Episode 12: Mina Starsiak Hawk on Cumulative Grief and its Impact

Episode 11: Allison Gilbert on The Joy of Connection and the Loneliness Epidemic

oday, we are joined by journalist, Allison Gilbert, who shares more about her work with connection. Allison Gilbert is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of the most influential writers and speakers on how to find the inner resources to overcome life’s biggest challenges. Through research and lived experience, Allison helps audiences transform grief and loss and find connection amid the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. She is co-author of Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s final book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life.Allison writes regularly for The New York Times, has been interviewed on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and NPR, has presented hundreds of talks to audiences at Amazon, Google, Hearst, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and many other wellness retreat centers, companies, and organizations.Allison is the author of numerous books and hosts “Making Connections,” a monthly conversation series with Reimagine on overcoming loneliness, and previously hosted “Passed and Present,” named after her beloved book, about death and maintaining family bonds. Allison lives in New York with her family. You can connect with her on Facebook and Instagram. Visit her website at AllisonGilbert.com.

Episode 10: Cara Bastone and Grief in Promise Me Sunshine

This week, on Moving Forward with Mia and Julia, Cara Bastone joins us to talk about grief in her new book, Promise Me Sunshine. Cara Bastone is a full time writer living and writing in Brooklyn with her husband, sons, and an almost-goldendoodle. Her goal with her work is to find the swoon in ordinary love stories. She's been a fan of the romance genre since she found a grocery bag filled with her grandmother’s old Harlequin Romances when she was in high school. She's a fangirl for long walks through Prospect Park and love stories featuring men who aren’t hobbled by their own masculinity.

Episode 9: Rebecca Soffer on Modern Loss

Rebecca Soffer is cofounder of Modern Loss, which offers creative, meaningful and encouraging content and community addressing the long arc of grief. She is also the bestselling author of  The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience (Running Press, 2022), which Gayle King named a favorite book of the year. Rebecca is also coauthor of the book Modern Loss: Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome (Harper Wave, 2018), which The Strategist named a best book on loss for a younger generation.Rebecca writes the Modern Loss newsletter, a Substack bestseller that provides intimate interviews with notable figures on their experiences with loss, including actors Cynthia Nixon, Jessica Williams, and Rachel Bloom; poet Saeed Jones; comedians Jena Friedman and Alyssa Limperis; transgender rights activist Raquel Willis; stylist Stacy London; and many more. She hosts the monthly “Light After Loss” Facebook series for 1800Flowers.com and has partnered with several organizations developing tailored projects that promote their mission, including a six-month campaign with the Seleni Institute that raised awareness around perinatal mental health support. She is also an expert contributor for Help Texts.Rebecca is a Peabody Award-winning former producer for The Colbert Report and an alumna of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.You can follow Rebecca on Instagram at @rebeccasoffer and @modernloss.