Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
I often compare my story to navigating a labyrinth. In July of 2021, I lost my mother to Bulbar ALS. In September of that same year, two of my three children were murdered. To say 2021 was a tough year would be an understatement. The grief was almost unbearable.
As I struggled to make sense of it all, it occurred to me that in order to keep from shutting down, I had to learn how to be and live in this new life. But how? Using the metaphoric labyrinth, I made my way through its many twists and turns, forced myself to confront my fears, looked deeply at the unpredictability of life, and questioned my own existence. Eventually I reached the center, and I asked myself, “Who am I? How will I ever survive this? Who am I supposed to be now”?
I sat in the center of this labyrinth for a while, then it occurred to me that what often appears like an ending, is also a beginning. They meet in the same center. My involution was leading me to my evolution, and I returned with a new perspective and purpose. My new beginning.
This journey in my grief labyrinth led me to create Beyond Goodbye, a podcast that challenges our current thought paradigms around end of life. Beyond Goodbye is intended to encourage and foster a community to engage with death and grief in a healthy, transformative way. I share my journey, as well as those of my guests, and we have deep, meaningful conversations to bring about healing.
Grief will always be with me, shifting with time. Some days may feel lighter, while others bring unexpected waves of sorrow. But growth happens, even from loss, it happens. And if we allow it to root within us, what springs up can be beautiful!
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth is relative!
Grief is never a linear journey. It is filled with unexpected turns and setbacks and finding that balance between honoring your grief and not letting it define you can be difficult. Sometimes I wasn’t in a good place emotionally to create and hold space for others sharing their stories. But deep down, I knew this podcast had the potential to contribute in a positive way to my community.
That said, creating a podcast was a lot harder than I had anticipated! I had never produced anything like a podcast or music, so there was a steep learning curve. I needed to consider my audience, how triggering some of the content might be, learn how to grow an audience, and so forth. Additionally, I wanted to be sure I balanced authenticity with hope and insight for the listeners. So, I spent a lot of time reading books on podcasting, asked those who have podcasts for advice, listening to podcasts, and practiced using editing software. If you listen to some of the earlier episodes you can hear my cat in the background, or someone coughing, it’s funny, but I’m learning!
Despite these challenges, what the podcast is doing is vital. I am offering a space to feel seen, understood, and less alone in our loss journeys; a place where anyone can come to have conversations that I know resonates with just about everyone.
What matters most to you? Why?
Sharing about grief and death with the community matters most to me because it breaks the silence and stigma surrounding these universal experiences. Too often, society encourages people to "move on" or grieve in isolation, which can make loss even more painful. By opening up conversations, we create space for healing, connection, and understanding. It no longer needs to be a taboo subject – a thing to experience in secret.
Talking about grief helps normalize the emotions that come with bereavement—sadness, anger, guilt—and reminds people they are not alone. It allows those who are grieving to find some sort of validation, while also educating others on how to support loved ones. Having discussions about death, encourages us to reflect on life itself—what truly matters, how we want to live, and how we can honor those we've lost. It transforms grief from something we merely endure into something that can shape us in positive ways.
Through Beyond Goodbye, we're not just telling our story—we’re giving others permission to share theirs, to find comfort, and support those navigating their own labyrinth of loss. It is possible to move from the rawness of losing someone, to a place of clarity and purpose. This is what I hope my podcast helps others to do.