All Episodes

October 7, 2025 56 mins

What happens when your world is shattered in an instant?

When Sally McQuillen lost her 21-year-old son Christopher in a tragic accident, her life split in two. In this conversation, she shares what it means to keep living with love and purpose while carrying unimaginable loss. Her story reminds us that grief and gratitude can sit side by side, and that choosing to keep your heart open is an act of profound courage.

Three things you’ll hear in this episode:

  • Why sobriety at 25 gave Sally the tools to face later grief with intention
  • How she has carried Christopher’s light forward while honoring her own healing
  • The ways grief reshaped her understanding of strength, vulnerability, and connection

Listen to this episode to hear Sally’s raw and beautiful reflections on love, loss, and the choice to keep going.

Guest Bio:

Sally McQuillen, LCSW, CADC, is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in addiction recovery, grief, and trauma healing. An avid reader with a background in writing and dance criticism, she began her career in public relations and marketing before pursuing her master’s degree in social work. Sally is the author of Reaching for Beautiful, a memoir about love, loss, and carrying her son Christopher’s spirit forward. She and her husband live on the north shore of Chicago, where they raised their three children.

https://www.sallymcquillen.com/

For ad-free early access to episodes, bonus content, and ways to support the show, join the community at www.patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcast.

Subscribe, rate, and share The Life Shift Podcast wherever you listen. Stay connected at www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Dateline NBC

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

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.