Myra Sack and her husband Matt were very lucky. They had fallen in love with the right person, had work they were deeply committed to and had a new baby. Into the middle of their charmed life came the worst possible news; their perfect daughter had Tay-Sachs disease. She would live a very short life. A mistake in the testing they had received for Tay-Sachs blindsighted them. Reeling from the news and immersed in the question of how they could possibly live out this time, they decided they would celebrate Havi every day of her life. And every Friday they would gather friends and family in their ..read more

Courtney Deane knows grief from the inside out, having lost both of her parents at a young age. Determined to create something beautiful out of her losses she wrote a book exploring what happiness ever after looks like after loss. She also knows first hand that happiness is not static, it can be found and then lost. Join us to talk about her book, When Happiness Ever After Fails, and the happily ever after she has created for herself ..read more

Every body that has been lived in will eventually need to be cared for after death. What is the most earth friendly option currently available for after death care? Recompose is arguably not just the greenest but also the most careful about honoring the entire life cycle of our bodies. By composting human remains until they become soil, the planet is enriched. Partnering with land trusts when loved ones don't want the soil ensures that the cycle can always be completed. Join us to learn more about the process and the people who have pioneered it. Already available in Washington state, they ant ..read more

Have you ever noticed that after similar traumas, at similar times of life, with so much in common, some people remain traumatized indefinitely, some recover through resilience, while others transcend and grow? Although there is a certain amount of mystery and we can't accurately predict which path a given person will follow, there are ways to favor growth and meaning after trauma. In fact, most therapy involves addressing the person's traumas in order to move forward better than before. But still, understanding the way traumas affect the brain and body, what qualifies as trauma for each perso ..read more

Warren Kozak thought he had prepared himself for the death of his wife. He knew he would feel sad but had no idea that he would have to invent a new Warren. In the absence of her larger than life presence, he felt unmoored and alienated. Slowly, over time, he became a new version of himself. Because he is a journalist, he chronicled every step, including the resources he accessed to understand this new territory. He met with widowers, read books, tried many things in an attempt to get a handle on the experience of losing his wife. In the end, it was only putting one food in front of the other ..read more

Roshni Kavate and Rebecca Servoss noticed in their own grieving the lack of services to support grief, especially for people across all identities. They committed to creating a new paradigm for grief support, built on hope, joy, and the strength of the human spirit. Their organization, Marigolde, they sought to support grieving boldly, loving tenderly, and celebrating the blooming, visceral transformation that unfolds in grieving people. As two nurses trained in offering support and committed to inclusion in all their rituals, practices and writings, they are creating a vision of Revolutionary ..read more

Growing up with a father who was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer when she was seven, Laurel Braitman was taught survival skills from then on. Out of her own fears she embraced the lessons, hoping they would prevent the terrible possibility of losing her father. Of course, this isn't what happened. But Laurel would be well into her adulthood before she realized there was one key skill she hadn't learned- how to grieve. Finally mature enough to tackle her complex feelings, and unable to avoid them any longer, she set out on a hero's journey. Join us as we talk about the courage it takes to f ..read more

When Tembi Locke spent a college semester in Italy, it changed the course of her life. Meeting Saro, the man she would love and marry, filled her with joy and also challenged them both to bridge the gap between his Sicilian farm family and her Houston Texas family of civil rights activists. Over time their persistence and courage began to connect their two families. But no struggle before it could have prepared them for Saro's ten years living with cancer, his death, and Tembi's grief. Who could have predicted that Tembi would find her way forward in grief at the table of her mother-in-law, in ..read more

After Ann Anderson Evan's beloved husband killed himself, she wondered what could have led him to such an end. He had not seemed suicidal, or deeply depressed, or haunted by demons. She imagined it must be some secret misery he didn't share even with her. She thought they had shared everything! Over time she came to believe that he was transgender. Could his belief that he could never share that part of himself have led to life being too painful to continue? It would take all the skills she had gained over a long lifetime to respond to this grief ..read more

When a declining parent needs help, it creates a delicate balance of care and acceptance. Marsha Gray Hill thought she had found that balance, even as her mother began to show signs of dementia. But then, COVID ripped the rug out from under her, making it impossible to support her mother as she would have liked. In the end, the pandemic was what ended her mother's life. In the process, Marsha learned too much about attitudes towards elders, inadequate support structures and a lack of understanding of what it takes to be a caregiver. In sharing the story of her mother's life, she has given us a ..read more