In this powerful episode, Angel chats with Erika Duncan for an honest and deeply moving conversation about grief, faith, self-compassion, and what happens when life asks more of you than you feel able to give.
Erika shares the three defining “stops” of her grieving journey: surviving her husband’s life-altering stroke, navigating the sudden loss of her sister, and losing her father just years later. She opens up about caregiver grief, survivor’s guilt, and the moment when she realized she had been pushing through pain she never fully allowed herself to feel — until her body and spirit could no longer carry it.
Throughout the conversation, Erika reflects on how self-compassion became the turning point in her healing. Not self-care. Not pushing forward. But learning to slow down, trust God, and ask herself the grounding question: What do I need right now? She also shares how faith, therapy, and community support helped her rebuild when “the wheels fell off.”
Together, Angel and Erika explore the reality that grief is not linear, emotions need motion, and healing requires permission — permission to feel, to rest, to receive support, and to be human. As Angel reflects, Erika’s words echo a familiar truth: you need to feel to heal.
This episode is a reminder that strength doesn’t come from holding everything together, grief doesn’t follow a checklist, and self-compassion isn’t selfish — it’s sacred.
💛 Key Themes
Survivor and caregiver grief
Sudden and cumulative loss
Faith and trusting God through unanswered questions
Self-compassion as a healing practice
Therapy and mental health awareness
The importance of community and support
Why grief is not linear and emotions need motion
✨ Connect with Erika Duncan
Instagram: @statgirl97
LinkedIn: Erika Young Duncan
🎧 Connect with The Grieving Journey Podcast
Instagram + Facebook: @thegrievingjourneypodcast
📧 Share your story or inquire about being a guest: thegrievingjourney@gmail.com
Tune in to hear Erika’s story and the reminder we all need: slow down, feel what you feel, and give yourself grace.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.