinary story that begins in a small Maasai village in Northern Tanzania and stretches across continents, cultures, and generations.

After being laid off from a job he thought would last forever, Tony traveled to Tanzania expecting to volunteer for six months. Instead, he met a young girl whose determination to learn—and whose quiet resilience—would forever change the course of both of their lives.

Angel grew up in a Maasai village with sixteen siblings, two mothers, and one father. While education for girls was far from guaranteed, her father's belief in her potential planted the first seed of a journey that would eventually bring her halfway around the world.

Together, we explore:

• How an unexpected layoff became the beginning of a life-changing journey
• Growing up Maasai in rural Tanzania
• Why Angel's father insisted his daughters receive an education
• The unexpected friendship that became family
• Navigating cultural differences with humility and trust
• Health challenges, difficult decisions, and protecting a child's future
• The extraordinary effort required to bring Angel to the United States
• Angel's first experiences in America—and the determination that carried her forward

But beneath every milestone lies a much deeper story. 

A story about fathers... about courage... about opportunity. About choosing to believe in another human being long before they can fully see what's possible for themselves. And this is only the beginning…

Join us next week for Part Two as Angel shares how one opportunity became a mission, one act of belief became a movement, and one remarkable journey continues to change lives in both Colorado and Tanzania. Because sometimes changing the world doesn't begin with changing everyone. It begins with believing in one person. 

Learn more about Angel's work and 1 Love: www.1loveorg.org

Explore episode resources and photographs: thePIGpodcast.com/episodes/tony-matteroli-angel-mollel-part-1

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
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What if the person you're still becoming is more important than the person you thought you were supposed to be?

In this deeply personal and reflective conversation, Susan Mazonson joins The P-I-G to share the lifelong journey that led her to ask a simple but transformational question: Who am I really?

For decades, Susan built a successful life as a corporate leader, entrepreneur, innovator, and problem solver. Fiercely independent and determined to prove herself in environments where strength was often defined by traditionally masculine traits, she learned early to rely on herself and keep moving forward.

But beneath the accomplishments was a deeper story.

A story shaped by the sudden loss of her father at age fifteen, the shifting family dynamics that followed, the expectations she placed on herself, and the lifelong process of understanding who she was beyond achievement, titles, and external validation.

Together, we explore:

• How losing her father during adolescence shaped her identity, independence, and worldview
• The hidden cost of always feeling the need to prove yourself
• Why she spent years downplaying the feminine qualities that would later become some of her greatest strengths
• Building a successful career and discovering that achievement alone wasn't enough
• Caring for her aging mother and witnessing extraordinary growth, courage, and transformation late in life
• The power of curiosity, self-awareness, and lifelong learning
• Letting go of expectations that no longer fit
• Understanding ourselves more deeply so we can better understand others
• Why becoming isn't something we finish—it’s something we continue

Throughout the conversation, Susan shares stories of family, loss, resilience, reinvention, and the unexpected lessons that emerge when we remain open to growth—even when life unfolds differently than we imagined.

This episode is a reminder that transformation doesn't have an expiration date. And that some of life's most important discoveries may still be waiting for us.

Learn more and explore additional resources:
thePIGpodcast.com/episodes/susan-mazonson

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
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A single sentence in childhood can become a life sentence.

Russell Van Brocklen was once told he would never read at grade level. Years of labels, accommodations, exclusion, and frustration quietly shaped the way he saw himself—and the way others saw him too.

Today, Russell is a New York State Senate-funded dyslexia researcher, founder of DyslexiaClasses.com, and the creator of a practical learning framework built around one transformational idea: “If You Can Write It, You Can Read It.”

But this conversation goes far beyond dyslexia.

Together, we explore:

• How school systems can quietly erode identity and confidence
• Why struggling learners often carry shame—not lack of intelligence
• The neuroscience behind typing, articulation, repetition, and structured writing
• Why motivation and “specialty interests” matter so deeply during intervention
• The emotional impact of constantly feeling behind
• How small, repeatable wins rebuild trust over time
• Why strong writing and critical thinking skills matter even more in the AI era

Russell also challenges the belief that neurodiverse learners are somehow less capable—arguing instead that many simply need a different pathway to succeed.

This episode is for parents, educators, students, neurodiverse adults, and honestly… anyone who has ever questioned their own intelligence after years of struggle.

Because sometimes the problem was never potential. It was method.

•  Learn more about Russell’s work, programs, and forthcoming book, If You Can Write It, You Can Read It, at DyslexiaClasses.com
• Explore resources & support materials at The P-I-G Podcast Library.

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
📬 The P-I-G Website: https://www.thepigpodcast.com/contact
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Some losses happen in a moment. Others continue unfolding for years.

In this deeply moving conversation, Lisa Espinoza shares the layered story of grief that has shaped her life—from losing her mother at just 18 years old to the devastating loss of her youngest son, Chandler, in 2019 after he was struck by a car while riding his bike to work. 

For 18 grueling days, Lisa and her family lived between hope and heartbreak as Chandler remained on life support. And in the middle of that unimaginable pain, they were faced with another devastating reality: complications and failures in his final care that ultimately prevented his wish of becoming an organ donor from being fulfilled. 

But this conversation is about more than loss. It’s about what happens after.

Together, we explore:

•  The long-term impact of layered grief and trauma 
•  What it means to continue living after unimaginable loss 
•  How purpose, perspective, and faith evolve through suffering 
•  The physical reality of grief and heartbreak 
•  The complicated relationship between sorrow and joy 
•  Why healing doesn’t mean “moving on” 

Lisa also shares the story behind one of the most powerful ideas in the episode: “What would honor Chandler?” 

And ultimately, what it means to simply: “Be willing to be willing… to be open to the possibility of joy.” 

This conversation is tender, honest, heartbreaking, and deeply hopeful all at once. If you’ve ever loved deeply… grieved deeply… or wondered whether joy is still possible after loss—this episode is for you.

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From Our Heart to Yours...
Hearing the stories of others helps us connect more deeply to our own—because legacy is built in how we live, every single day.

Support the Show
If The P-I-G has meant something to you, consider supporting or sponsoring the podcast. Learn more at thepigpodcast.com/sponsorship.

Connect with Us
📬 The P-I-G Website: https://www.thepigpodcast.com/contact
📱 Facebook: /podcast.thePIG
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