Don't Forget To Breathe

Rena and Bruce look at another layer of the Holiday Sandwich, and talk about more personal experiences and offer resources, help lines and text lines to have close if you feel overwhelmed during the Holidays.

We find ourselves in the Holiday Sandwich; the space between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In this episode, Bruce talks very candidly about the Thanksgiving experience he just had, his STERB of anger and what comes next.

With the Holidays upon us, we discuss the impact the Holidays have had on them, along with what's coming up this year. We talk about the necessity of allowing yourself to do and feel what comes up for you during an especially emotional time of the year. We also put out a call for you to send a message to the loved ones who won't be with you this season.

In this episode, we try to explain what it means by "Doing the Work". And by doing do, Rena gets very open and personal about a loss she experienced this week, and how she is doing the work.

The word "grief" has typically been associated with death. In this episode, Rena and I discuss the actual meaning of Grief, and begin talking about the 40 different forms of Grief. In a world full of trauma and loss, you will encounter many people in your daily life that are grieving. Let's talk about that and the need to create space for Grief.

In this episode, Rena and I continue our "unperson" session from Nashville, as we discuss finding your joy during celebratory events, all the while you continue your journey through grief. We talk about some specific tools that can help you navigate the invitations that may or may not come.

Can you experience joy at a special occasion when you are in your journey of grief? Is it even ok to feel joy? What will people think of your tears? Does it mean you are "moving on"? Rena and Bruce dive into this subject and discuss those questions in this special episode recored just a few days before Bruce's Son's wedding.

Have you been in the grocery aisle, maybe near your child's favorite snack or food; maybe it was a certain brand of chips? And you could hear your child asking for their favorite; really hear their voice in your mind? Rena and I dive into those moments when the chips start to talk in the grocery aisle.

We are diving into a few ways survivors feel a sense of guilt,  or is it just another form of grief. We talk about how that can manifest itself into a sense of not allowing yourself to feel joy, and if you do have a moment of joy, it might be immediately followed with a sense of guilt. That guilt can be debilitating and lead you to anger, sadness, and even depression and despair.  But is it really "guilt"?

In the first season of our podcast, you got a very clear view of who I am by me telling my story. Now that we've added a Co-Host, I think it’s important for you to get to know her and hear her story as well. Rena is a Certified Grief Specialist, but so much more...

We begin Season 2 by adding a very special co-host, Rena Ooi, a Certified Grief Specialist. Rena has walked in your shoes in a powerful way. She will share her story in Season 2, Episode 7.
In this Preview, we talk about some of the subjects we will discuss this season and how we hope to help you navigate your grief and recovery.

This will be a really short chat; I didn’t plan on doing an episode for a couple of weeks, but this thought popped up and I wanted to share it. This will be short, but hopefully, you will find something in it that might help. The big theme of my New Year’s Message…YOU MADE IT!

It was time to go back to Denver; time to get out of Louisiana; time to leave behind the horrible experience of burying my daughter. There was nothing to live for any longer. I was cloaked in despair; a walking death-wish. But someone had another plan for my life. This is the story of a divine encounter that changed everything.

From the moment I entered the Funeral Home until the time I exited, I was left with a lasting impression of the "business" of funerals. On top of being there because my child had died, the experience was one that I hope no parent will need to go through, even though I know it happens every single day to someone.

So on a day like any other, I got the call no parent ever wants to get, or ever really imagines they will, and one they never should. My daughter was dead. This episode covers the moment my life changed forever, and the living nightmare that began the next chapter of my life.