Grief Is My Side Hustle

Ep. 63. Rebecca Woolf: All of this-A Memoir of Death and Desire

Writer Rebecca Woolf had just asked her husband for a divorce when he is suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer.  In this stunning memoir she invites us in to the complicated truth coming into yourself and a new understanding of love, sex, and living forward after loss. 

 

Learn more about her here:

https://rebeccawoolf.com

https://www.romper.com/profile/rebecca-woolf-63961506

 

 

Ep. 62. Returning to Work after Loss: Aaron C

Join my conversation with Aaron C as he shares his experience returning to work after the death of his wife Tiffany from Covid at age 46.

Ep. 61. Stephanie Foster: Comedian--Without Rhyme Nor Reason TouEE

Without Rhyme Nor Reason Comedy Tour Kicks Off in Support of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Among Young Women

Led by Stephanie Foster, the Tour's Lineup of Female Comedians

Will Perform at Sorority Houses Across the Country

 

Comedian and mental health advocate Stephanie Foster 's comedy tour boasts an all-female lineup includes Xazmin Garza, Courtney Bee, Brittany Schmitt, Dicey, Jalisa Robinson, Ryan Rogers, and Nicole Tran – comedians with diverse viewpoints who are all coming together around the critical issue of supporting mental health and suicide prevention among young women. The tour will stop exclusively at sorority houses across the country.

 

Compelled to make a difference after losing a close friend and sorority sister to mental health challenges, Foster has created a program that will address critical mental health issues with a mix of humor and informative dialogue.

 

"This tour is in honor of my incredible friend and aims to address mental health issues head-on," said Foster. "As someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, I believe that when we make extremely tough topics and challenges more approachable, there is a much greater likelihood of connecting individuals and encouraging them to reach out for support when needed. I'm so grateful for the talented women that are a part of this tour and am hopeful that we can help start a much-needed conversation.”

 

The Without Rhyme Nor Reason comedy tour launches as the U.S. faces a mental health crisis among children and young adults. Fueled by pandemic era challenges, recent data shows that suicide attempts among young people have dramatically increased over the past two years. A 2021 U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory report stated that Emergency Room visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same period in early 2019. Also, in 2021, the American College Health Association released the National College Health Assessment that stated one in four students had relayed to have had suicidal thoughts, whereas two percent of those had attempted suicide within the last year.

 

https://www.instagram.com/withoutrhymenorreason/

 

https://www.instagram.com/slufoster/

 

Ep. 60. Nancy Green: Pet Loss

Today Meghan Talks with Nancy Green, RN, BS, CPC, ELI-MP, Grief Coach, Pet Chaplain, Ordained Minister, ELI-MP

Nancy shares with us her own experience with pet loss, loving animals and serving the pet loss community.  She is trained across multilevel grief work platform and brings spiritual seeking to her work.

You can find more about Nancy at her platform

Speaking of Grief

https://www.instagram.com/speakingofgrief/

Sowing Seeds of HOPE after Loss. Grief is about more than death. Grief is not a problem to be solved. It is a story of LOVE and loss and my heart is open to hear your story

 

 

Ep. 59. Mark Chesnut: Author of Prepare For Departure

At an early age, award-winning travel writer, Mark Chesnut, learned to dodge discomfort by jumping on the nearest plane, bus or car. That tactic proved especially useful when his single mother made it clear that there was no room for discussion about his gay identity.

Mark, overwhelmed with wanderlust, shoplifts in airports, avoids Southern Baptist salvation, acts like Hillary Clinton in a nursing home, and dresses in drag with his grandfather. He even creates an imaginary airline and flies away.

Now, as 89-year-old Eunice Chesnut moves to a New York City nursing home to be near her son, Mark's obsession with travel takes a backseat as he embarks on the most emotional journey of all.

More than an end-of-life memoir, more than a collection of childhood memories and travel stories, Prepare for Departure showcases what happens when a permissive mother and a mistfit son face death while revisiting life. Buckle your seatbelts for a witty, touching and darkly humorous trip—through time, loss, forgiveness and acceptance.

https://www.markchesnut.com

Ep. 58. Joe Meyer: A CEO who talks about Mental Health

Joe is Founder & CEO of ExecThread , a VC-backed crowdsourcing platform and premium job-sharing network that enables 225k+ professionals to access the “hidden job market”. ExecThread is the largest global aggregator of unpublished executive-level job opportunities.

Joe has been a successful start-up CEO and operating executive at high-growth tech companies including HopStop (acquired by Apple), Quigo (acquired by AOL) and eBay (EBAY) with a strong track record of recruiting teams, launching new products, raising venture capital, growing traffic, eliciting engagement, scaling revenue and achieving liquidity.
https://execthread.com

 

Ep. 57. Jennifer Blackburn: Fitness trainer, family impacted by gun violence

*Trigger Warning* This episode contains reference to death by gun violence and suicide

 

Jennifer Blackburn is a dynamic group fitness instructor, cycling coach and personal trainer. She holds multiple certifications and her classes are customized using the latest conditioning technologies which are the backbone of her results driven programs. She is an ambassador for Lululemon and has appeared in NBC4, Discovery Health and written articles for Business Insider, Washington Post, Self.  Jennifer was named on of Dc's top trainers by Washingtonian Magazine.  She resides in Maryland with her husband and 5 children.

Ep. 56. Rabbi Steve Leder: Author of For You When I am Gone

In this episode I talk with the incomparable Rabbi Steve Leder about his new book "For You When I Am Gone" and the emotional legacy we leave our loved ones.  I was so touched by his warmth intelligence and spirit of hope.

 

 

http://steveleder.com

Ep. 55. Hope Edelman: Motherless Daughters

Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking, and leading workshops and retreats in the bereavement field for more than 25 years. She was 17 when she lost her mother to breast cancer and 40 when her father died, events that inspired her to offer grief education and support to those who cannot otherwise receive it

Hope’s first book, Motherless Daughters, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and appeared on multiple bestseller lists worldwide. Hope’s most recent book, The AfterGrief, offers an innovative new language for discussing the long arc of loss. She has published six additional books, including Motherless Mothers and the memoir, The Possibility of Everything. Her work has been translated into 14 languages and published in 11 countries.

Hope has also published articles and essays in numerous publications and anthologies, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, Parade, and CNN.com. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa.  She is a certified Martha Beck Life Coach and has also done certificate training in narrative therapy

Ep. 54. Justin Yopp: Founder of Widowed Parents Program

Today we talk to Dr. Justin Yopp about the widowed parent program he and a colleague began after noting a lack of group support particularly for young father's recently bereaved. 

https://widowedparent.org

Dr. Yopp is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UNC. He is a member of the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital where he provides inpatient as well as outpatient assessment and therapeutic services for children and adolescents with cancer. He also works with children whose parents have serious medical illnesses such as cancer. His research is in the area of children’s adaptation to cancer. Dr. Yopp came to UNC from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, where he served as a clinical psychologist and coordinator of the inpatient consultation-liaison service. Prior to working at St. Jude, Dr. Yopp completed his internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Central Michigan University and completed a pediatric psychology externship at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He is a native of Raleigh.