Living Onwards: Navigating Grief and Finding Hope

Hello and welcome to the all-new Living Onwards podcast! 🎙️ In this episode, the first of season 1, I'm simply introducing what this podcast is about and why you should join us in the future.

First of all, let me introduce myself. I’m your host, Sarah. I have a beautiful adult daughter, two cats who run the house, and a dog who tries her best not to be managed by the cats. I also work full-time. You might wonder why I’m sharing this information upfront, but it’s important because I want you to know who I am and why I started this podcast.

In addition to all that, I’m a widow who lost my husband in January 2024 to cancer after a 10-year battle. We were, and are, a cancer family, and losing him was devastating. Long before we lost Carlos, I grieved the loss of normality in our lives, the future we envisioned, and the constant changes that cancer brought to our door.

This podcast is brought to you by someone who is grieving and has grieved herself, someone who is figuring out how to live onwards. This isn’t about making money or solely about cancer or pet loss. It’s about sharing our stories, hearing yours, and learning together how to move forward, not just move on.

If you’re looking for inspiration in your journey or tips on navigating life’s challenges caused by grief, Living Onwards is here for you. This podcast aims to offer a unique blend of support and encouragement. By tuning in, you’ll discover that others are going through the grief journey just like you and find tidbits that help with your path toward living onwards.

Let’s be real: grief is hard, grief sucks, and it’s not fair. It’s something you have to do, but no one wants to do it. This podcast will tackle tough topics and focus on how to use those experiences to live onwards. We’re not moving on; we’re moving forward together.

Expect some tears and laughter along the way. The Living Onwards podcast is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. You can also listen to episodes directly on our website at livingonwards.com.

Join us on the website where each episode has a blog article with more thoughts on the topics discussed and interesting links. More importantly, you can comment on episodes and engage with me and others in this journey. There’s also a form on the Contact Us page where you can suggest topics or share your own grief journey.

Thank you for listening. I hope Living Onwards becomes a beacon of hope and encouragement for you. Subscribe today to start your journey towards healing and discovering the resilience within you. Share this podcast with anyone who might be interested, and remember, most people find podcasts through friend recommendations.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the all-new Living Onwards podcast.
In this episode, I'm simply introducing what this podcast is about and why you
should join us in the future.
First of all, let me introduce myself.
I am your host, Sarah, and I have a beautiful adult daughter,
two cats who run the house, and a dog who does her best not to be managed by the cats.

(00:22):
I also work full-time. You might wonder why I'm sharing this information with
you so up front, but let me explain why I thought this was important.
In addition to all that I just said, I am a widow who lost my husband in January
2024 to cancer after a 10-year battle together.
We were, and are, a cancer family, and losing him was devastating. dating.

(00:45):
That said, long before we lost Carlos, I grieved the loss of normality in our
lives, the loss of a future, and the constant changes to reality that cancer brought to our door.
So my point is that this podcast is brought to reality by me,
someone who is grieving and has grieved herself, who is going through it now,
by someone who legitimately is trying to figure out how to go about living onwards.

(01:10):
Is this podcast about making money? No. Is this podcast about cancer or losing someone to cancer? No.
Is this podcast about losing a pet type of grief? No, although I love my fur
babies and have lost those too over the years.
This podcast is for me to share our story, hear your stories,

(01:30):
and learn together about how to move forward and not on.
This podcast is intended to be a space where I can bring others who are grieving
the loss of a loved one together so that we can share stories of grief journeys
that we can all gain strength from knowing we are not alone and gain faith that we can do this.
If you're looking for inspiration in your journey or tips on navigating life's

(01:53):
challenges caused by grief, the Living Onwards podcast is intended to be part
of your story in doing exactly that.
This podcast intends to offer a unique blend of support and encouragement for you and each other.
By tuning in, you'll discover others are going through the grief journey just
as you are, and find tidbits that help with your path toward living onwards.

(02:16):
Can we be really honest with each other, though? Grief is hard. Grief sucks.
It's not fair. It hurts. It's something you have to do, but no one wants to do it.
The human condition is death and loss, but that doesn't mean that somehow it's
easy, or that there's a formula, or that there's a book, or that there's a magic method to solve it.

(02:39):
Tough topics may come up in these episodes and in our blog discussions,
but the focus will always be on how to use those experiences to focus on living onwards.
We are not moving on. We are moving forward together.
Might we cry together when a topic or story comes up? I almost guarantee that'll happen at times.
But the tears are always waiting anyways, right?

(03:01):
I always feel that when they happen, it means it's a subject I need to grieve
over to move forward from that specific subject.
Or perhaps my reaction won't be so raw when the topic comes up again.
I'm sure you've encountered what we call the firsts yourself.
I also intend for there to be laughter where it belongs, of course.

(03:22):
The Living Onwards podcast is available on all major podcast platforms,
including Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, or it will be shortly.
Search for Living Onwards and hit the subscribe button to stay updated on new episodes.
You can also listen to episodes directly on our website at livingonwards.com.

(03:42):
If you join us on that website, by the way, you'll find that each episode has
a blog article where I'll share more thoughts on the episode's topics and links
that I might have mentioned in the podcast or just found interesting.
More importantly, you can comment on the episodes and engage with me and others in this journey.
There is also a form on the Contact Us page where you can contact me directly.

(04:06):
If you have a topic to suggest for a future episode or would like to join us,
dare your own grief journey and tell us about your loved one,
that forum is a great place to start that conversation, and I look forward to hearing from you.
As I wrap up here in this introduction episode, I just want to thank you for
listening and sharing with you that I intend for the Living Onwards podcast

(04:28):
to be a beacon of hope and encouragement for those going through the journey of grief and mourning.
This podcast is a safe space of no judgment for all types of grief stemming
from the loss of a loved one.
I hope that you find solace in knowing that you're not alone on your path towards
living onwards after your loss. You're not alone. loan.

(04:50):
Subscribe today to start your journey towards healing and discovering the resilience within you.
Share this podcast with anyone you think might be interested.
And know that most people find podcasts not because they searched for them or
the AI recommended them, but because a friend recommended it to them.
Join us on our website and embrace the power of community as we walk together

(05:14):
towards a brighter tomorrow.
You'll also find on the website there might be bonus content,
like a video version of episodes in the future, and my cats will most likely
join them or the dog, otherwise disrupt them.
See you in the next episode and on the livingonwords.com website.