Where's The Grief?

In this episode I got to sit down with comedian Hudson Torres. Hudson's mom died of a drug overdose when he was just 8 years old. Now in his 20's and persuing stand up comedy, Hudson started including jokes about his loss and his mom into his act, finding ways to cope with a part of himself that can be hard to talk about in regular interactions.

We talk about how comedy can provide perspective and a deeper understanding of heavy concepts, as well as bring people together over shared traumatic experiences. We also talk about how difficult it can be to blend adult feelings with something that happened in childhood.

Follow Hudson on IG @HudsonTorresComedy

In this episode, I talk with Erica Hill, owner of the Sparrow Funeral Home in Brooklyn. As the creator of a safe space for people to grieve and mourn in, Erica was struck by how open and forthcoming Knicks players like Karl Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby were about thier own familial losses. Seeing all the conversations and and talk about grief surrounding the Knicks Playoff run this past season, Erica wanted to spread some of the same magic that gripped the city en route to thier first championship in over 50 years, organizing a watch party AT the Funeral Home for Game 4 of the NBA Finals. (This was the game with the Knicks historic 29 point comeback) What she thought might only be a handful of friends and supporters ended up being over 100 people who came out to watch the game, as well as media outlets who ensured this event went viral!

This was a fun conversation about the power of connection and what can be accomplished when we embrace the moments where joy and greif intersect. I got to talk a lot about Russell in this one too, as he was THE Knicks fan.

I have often talked about how much my brother Russell was a fixture in MSG during the 90's, and during this championship run I felt him with me so much more than I have in previous years. Truly, the number of people who reached out to me in the wake of this win reminded me that the biggest comeback of the season was Russell for me.

Incidentally, we recorded this episode on the 5 year anniversary of the death of Erica's father, who was almost the funeral home's first client!

Make sure you follow Erica @SparrowFunerals

Go to the Sparrow Website to find out more! https://sparrowny.com

In this episode I talk with comedian Bryan McKenna! A fellow native NYer, Bryan started doing stand up comedy not long after the death of his father. After getting some laughs while giving the eulogy, Bryan decided to jump in and has never looked back, performing across the country as well as opening for touring acts such as Jim Bruer.

In addition to having lost his father, Bryan has endured a number of deaths along the way, including most recently his childhood best friend.

We talk about the changing of family dynamics after a loss, as well as the ways that we start to question our own mortality when one of our own contempereries dies.

Follow Bryan on IG at @bryanmckennacomedy

In this episode I got to talk with author and death doula Jule Wright Halbert. Formerly a lawyer and national education attorney, after the death of her husband Jim she found that she needed to shift her focus and began a new chapter with a different meaning and purpose. We talk about her book, "Divine Ashes Descending," a memoir about her own experiences as a newly bereaved widow and her journey of discovering an alternative career. As an advocate for end-of-life care and hospice models, she speaks openly about the different ways we all deal with the pressure of how to say goodbye.

Find out more about Julie and her work at https://risingphoenix.life/

Follow her on IG @Transformational_soul_coaching

In this episode I talk with fellow grief expert Kyle Kittleson. After the death of his mother, Kyle found that talking about his loss to be among the few things that was truly helpful, and began a new career path that put him directly in touch with other people dealing with trauma. His work with MedCircle has proven that hope and help are always available, and that finding ways to work on our own mental health is more accessable than ever. We talk about how helpful it can be just to be in service of someone elses journey, and how much it matters that we keep telling our stories.

Check out Medcircle and all that Kyle does at https://medcircle.com/

and on IG @MedCircleOfficial

Check out Kyle's youtube BahBahBlast! https://www.youtube.com/@babablast

In this episode I talk with actor and author Jody Gelb about her book, "She may be lying down but she may be very happy," a memoir about the loss of her daughter Lueza. Born with cerebral palsey, Lueza had many struggles in her too short life, but despite all that they faced, Jody managed to find ways to give her as normal and as happy a life as a child can have. Her story speaks to what is possible when we start to open up and have the tough conversations.

Follow Jody online and get the book at JodyGelb.com

Follow Jody on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jodygelb

Find out more about The Bridge School here!

Find out more about Dora Jar, Jody's other daughter and Lueza's sister!

In this episode, I sat down to talk with Bobbi Schlager Milne! I met Bobbi 20 years ago at my first Compassionatte Friends grief conference, and she has continued to be a constant source of love and support in the grief community, and among the few bereaved parents who made a real point in finding support for her surviving daughter Tracy (who later became the sibling representative on the nation board for The Compassionate Friends.) Bobbi's son Andrew was killed in an accident when he was just 10 years old, and his sister Tracy was 15, in 1985. A year later, Bobbi began writing about her grief but ultimately let the manuscript sit on a shelf.

After many years Bobbi revisted her earlier writings about Andrew and published a book, "Not My Andrew" in an effort to show people that it's possible to still find a path forward after the unimaginable has happened.

Find out more and get the book at https://notmyandrew.com

(you can also always get it on Amazon)

In this episode I got to talk with Author and certified coach Ingrid Hu Dahl. Her new book, "Sun Shining on Morning Snow" is a testatment to the importance of preserving family history and finding ways to talk about the things that we tend to avoid talking about.

After the death of her mother, Ingrid reflected on their relationship and how thier respective journeys of identity and self discovery was similar. Having her own struggle with both her cultural and sexual identity, Ingrid manages to weave her grief into a memoir that is about the ways our relationship to our parents and our past shape our future.

We also talk about the importance of continuing to tell the stories that make us, and to keep the memories of our loved ones alive.

Get the book at https://www.sunshiningonmorningsnow.com/buy

Find out more about Ingrid and her coaching at https://www.ingridhudahl.com/

Follow ingrid on IG @sunshiningonmorningsnow

In this episode, I talk with Author Louise Ells about her book, "Lies I Told My Sister."

Her novel began as a response to a a question a friend asked: "What scares you the most? And are you going to write about it?" Having already dealt with the loss of one of her sisters at a young age, Louise managed to find ways to express her feelings of grief and loss in a novel that explores the relationship between sisters, and the ways that we avoid our biggest fears.

We also talk about how writing itself can be so cathartic and a helpful way to make sense of our own emotional responses by having fictional characters deal with them.

Follow Louise at https://www.louiseells.ca/

In this episode I talk with comedian Keith Chase about the tumultuous year that saw him nearly lose his own life alongside dealing with the death of his grandmother as well as his father, all in a short span of time. Now 6 months later (This episode was recorded in Nov. 2024) Keith has started reflecting on all the issues that come out of loss, and how we think about our own mortality while still being responsible for someone elses paperwork.

We also talk about how hard it can be to transition back into regular life again when all you want to do is sit on your couch.

Follow Kieth on Instagram and TikTok @ChaseTheShortGuy