The Surviving Siblings®

All surviving siblings have a different story. Chelsey and Clint were inseparable when they were kids, most of the time they were by themselves because their father was in and out of the picture and their mother was a single mom, working two jobs to provide for them. Chelsey was about to graduate and was looking forward to having her brother at her graduation, so when she received "the call", she couldn't believe her brother had passed in a mountain climbing accident.

In this week's episode, Chelsey shares about her and Clint's story growing up, how she found out that he had been in a mountain climbing accident, her relationship with mom and dad after Clint passed, what she did to look for answers in her brother's death, how she sought and offered support to other surviving siblings and what she has done to honor her brother Clint.

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Chelsey and Clint's story [00:02:13]

• The knock on the door that changed her life [00:07:16]

• Family dynamics after Clint's death [00:14:42]

• Looking for answers [00:20:19]

• Seeking support for Surviving Siblings [00:28:23]

• Supporting other surviving siblings [00:36:06]

• Honoring Clint [00:41:44]

• Finding a therapist [01:02:54]

• Advice for Surviving Siblings [01:06:22]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Chelsey

Instagram | @chelseym07

Facebook | Chelsey McHale

Listen to Haunted by Chelsey McHale

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this episode contains depictions and stories of siblings lost by suicide, homicide and/or domestic violence. We understand that some people may find these triggering, activating and/or disturbing.

There's a lot to unpack in Nickky's sibling loss journey. First she lost her big brother Glennn who committed suicide, then she lost her older sister Lisa in a car accident, and most recently her brother Alexander to a homicide. The most challenging thing for Nickky has been letting go of the guilt that has come with every loss. She felt so alone in her grief journey, that she decided to found Saitada, an organization that helps with grief and loss support to those that have lost their siblings, or their parents to either cancer, homicide or suicide.

In this week's episode, Nickky shares about her family dynamics before her brothers and sister passed, how she has moved forward in her grief journey, what made her found Saitada, what a grief doula is and how she decided to start getting educated to become one, and she also shares some advice to younger surviving siblings.

Episode sponsored by Saitada, an organization that provides support to those that have lost their siblings or parents to homicide, suicide and cancer.

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Family dynamics [00:02:08]

• Nickky and Glen's story [00:06:58]

• What happened after "The Call" [00:14:50]

• Losing Lisa unexpectedly [00:24:58]

• Losing Alexander to homicide [00:33:44]

• No one wanted to take care of anything [00:53:18]

• The story of Saitada [00:58:09]

• Death doulas [01:05:57}

• Advice for Younger surviving Siblings[01:09:10]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Nickky

Facebook | Nickky Neff

Facebook | Saitada

Instagram | @saitada_grief_loss_support

Instagram | @crzredhead

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Judy Lipson is the middle of three sisters. She became a surviving sibling when she lost her younger sister Jane in a car accident. Nine years later, she lost her sister Margie, who had been fighting bulimia and anorexia for over two decades. Judy decided to honor her sisters by starting a fundraiser for Mass General Hospital, where she helped raise over $80,000 in a decade. After that, she decided to put it on paper and wrote her book Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late to Grieve

In this week's episode, Judy and Maya talk about how it was for Judy when she lost Jane and Margie, how she deals with the dreaded question of how many siblings does she have, how she's moving forward in her grief journey, what inspired to write her book, and how she felt when her grandson was born.

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Judy, Jane, and Margie's story [00:01:23]

• Losing Jane [00:08:46]

• Losing Margie [00:16:26]

• Handling the question "how many siblings do you have?" [00:21:39]

• Judy's grief journey [00:28:10]

• Honoring Margie and Jane [00:34:57]

• Celebration of sisters [00:40:31]

• New life, triggering grief [00:48:25]

• Advice for younger Judy [00:51:36]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Judy

Facebook | Judy Lipson

Instagram | @celebofsisters

Linkedin | Judy Lipson

Book | Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late to Grieve

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Janice Jernigan lost her sister Julie when she was 3 years old, and this major loss ignited a cascade of secondary losses. Janice lost the opportunity of sharing milestones with her sister, receiving advice from her growing up and even beauty tricks. Janice tried to hold on to her sister Julie through many ways, and it emerged in her relationships, and eventually in her body. These are some of the reasons she decided to write her book Opening Up to Grief: A Surviving Sibling's Journey with Loss and Love.

In this week's episode, Janice and Maya talk about how it was growing as an only child, knowing that she had an older sister, what was life for her while she moved through it without opening up to her grief or experiencing her grief journey, and how comparison can be the biggest thief of grief. They also talk about stories from Janice's book in detail.

