The Death Dialogues Project Podcast

Bethany Harvey is a debut memoirist whose book, "Dipped In It," reached the best seller list on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon when released in July of 2021. "Dipped In It" came to life when Bethany’s "gratitude journaling" went awry. In "Dipped In It," Bethany’s daily reflections during a period of deep grief explore the question, “Can gratitude and grief coexist?”  The answer is a resounding yes, as Bethany learns that we can rage, weep, belly laugh, and ache over the beauty and fragility of life—all in one day, hour, or moment. It all gets to belong. Bethany is a deep thinker and feeler, the mother of two inspiring children, and the owner of a much sought after childcare center in her home State of Rhode Island. Her daughter is showcasing the gorgeous cover she created in the photo.

Michele Benyo is a mom of two, a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist®, an early childhood educator and parent coach, and the founder of Good Grief Parenting. After her 6-year-old son died of cancer, her 3-year-old daughter said, “Mommy, half of me is gone.” This heartbreaking statement defined Michele’s life purpose. Her mission is twofold: to help parents through the unimaginable challenges of parenting while grieving the death of a child, and to help parents meet the unique needs of a child who has lost a sibling in the early childhood years. The desire of Michele’s heart is to see families live forward after loss toward a future bright with possibilities and even joy. 

LINKS: www.goodgriefparenting.com https://www.instagram.com/goodgriefparenting/ https://www.facebook.com/goodgriefparenting/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentsraisingyoungsiblings 

*******  Thanks for being here! Please consider subscribing and rating The Death Dialogues Project Podcast to help us get these episodes in front of folks who need them. The book Death and its Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Beautiful Lessons: field notes from The Death Dialogues Project is on sale everywhere you buy your books. Here's one link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9c25rt As the Kiwis say, this project runs on the smell of an oily rag (read: no income or funding)-- the purchase of the very affordable book will go towards costs for running this project. "Just finished this wonderful resource by Becky Aud-Jennison called, Death and Its Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Beautiful Lessons. If you have any desire to learn the effects the death of a loved one has on us, read this book. It is one of those lovely books that combines story, science and the experience of the author to illuminate a profound topic in an understandable way." - Jennifer A. O'Brien, author of Hospice Doctor's Widow Edit audio

Rachel Lewis is a foster, adoptive and birth mom. After a 5-year battle with secondary infertility and the losses of five babies during pregnancy, she now has three children in her arms and a foster son in her heart.

As the founder of the Facebook support group Brave Mamas, she is passionate about helping others through their grief. She is a contributor to Still Standing Magazine, Pregnancy After Loss Support, and Filter Free Parents. Rachel holds bachelor’s degrees in Theology, Bible, and Speech Communications.

Rachel wrote the book Unexpecting: Real Talk on Pregnancy Loss as a way for other parents experiencing similar loss to connect and know what to expect. You can find Rachel’s book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. My conversation with Rachel spans talking about platitudes, to paper plates, and the grief she felt as she experienced unprecedented loss. 

**************

Thanks for being here! Please consider subscribing and rating The Death Dialogues Project Podcast to help us get these episodes in front of folks who need them. The book Death and its Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Beautiful Lessons: field notes from The Death Dialogues Project is on sale everywhere you buy your books. Here's one link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9c25rt As the Kiwis say, this project runs on the smell of an oily rag (read: no income or funding)-- the purchase of the very affordable book will go towards costs for running this project. 

 "Just finished this wonderful resource by Becky Aud-Jennison called, Death and Its Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Beautiful Lessons. If you have any desire to learn the effects the death of a loved one has on us, read this book. It is one of those lovely books that combines story, science and the experience of the author to illuminate a profound topic in an understandable way." - Jennifer A. O'Brien, author of Hospice Doctor's Widow

Margaret was born and raised in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has lived there, in various corners of the country, apart from ten years in the UK. Her interests and areas of work have shifted over the decades, but a strong underlying theme is always a passion for the growth or evolution of people of any age. This includes people who are dying. Margaret has a deep interest in death and dying, especially in opening people to the gifts in dying, gifts which she feels are often not experienced in Western society because of a cultural resistance to death, even so-called ‘timely’ death. Margaret has three adult children and four precious young grandsons who bring her much joy. 

Find Margaret at https://www.margaretmccallum.com/

Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

Read our new book Death and its Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Beautiful Lessons: field notes from The Death Dialogues Project. Available as e-book, hard cover, paperbacks and audio book. Find it where books have sold. Have you tried this indie online offering? https://bookshop.org/books/death-and-its-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-beautiful-lessons-field-notes-from-the-death-dialogues-project/9781945060359

Find the audio book here: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/death-and-its-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-beautiful-lessons

Thanks for being here!

Hi! I’m the real Lisa Bain, the blogger behind The Wandering Widow and author of Heart of a Kingdom. 

A few years ago, I was just like everyone else I knew. I was on the corporate career track at a company I loved, caring for my aging parents, and taking life’s adventures one day at a time with my soul mate at my side. I had a plan. I knew where I was going, how long it would take to get there, and had the action items to propel me towards my life goals. 

All that came screeching to a halt in 2016, when my husband died of a very aggressive and rare form of cancer, just nine months after my dad died of Advanced Parkinson’s Disease. I couldn’t hold it together and watched in horror as my carefully crafted life imploded. The loss of the two men I loved most in the world ripped off the cover on every other loss I’d buried deep inside, forcing me to face them all. I couldn’t function, and the people in my life didn’t know how to help me. 

