Grief Is My Side Hustle

Anna Whitson Donalson: Author Rare Bird-Child loss

Meghan Sits down with Anna, who talks about the impact of her mother's death when she was just 18, and the tragic death of her son Jack when he was just 12.  In this hope filled conversation, Anna gives us a glimpse into what her grief feels like eleven years later, and graciously lets Meghas ask a question that had pagued her since she was 9.

 

Anna's Bio

Anna Whiston-Donaldson is a popular author and speaker whose New York Times bestselling book, Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love chronicles the raw, early grief of losing her 12 year old son in an accident. Selected one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014, Rare Bird resonates with readers looking for hope in impossible circumstances. Her children’s book, A Hug from Heaven, speaks to grieving children from the point of view of a loved one who died.  Anna has been featured in The Washington Post, Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day, Time Magazine, and other publications both print and online. She lives with her family in the Virginia suburbs and blogs at An Inch of Gray.

website: annawhistondonaldson.com

https://www.facebook.com/aninchofgray

instagram: @annawhistondonaldson

 

Colin Campbell: Author of Finding The Words and Grieving Father

In 2019, Colin Campbell's two teenage children, Ruby and Hart, were killed by a drunk driver. In the thick of this tragedy, Colin turned to the many books on grief that line shelves but ultimately realized they were unhelpful and failed to provide the insight he desperately sought. Channeling his grief, he wrote his new book (out March 14th) FINDING THE WORDS and a solo performance piece titled Grief: A One Man Shit-Show In LA (March 17-19) and NYC (March 29-April 16). You can find that info here. 

In FINDING THE WORDS (3/14/23; Hardcover; TarcherPerigee), Colin offers practical advice on how to survive in the aftermath of loss. By actively reaching out to their community, performing mourning rituals,and finding ways to express their grief, readers will learn how to live more fully while still holding their loved ones close. Campbell shines a light on a path forward through the darkness of grief.

While processing his own grief, Colin realized that much of the common wisdom about coping with loss was unhelpful—that it is a private and mysteriousprocess and that the pain is so great that there “are no words.”While detailing his beautiful and personal account, Campbell also provides practical and actionable methods he and his wife took to navigate their profound grief. Inside, you can expect both a series of journaling prompts as well as concrete action plans to practice active grieving. Unlike in other books about grief, Campbell articulates certain truths such as the act of
leaning into the pain, becoming an active protagonist in our journey through grief, and more.

 

To learn more about Colin:

(https://colincampbellauthor.com/

 

What’s Your Grief: Grief Clinicians Eleanor Haley & Litsa Williams

Sit down with Meghan as she talks with the outstanding duo fo Eleanor Haley and Litsa Williams to talk about the publication of their recent book–What's Your Grief: Lists To Help You Through Any Loss

 

Eleanor Haley, MS and Litsa Williams, MA, LCSW-C are the co-founders of the online
community What’s Your Grief, one of the largest online grief and bereavement support organizations. Both are mental health professionals
with a collective 25+ years of experience working with people coping with all types of
complicated losses and life transitions. Eleanor and Litsa met while supporting families who had lost loved ones to traumatic andunexpected deaths in Baltimore, MD. Drawing on their personal and professional experience with grief, WYG was built as a resource offering concrete, practical, creative, down-to-earth, and relatable support, founded on the values of psychoeducation and creative coping. It has grown to serve more than 5 million visitors each year. Eleanor holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD and Litsa received her master's degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, as well as a master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Warwick (UK). They have been interviewed as grief experts for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and New York Times. They co-authored the book What's Your Grief: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss.

 

Christie Tate: Losing Female Friendship--B.F.F a Memoir

 

One of the luckiest things is my life is counting the extraordinary Christie Tate amongst my friends. She is warm, brilliant and an incredible writer.  In this discussion we cover all the aspects of what makes female friendship so beautiful and complicated.  Christie shares the story of the death of her dear friend, which she chronicles in the book, and how that impacts life now.

From the author of Group, a New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club Pick, comes a moving, heartwarming, and powerful memoir about Christie Tate’s lifelong struggle to sustain female friendship, and the friend who helps her find the human connection she seeks.

After more than a decade of dead-end dates and dysfunctional relationships, Christie Tate has reclaimed her voice and settled down. Her days of agonizing in group therapy over guys who won’t commit are over, the grueling emotional work required to attach to another person tucked neatly into the past.

Or so she thought. Weeks after giddily sharing stories of her new boyfriend at Saturday morning recovery meetings, Christie receives a gift from a friend. Meredith, twenty years older and always impeccably accessorized, gives Christie a box of holiday-themed scarves as well as a gentle suggestion: maybe now is the perfect time to examine why friendships give her trouble. “The work never ends, right?” she says with a wink.

Christie isn’t so sure, but she soon realizes that the feeling of “apartness” that has plagued her since childhood isn’t magically going away now that she’s in a healthy romantic relationship. With Meredith by her side, she embarks on a brutally honest exploration of her friendships past and present, sorting through the ways that debilitating shame and jealousy have kept the lasting bonds she craves out of reach—and how she can overcome a history of letting go too soon. But when Meredith becomes ill and Christie’s baggage threatens to muddy their final days, she’s forced to face her deepest fears in honor of the woman who finally showed her how to be a friend.

Poignant, laugh-out-loud funny, and emotionally satisfying, B.F.F. explores what happens when we finally break the habits that impair our ability to connect with others, and the ways that one life—however messy and imperfect—can change another.

https://www.amazon.com/B-F-F-Memoir-Friendship-Lost-Found/dp/1668009420/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37RCYO7UH0X95&keywords=b+FF+Tate&qid=1675950529&sprefix=bff+tate%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-1#customerReviews

Katie Reilly: Writing Through Double Parent Loss

 

In this episode, Katie C Reilly sits down to talk double parent loss with Meghan.  The two parentless daughters discuss the hard lessons learned and role grief has played in life changes.

