Welcome to Season Three, a shorter season devoted to exploring how families and kids respond to the grief associated with fire losses. Laurel Braitman is the best-selling author of Animal Madness and What Looks Like Bravery, the latter of which is a memoir about losing her father when she was a teen, then her family home in a fire when she was an adult, and soon after that, her mother to cancer. Laurel knows a lot about adolescent grief and fire loss, so I knew she'd be a great guest to kick off this season devoted to the recent wildfires in Los Angeles. Laurel shares deeply about the loss of her father and how her coping mechanisms of striving for excellence in all things didn't end up serving her very well as she matured. Losing the family ranch in a wildfire brought some things into focus, and she was able to support her mother at the end of her mother's life. I learned a lot from this conversation about how such different types of losses were inextricably linked in Laurel's life. Being a writer, she's articulate and insightful about the various strands of grief and how they've become part of her story.
To hear another interview with Laurel about fire loss, I recommend her interview on rebuilding after fire with Slate's, "How To" podcast.
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Special thanks to Josephine Wiggs for the song "Time Does Not Bring Relief" from her album "We Fall."
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