#040. Carol Tyler is an award-winning and self-described ‘cartoonist and comics-book person’ from Cincinnati, who is known for her autobiographical comics and being married to Justin Green.

Loss #28 of 101 - Loss through art and the death of a cartoonist.

The genre of autobiographical comics is completely new to us. This genre is all about telling personal stories in the form of comic books or comic strips. Carol and her husband Justin Green have been at the forefront of the movement to create these since the 1970s. 

Claire first connected with Carol when she reached out to say her latest comic book was on a similar 'mission to explore grief' as The Silent Why. Her new, unique, comic project explores the landscape of grief set in a place she has called Griefville. Sadly, between our initial connection and recording our conversation Carol’s husband, Justin, died of cancer; adding another element of grief to our chat in this episode.

Justin Green is described as “an American cartoonist who is known as the ‘father of autobiographical comics’," best known for his 1972 comic book: Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary.

We feel very privileged to share her story of loss through her own bereavements (eg. losing eight people in four years, including her parents and two sisters), her art (especially Griefville), and more recently losing her husband, which she is processing in public alongside many admirers of his work.

Throughout this conversation you’ll hear Carol refer to a number of published works, and we’ll post images on our social media too, such as:

• The Hannah Story: currently out of print
• Soldier’s Heart: https://amz.run/5lG7 
• Fab4Mania: https://amz.run/5lG8 
• The Job Thing: https://amz.run/5lG9 
• Late Bloomer: https://amz.run/5lV6 

To follow Carol and her Griefville progress, including the trees she mentioned, visit: https://www.facebook.com/carol.tyler.18 

More about Carol:
https://twitter.com/CarolComix
https://womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/Carol_Tyler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Tyler
https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/carol-tyler 

More information on Justin:
https://www.tcj.com/remembering-justin-green/
https://www.tcj.com/justin-green-1945-2022/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/arts/justin-green-who-put-himself-into-his-underground-cartoons-dies-at-76.html

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I wanted to have another chat with Katie after her diagnosis with breast cancer, to find out about the losses attached to a diagnosis like this, and how they differed from the loss of her daughter.

Welcome to another My Why from me, Claire Sandys, co-host of The Silent Why podcast. My Why episodes are  weekly audio shorts of my latest blog post, but this one is a bit different as I'm using this episode to catch-up with a previous Silent Why guest who has been through extra losses since we met her in early 2022.

Chris and I interviewed Katie Joy Duke in Episode 25 of the podcast (Loss 18: Loss of a full term baby), where Katie shared her story about the death of her daughter Poppy on the day she was due to give birth.

Sadly, four days before we released her episode Katie was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer. So I wanted to catch up with her to find out how this experience compared to previous losses she'd faced in the past.

Join me and Katie as we chat cancer, chemo, Uncle Fester, false eyebrows, staying healthy, sharing this kind of information with others, physical losses versus bereavements, and much more.

For more about Katie and her book, 'Still Breathing' visit:
https://www.katiejoyduke.com/

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#039.  What is End of Life and Grief Coaching, when can it be useful to us, and is it only for people facing bereavements?

Welcome to Let’s Chat… These episodes pop-up every now and then instead of one of our 101 different types of loss, as I (Claire Sandys, one of the co-hosts of The Silent Why podcast) chat to a guest who has experience or expertise in a particular area that can help us either deal with, or prepare for, loss.

In this Let’s Chat episode I chat to Lis Whybrow about End of Life and Grief Coaching.

Lis lives in our neighbouring county in Worcestershire (like the sauce!) and was a solicitor for over 30 years, dealing with all legal aspects of death and dying, before moving into a new career of life coaching, specialising in end of life and grief.

In this conversation we talk about the difference between coaching and counselling, fear of death, how coaching can help when facing death or loss (either for yourself or friends and family), what is a death doula, what does a coaching session look like, and lots more.

And I'm building a toolkit through these chats, well actually a whole tool shed, of equipment to help you face and process loss, so listen in to see what latest addition Lis wants to add my tool shed. 

To find out more about Lis visit her on:
https://liswhybrowcoaching.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lis-whybrow-1483771b6/ 

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What can we learn from this month that helps us the rest of the year?

This My Why is the next episode of my ‘To every thing there is a season’ series, where on the first Friday of the month for a year I am sharing lessons I’m learning from each month of the year, and we’ve reached July.

Welcome to another My Why from me, Claire Sandys, co-host of The Silent Why podcast.

My Why episodes are weekly audio shorts of my latest blog post. If you'd prefer to read it, you can find it here: thesilentwhy.com/post/theseasonofjuly

July is apparently the pinnacle of the good weather in the northern hemisphere, the mountaintop if you will, and there’s a lot we can learn from mountaintop experiences, and valley experiences. Where would you rather be? 

There’s also a personal reason I'm especially fond of this month. 

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#038. What is it like to have your husband go for a hike and not return? In this episode England meets New England in the US, as we talk to Clarissa Moll who lost her husband Rob during a family adventure across America.

Loss #27 of 101 - Loss of a young father and husband

In the summer of 2019, Clarissa and her husband, Rob, took their four home-schooled children on a 3,000 mile coast-to-coast vacation across the United States. Visiting national parks, camping, and seeing old friends. One morning, with a friend, Rob went on a long ridge-line hike, high up in the mountains in one of the most beautiful national parks on the West Coast. It was supposed to be a highlight of their trip, but sadly Rob never returned and Clarissa was informed by two police chaplains that he had fallen and been pronounced dead.