Episode sponsored by Janice Jernigan, author of Opening Up to Grief: A Surviving Sibling's Journey with Loss and Love.

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Growing up with grief [00:02:37]

• Multiple losses when losing a sibling [00:12:12]

• Holding onto Julie [00:18:01]

• Janice's grief manifesting [00:26:07]

• Life after high school [00:33:00]

• Releasing your grief [00:35:18]

• Comparing herself to her "perfect" sister [00:41:34]

• Grief showing up in her body [00:46:57]

• Comparison, the thief of grief [00:59:11]

• Advice for parents of surviving siblings [01:04:58]

• Connecting over sunflowers [01:14:43]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Janice Jernigan

Instagram | @innertrailblazer | @janicejernigan

Janice's Book | Opening Up to Grief: A Surviving Sibling's Journey with Loss and Love

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this episode contains depictions and stories of siblings lost by suicide, homicide and/or domestic violence. We understand that some people may find these triggering, activating and/or disturbing.

Maggie Bauer lost her brother Chris by suicide, it has been 10 years and it still hurts that her brother is no longer on this earth. She knows that her grief journey is going to last a lifetime, and recognizes that the most challenging thing of all is advocating for yourself. Maggie decided to become a grief recovery specialist, and this has given her more language and understanding of how to take steps and move through her grief journey, and she has helped people understand the meaning behind grief, feelings and physical experiences.

In this week's episode, Maggie will be sharing her and Chris's story, why you should treat therapy as dating and what questions to ask your therapist to ensure that they are going to help you and give you tools to move through your grief journey, the difficulties that she has, how she has honored Chris and the advice she has for surviving siblings and for her younger self

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Maggie and Chris' story [00:01:18]

• The missing piece of the puzzle [00:08:15]

• Maggie receives "The Call" [00:14:31]

• Giving yourself grace and finding the right therapist [00:23:03]

• Difficulties in Maggie's grief journey [00:33:42]

• Becoming a certified grief recovery specialist [00:37:52]

• Honoring Chris [00:44:55]

• Changing the language around suicide [00:54:49]

• Advice for younger Maggie and for surviving siblings [01:01:34]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Maggie Bauer

Email | [email protected]

Website | www.MBGriefRecovery.info

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Welcome to season 3 of the Surviving Siblings podcast. We are starting this season with a returning guest and season sponsor, Audree Kropen from SibsForever. Audree's story is an interesting one, make sure you go back to Episode 4 and Episode 5 from Season 2.

In this week's episode, Audree returns to talk about her granddaughter, Brenna, who is also a surviving sibling. Audree shares how she has supported Brenna in her grief journey and becoming a surviving sibling, what well sibling syndrome is and how it shows up in her granddaughter, how therapy has helped with Hayden's death, how Brenna found a way to honor her brother through music, and what's coming next for SibsForever.org

Season 3 is brought to you by SibsForever.org, a virtual platform to commemorate and honor your sibling relationship. Create your free profile and start building beautiful commemorative web pages that can include photo and video galleries featuring you and your sibling.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]

• Audree's story recap [00:02:18]

• Well sibling syndrome [00:07:26]

• Brenna's story [00:09:18]

• How Brenna's story differs from Audree's story [00:16:32]

• Brenna's experience with therapy [00:19:54]

• Struggling with Survivor's Guilt [00:24:21]

• Honoring her brother through music [00:30:26]

• Brenna's SibsForever.org site [00:33:47]

• Next steps for SibsForever.org [00:38:43]

• Exploring different artistic mediums for Brenna [00:45:30]

• Letter to Robin [00:50:33]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Audree Kropen

Website | Sibs Forever

COMING SOON | onlineresources.org

Facebook | Sibs Forever

Instagram | @sibs.forever

TikTok | @Sibs.forever

Twitter | sibsforever

Connect with Maya

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Facebook Group | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

YouTube | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Patreon | The Surviving Siblings Podcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

November 21st 2016 was the day that changed my life forever, it was the day that I lost my brother. As I have shared in previous episodes, my grief journey hasn't been linear. There are many things that I have done to cope with the loss of my brother. Creating this podcast was a way for me to honor my brother, to tell his story, to tell my story, our story. As surviving siblings we go through different stages of grief, one day our grief might be in the drivers seats, while others in the trunk of the car. Or it can feel like you're carrying a backpack full of rocks… moving forward in your life after losing a part of your soul, means you're able to grow while carrying that grief with you.

