Carla Fernandez, author of the book "Renegade Grief," was just 21 years old when her father José died. She felt ill-equipped to handle her grief alone, so she started reaching out to friends. What began as a simple potluck dinner with other young adults who'd also lost parents grew into The Dinner Party, a nationwide movement with tables in over a hundred cities. At these gatherings, grievers share food, stories, and the complicated reality of loss. In this episode, Carla tal

Child life specialist Jessica Correnti helps kids and families navigate loss, change, and big life transitions. In this episode, she tells Sarah why children often experience grief in short emotional "bursts"; why they process grief best through play; and why it's best to talk to kids honestly about death and dying. Jessica also shares  her deeply personal story of pregnancy loss, and how that experience inspired her books, "Forever Connected" and "The ABCs of Grief" series.

Animal chaplain Kaleel Sakakeeny was overwhelmed by grief after the death of his cat Kyro. And even though pet loss is an incredibly common experience, Kaleel felt like he had nowhere to turn. So, he took matters into his own hands: Kaleel became an animal chaplain, an ordained pastor, and a pet loss and bereavement counselor. He also founded the nonprofit Animal Talks, which supports people who've lost a pet, and helps others become certified to provide counseling. Kaleel te

Poet Jenny George was always drawn to writing about death and dying, even before she lost her wife to ovarian cancer. In her latest collection of poems, "After Image," Jenny uses the lens of grief to describe caring for and losing her sweetheart, and to explore what it means to live in the shadow of her death. Jenny tells Sarah about the challenges of writing about dying, and also why her grief sometimes makes her feel like "an old baby." Transcript: [00:00:00] Jenny George:

Mary Roach is a New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed science writer who once thought science was boring. She has traveled the world and written fascinating, humorous books about the human body and its curiosities. Today she discusses three of them with Sarah: "Stiff," "Six Feet Over," and her latest, "Replaceable You." They also talk about how our culture got so squeamish about dead bodies, and where we might go after we die. Learn more about Mary Roach and her won

Social worker Lisa Keefauver was just 40 years old when her husband died from cancer in her arms. She has since become an outspoken grief activist, helping people identify, understand, live with, and talk about their grief through her book and podcast, "Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch." Lisa tells Sarah why scuba diving is a metaphor for life, how to metabolize your grief over a lifetime, and what to do when grief catches you off guard in the most unexpected moments. You can find mor

Psychologist Dr. Lucy Hone studies resilience, a topic that hit especially close to home when her 12-year old daughter Abi and two friends were killed in a car crash in 2014. She tells Sarah how her close knowledge of resilience informed her grieving, why humans are hardwired to cope, and what role her grief over Abi plays in her life now. Lucy also shares practical tips for anyone who is grieving from her first book, "Resilient Grieving," and previews her new book about livi

Palliative care physician Dr. BJ Miller survived a near-death experience and lost three limbs at just 19 years old. In this intimate conversation, he tells Sarah how confronting mortality reshaped his purpose, and opened his heart to awe, humor, creativity, and love. BJ has been on a mission to redefine end-of-life care through his work at Mettle Health and his book, "A Beginner's Guide to the End." He invites you to challenge the fear and silence around death, and imagine a

It's time for the annual holiday episode, and this year we're revisiting a few of our favorite conversations from 2025. (It was tough to pick, they are all favorites!) You'll hear excerpts from Sarah's interviews with puppeteer Basil Twist; death educator Joél Simone; poet Danusha Laméris; journalist Oliver Burkeman; and writer-illustrator duo Suzy Hopkins and Hallie Bateman. Each of these guests brought a new perspective on death and grief to our podcast. We are grateful to

Basil Twist is a world-famous puppeteer. His first full-length production, Symphonie Fantastique, flipped the audience's concept of the...

Quan Huynh's story details the resilience of the human spirit. His book, "Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While...

This mother-daughter, writer-illustrator duo, has created two illustrated books together. The first stemmed from Hallie's painful...

In my conversation with poet Danusha Laméris, we talk about how art, poetry, grief, and language can keep you grounded. She reads from...

Lauren Canaday has lived quite a life. Two lives, if you ask her. In her memoir, Independence Ave: How Individualism Killed Me and...

Oliver Burkeman's latest book, "Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts," is a...

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer knows grief. Her dad and son died in the same year. Like her latest book, The Unfolding, if this interview were...

Joél Simone is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, spiritual death care educator and the founder of the Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy. She's helping to revolutionize the death care industry by educating practitioners about culturally sensitive protocols and death care for communities of color. In this episode, we talk about everything from restorative art, to various disposition methods, to how Covid impacted the death care industry. Joél also talks about gro

Rabbi Neil Blumofe is the senior rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, Texas, and has been part of that community for 26 years!...

Daryl Horton is the senior pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. He explains why community is a key tennant of his faith...

Like authors, faith leaders are a great source for language about life and death. Venerable Jue Ji is a Buddhist nun who grew up in...