This life-shattering news began Clarissa’s terrifying encounter with grief, and not only navigating it herself, but also parenting four young children through it too.

Clarissa openly talks with us about the pain of losing her husband so suddenly, practical tips for parenting different aged children through grief, dealing with the public attention, sacred boundaries, her relationship with hope, the book Rob published in 2010 on ‘The Art of Dying’, her forthcoming book, and so much more.

For more about Clarissa and her book, Beyond the Darkness, visit: www.clarissamoll.com or follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/mollclarissa 

You can purchase Rob’s book in many places by searching for: ‘The Art of Dying: Living Fully Into the Life to Come’ by Rob Moll.

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As summer arrives in the UK there's the temptation to assume everyone will be living life to the full, but sunshine doesn't just fix everything for everybody.

Welcome to another My Why from Claire Sandys (co-host of The Silent Why podcast). My Why episodes are weekly audio shorts of my latest blog post. If you'd prefer to read it, you can find it here: thesilentwhy.com/post/sunshinedoesntfixeverything

Join me to find out if you're a Sunny or a Moony, what patience has to do with the longest day, plus a bit about the struggles of having patience with your own mind and how to get through it. 

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#037. On 13 March 1996, a 43-year-old man walked into Dunblane Primary School near Stirling, Scotland, and shot dead sixteen pupils and one teacher. Fifteen others were also injured before he killed himself. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.

Loss #26 of 101 - Loss of a daughter in a school shooting

The outpouring of loss and grief that follows a school shooting is vast and wide-reaching. In the wake of the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, we have taken the opportunity to speak to someone who's been at the heart of such a tragedy.

Mick North is the father of Sophie North, one of the five-year-old girls shot and killed in Dunblane. And sadly, this wasn't the only loss Mick faced in the 1990's as just two-and-a-half years earlier, Mick's wife died of breast cancer. While coming to terms with this, Mick also stepped back from his successful academic career, driven to campaign work for tighter gun laws in the UK.

Mick shares with us about the ups and downs of having to grieve so publicly, the challenges of dealing with two huge losses so close together, his memories with his family, his work campaigning in gun control to prevent further tragedies happening, and how he feels every time there’s another school shooting somewhere in the world.

And we end with a special quote which explains why this week's episode artwork has a snowdrop in it (check out our social media to see that).

For more about Mick, Sophie and the Sophie North Charitable Trust visit: https://www.facebook.com/SophieNorthCharitableTrust

Here's where you can buy Mick's book; Dunblane: Never Forget:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dunblane-Never-Forget-Mick-North/dp/1840183004

To watch the Dunblane families and survivors read their letter to Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as described by Mick, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-nEzMbfyNk  

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Increasingly I find myself, with age, looking back to the 'good ol' days' of my youth, where life seemed simpler, easier and less hassled. I find myself starting to utter statements my grandma used to use like 'when I was young...'. 

Welcome to another My Why from Claire Sandys, co-host of The Silent Why podcast. My Why episodes are weekly audio shorts of my latest blog post. If you'd prefer to read it, you can find it here: thesilentwhy.com/post/livinginthegoodolddays

Not having my own children I also find there was so much from my childhood that I was subconsciously storing to pass down to the next generation, which now has no where to go.

It's very easy to think the best days in life are either behind us or ahead of us, and not take any appreciation for today. In this My Why I explore how we can live in the 'good ol' days' now and what I think might be the key to having this mindset. 

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#036. How hard is it to step away from an organisation you've set up and been involved in for 30 years? Introducing Lis Whybrow, a former private client solicitor who spent in the region of 40 years  supporting individuals with wills and probate (among many other things).  

Loss #25 of 101 - Loss of a professional accreditation.

You might think it was hanging up a 30-year law career that made Lis feel the emotions of loss, but the sadness surprised her when the automatic renewal reminders began pouring in for an accreditation she had with the professional body she’d helped launch decades ago. 

As Lis was no longer practising law it was a sensible decision to withdraw her membership of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), but this was more than just not renewing. She was leaving behind something she'd invested heavily in, with her head and her heart, which would be a substantial loss - one she would recognise at a later date.

Lis has now retrained as a life coach, specialising in helping people face the end of their life, as well as other losses and grief. She is back supporting people individually, only this time without any pressure of billable hours. 

She opens up on what this transition has felt like, where her identity is rooted, the difference between good and bad losses, as well as planned and unplanned losses, and how losses in the professional world need processing and grieving too.

For more about Lis visit:
https://liswhybrowcoaching.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lis-whybrow-1483771b6/ 

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This week I was struggling a bit with the dreaded 'brain fog', so instead of sitting down to write a blog to read for the My Why I decided to take my phone (and it's fuzzy hat to cut out wind noise) into the garden and share with you how I like to take life lessons from the nature around me.

Welcome to another My Why from Claire Sandys (co-host of The Silent Why podcast).  My Why episodes are weekly audio shorts of my latest blog post. If you'd prefer to read it, you can find it here: thesilentwhy.com/post/gardenramblings

With so much happening in the garden, at every time of year, I always find there's something there to encourage me, motivate me, comfort me or inspire me. 

So come with me into the garden and see what spur-of-the-moment lessons I took from nature to help me this week.

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