In this week's episode, I am sharing about what I do on November 21st to honor my brother and remember him, metaphors and takeaways from season 2 of The Surviving Siblings Podcast, how my grief journey has evolved and continues to evolve everyday, the current dynamics with my family and so much more.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]
• How Maya honors her brother [00:05:12]
• Metaphors and takeaways from Season 2 [00:14:12]
• My grief journey continues [00:31:31]
• Current family dynamic [00:44:04]
• Sponsors for Season 2 [00:52:05]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here (PodPage link /season2-finale)

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Resources mentioned

• Listen to Dr. Dawn DiRaimondo's episode on Surviving Sibling Loss
• Book | Surviving Sibling Loss: The Invisible Thread That Connects Us Through Life and Death
• Listen to Jen Schwartz's episode on Support Groups for Surviving Siblings
• Website | COPEfoundation.org
• Listen to Audree Kropen's episodes Part 1 and Part 2
• Website | Sibs Forever
• Listen to Janice Jernigan's episode on Opening Up to Grief
• Book | Opening Up to Grief: A Surviving Sibling's Journey with Loss and Love

Connect with Maya

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Caleb Harrison and Maya have more in common than being just surviving siblings. Maya was there for Caleb when he lost his brother Josh and Caleb was able to do the same for her when she lost Andreas. This episode is a deep conversation between two friends, two surviving siblings that lost part of their soul and came together to support each other.

In this week's episode, Maya and Caleb share about Caleb and Josh's life, what Caleb thought was going to be "just a hiccup" and ended up being a life changing event, the family dynamics after Josh passed, how different family members grieved the death of Josh and so much more.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]
• Caleb and Josh's story [00:02:35]
• "Just a hiccup" [00:13:49]
• What happened after Josh passed [00:22:03]
• The Grief Journey is not linear [00:34:34]
• Different ways of grieving [00:43:10]
• How to support a Surviving Sibling [00:50:09]
• Honoring and remembering Josh [01:10:16]
• Advice for Surviving Siblings [01:24:47]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Connect with Caleb

Facebook | Caleb Harrison

Connect with Maya

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

Website | The Surviving Siblings

No one gets a pass on grief, not even a three-year-old. Janice lost her sister Julie at the age of 3, she was too young to understand what was going on around her and her coping mechanism growing up was saying that she had grown up as an only child. She didn't acknowledge that she was a surviving sibling until she started going to therapy for an ailment she thought was completely unrelated, and it ended up being "stuck grief". Grief that Janice had not given herself the space to process and understand.

In this week's episode, I am sharing Janice and Julie's story, how Janice started on her grief journey, how her partner supported her through her grief journey, what inspired her to write her book: Opening Up to Grief and so much more.

In this episode, I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]
• Janice and Julie's story [00:02:06]
• The start of Janice's grief journey [00:09:23]
• Grieving Julie [00:26:27]
• Supporting partners for surviving siblings [00:30:02]
• Writing Opening Up to Grief [00:38:27]
• Advice for Surviving Siblings [00:52:11]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

Connect with Janice Jernigan

Instagram | @innertrailblazer | @janicejernigan

Janice's Book | Opening Up to Grief: A Surviving Sibling's Journey with Loss and Love

Connect with Maya

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

Website | The Surviving Siblings

Randa's grief journey has been a long one, filled with emotional rollercoasters. It all started when Perry was diagnosed with breast cancer, after the treatment for that was over they had a couple of good years. Until the cancer came back. Some days were good, others not so much. Until Perry asked for her family's blessing to be able to go. She lost her sister in 2016, after spending 3 weeks at her bedside.Randa compares her grief journey as like having a backpack full of rocks which you learn to live with overtime.

In this week's episode, I am sharing Randa and Perry's story, how Perry asked for her family's blessing to be able to move on from the pain she was in, what Randa thinks about moving forward in her grief journey and so much more.

In this episode I'm covering:

• Intro [00:00:00]
• The breast cancer diagnosis [00:01:55]
• Gut feelings and false alarms [00:05:30]
• Perry asks for her family blessing [00:14:51]
• Randa's last words to Perry [00:30:41]
• Randa gets "The Call" [00:33:19]
• Perry's funeral [00:36:18]
• Randa's grief journey [00:41:25]
• Moving on vs. moving forward [01:01:57]
• Advice for Surviving Siblings [01:06:55]

For full episode show notes and transcript, click here

✨Get The Surviving Siblings Guide HERE✨

Connect with Randa Salem

Instagram | @adcurlz

Facebook | Randa Salem

Connect with Maya

Instagram | @survivingsiblingspodcast | @mayaroffler

TikTok | @survivingsiblingspodcast

Twitter | @survivingsibpod

Website | The Surviving Siblings