A Former Lawyer found her priorities shifting along with her emotions after her mother's death from ALS and then her father's death from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma soon after. Katie made a shift to writing, and hasn't looked back.

 

Katie C Reilly is a freelance writer based in Oakland, CA. Her writing primarily focuses on women's health, mental health and parenting and has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Elle Magazine and The Cut, among other publications. You can find more of her writing here. 

Father Loss with Author Natasha Sizlo: All Signs Point to Paris--A Memoir of Love, Loss and Destiny

All Signs Point to Paris is the true story of my search for a second chance at love and it all happened because of a wild astrology reading. Natasha had hit rock bottom in almost every way in the fall of 2018: She was a divorced single mom struggling to make ends meet, she'd just broken up with the boyfriend she thought was The One, and, worst of all, her beloved dad was dying. Natasha's life seemed to be going from an all time low to worse. And then her occasionally woo-woo but always there for me best friend stepped in with an answer: a reading with her astrologer, who happened to be one of the most sought-after astrologers in the world. Natasha decided to try it, skeptical though she was. Why the f*ck not?, she thought. Whatever else had been guiding me was NOT working.

We don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but that reading led Natasha to search, very seriously, for hot soulmate: a man born in Paris on November 2, 1968. That date was aligned with her astrological point of destiny. It also happened to be Natasha's ex boyfriend’s exact birthday and birthplace. But she’d decided (for very good reasons) he could not and would not be The One. She became hell-bent on finding every other man who might be. It took almost a year, and a lot of help from friends, family, and even strangers around the world, but finally, in October of 2019, she was ready to pack my bags for Paris. She had found, if you can believe it, fifteen potential soulmates to meet. Natasha's older sister and two of my best friends (including the one who started all this in the first place!) came with her to Paris, riding shotgun on her search for love, each for their own reasons. It was the perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong?

https://natashasizlo.com

Shane Phillips: Transforming Loss Into A Comprehensive To Finacial Matters After Death

First Steps Founder & Creator Shane Phillips

has over 27 years of experience in banking and financial services, and two decades of community service in grief care, Shane Phillips offers a unique perspective on financial issues and death. At the age of 16, Shane experienced the loss of his parents and sister in a plane crash. His parents had no life insurance, no estate plan, a lot of debt, and few assets. Despite the loss of his family and the ensuing financial challenges, Shane graduated from high school and college. He went on to a successful career in financial services for both regional and international financial institutions.

In 2004, Shane co-founded The Children’s Grief Education Association (CGEA). For over six years, the CGEA provided free grief counseling to over 400 Denver area children. The CGEA was merged into The HeartLight Center in 2011. From 2011 – 2014, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The HeartLight Center. Shane and his wife Valerie live in Castle Rock, CO. They have five children ranging in age from 12-21.

https://firststepshelp.com

https://heartlightcenter.org/first-steps-seminar/

 

 

Ondi Timoner: Daughter Documentarian–The Last Flight Home

In this podcast Meghan talks with Ondi Timoner, a documentary film maker and daughter of Eli Timoner about her beautiful, revolutionary film The Last Flight Home.

"Behind a white picket fence, on an unremarkable suburban street, we discover Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida, the fastest growing airline in the world in the 1970's. During his final days, we discover his extraordinary life filled with incredible success and devastating setbacks, and most importantly, an innate goodness which won him the enduring love and support of his family. Through stunning verité footage recorded by his middle child, LAST FLIGHT HOME takes audiences on a heart-wrenching ride through Timoner’s life, illustrating a modern day success story built on the power of human connection.

Two-time winner of the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC) Ondi Timoner returns to the festival with an intensely intimate verité film about her family’s harrowing journey to find closure.  As they open up their lives to offer an enlightening view of a universal experience, they demonstrate the grace and connection that can emerge from embracing death. Through laughter and joy, they share a lasting legacy which demonstrates how we might live, even as we die."

Denise Tordella: Trauma Therapist discusses Grief in Coercive Relationships

In this podcast Meghan sits down with Denise Tordella, a trauma informed therapist from the DC metro area who works with women who have experience domestic violence and coercive relationships. Denise highlights the many losses that come living from being isolated in relationships and the complicated grief that can arise as survivors begin to heal.

https://denisetordella.com

https://www.theferentzinstitute.com

 

Jay Newton Small: Founder of MemoryWell

Jay Newton-Small is CEO and founder of MemoryWell, a patient engagement platform and SaaS that is personalizing how health insurers connect with their members.

 

Previously, Jay was Washington correspondent for TIME Magazine, where she remains a contributor.  At TIME she covered politics as well as stories on five continents from conflicts in the Middle East to the earthquake in Haiti and the November 2015 Paris terror attacks. She has written nearly a dozen TIME cover stories and interviewed numerous heads of state, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

 

She authored the 2016 best-selling book, Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works.

 

Before TIME, Jay was a reporter for Bloomberg News, where she covered the White House and politics.

 

Jay received an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and undergraduate degrees in International Relations and Art History from Tufts University. She is a 2017 Halcyon Incubator fellow, a 2016-2017 New America fellow and a 2015 Harvard Institute of Politics fellow. She is the 2016 winner of the prestigious Dirksen Award for congressional reporting and the 2016 Deadline Club award for community service reporting.

https://www.memorywell.com