With THE WANDERING WIDOW I started writing to work through my grief. I had been in corporate sales and marketing. Creative writing had been on my radar but became a saving grace as I tried to figure out who I was in this new widow life. I started my blog The Wandering Widow as a way to express the feelings I couldn’t verbalize amid my raw pain. I always wrote for myself, but the feedback I received from other widows encouraged me to share my blog to a wider audience. I committed to share all the ugly and beautiful bits of my grief journey as a way to both stay on track for my healing and also to help others. We live in a grief phobic society. If my snarky accounts of my story can help shed light on the needs of the grieving, help the bereaved feel less alone, and help family and friends with suggestions on how to help, then I’m in 100%. And a journey it became. I left that corporate job, my home, and my friends and family and set out to travel the world by myself for a year. (That year never ended, in case you were wondering.) By this point, I’d added short stories and angsty poetry to my journaling but never planned to write a book. Traveling alone had its lonely moments, and I often took my laptop to a coffee shop and just wrote what I saw. I didn’t want to be a travel blogger but did want to share the things I learned on my travels as The Wandering Widow. And everywhere I went, I encountered my fellow bereaved. I learned that most countries struggle with providing adequate grief support. I connected with widows and widowers who were desperate to share their stories and say aloud the names of the ones they lost. I’m grateful to now call many of them friends. 

While my grief will always be her cornerstone of my writing, I've moved further afield and am now and internationally published poet and working on my second novel.

Find Lisa on social media @thereallisabain and @lisanainwrites and her website www.thereallisabain.com. 

Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

Barbara Karnes, RN Award Winning End of Life Educator, Award Winning Nurse, NHPCO Hospice Innovator Award Winner 2018 & 2015 International Humanitarian Woman of the Year While at the bedside of hundreds of people during the dying process, Hospice Pioneer Barbara Karnes noticed that each death was following a near identical script. Each person was going through the stages of death in almost the same manner and most families came to her with similar questions. These realizations led Barbara to sit down and write Gone From My Sight, "The Little Blue Book" that changed the hospice industry. Gone From My Sight is the original, and remains the most widely used, patient/family educational booklet on the signs of approaching death. It has been in print continuously since 1985 and has sold over thirty million copies world wide. With its publication and distribution, Barbara created one of the most important tools in the end of life movement today. Barbara Karnes, RN, is an internationally respected speaker, educator, author, and thought leader on matters of end of life. She is a renowned authority on the dying process and a leading educator for families, healthcare professionals, and the community at large. Barbara's award winning DVDs and books about death and dying are starting conversations and changing lives - in this country and around the world. In her work, Barbara compassionately explains stages of the dying process, living with a life threatening illness, pain management, and how people grieve. She explains how important it is to take care of yourself as a caregiver and offers guidelines for professionals. Barbara has held both clinical and leadership positions, including staff nurse, clinical supervisor, and executive director at Hospices and Home Health Care agencies. Since 1994, Barbara has traveled the country speaking about end of life issues and the stages of dying at national and state hospice and palliative care organization conferences, state associations, colleges, nursing schools, hospitals, and hospices. She is the expert that hospice and other healthcare professionals count on to teach them how to explain the dying process to families. Barbara has dedicated the last 40 years of her life to the education, care, and support of dying people and their loved ones. The most useful and important things that she's learned along the way have been distilled into her materials. “People don’t understand that there’s a normal, natural way of dying. My materials are written to guide and support anyone who finds themselves addressing end of life situations. The goal is to help people have a positive experience so everyone involved will have a sacred memory to carry with them.” - Barbara Karnes, RN. Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

Laura Davis is the author of seven books, including The Courage to Heal and I Thought We‘d Never Speak Again. Her groundbreaking books have been translated into 11 languages and sold two million copies. In addition to writing books that inspire and change people’s lives, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura loves creating supportive, intimate writing communities online, in person, and internationally. You can find Laura at: lauradavis.net Book Description: Laura’s new memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story is the riveting story of her embattled relationship with her mother Temme, their determination to love one another, and the dramatic and surprising collision course they ended up on at the end of Temme’s life. For the millions of readers of Laura’s first book, The Courage to Heal, The Burning Light of Two Stars is both prequel and sequel, revealing in page-turning, intimate detail how Laura reconciled with the mother who betrayed her, and came to care for her in her final days. Offer for Listeners: You can read the opening five chapters here: www.lauradavis.net/chapters Direct links to buy The Burning Light of Two Stars: Independent Bookstores: Get Signed Copies Through Bookshop Santa Cruz: https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/burning-light-two-stars-get-it-signed) Elliott Bay Books: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781954854161 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-burning-light-of-two-stars-a-mother-daughter-story-9781954854161/9781954854161 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1954854161/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1954854161&linkCode=as2&tag=lauradavis-20&linkId=8a2f02a3d8d282b66785fb136ca02b80 Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-burning-light-of-two-stars-laura-davis/1139198069 Want a Discount When You Buy in Bulk for Your Book Club or Organization? For bulk sales: https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/burning-light-of-two-stars-a-mother-daughter-story--laura-davis?variationCode=9781954854161#full-description Audiobook version of The Burning Light of Two Stars: On Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Burning-Light-of-Two-Stars-Audiobook/B09G8WJQP7 And on Libro.fm for independent stores: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781950144471 Also: If you’re a writer or want to use writing as a tool for healing or self-discovery, you can learn about Laura’s online writing workshops and in-person domestic and international retreats here: www.lauradavis.net * * * * Laura Davis www.lauradavis.net A picture containing text, blackboard, picture frame Description automatically generated My new memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story is available for presale now. Read the first five chapters and check out the great bonuses you can get if you order now: www.lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/ Finalist, Page Turner Awards Free Ebook: Writing Toward Courage: A 30-Day Practice. Click here to receive this beautiful, thought-provoking creative gift: www.lauradavis.net/courage/ Facebook: @LauraDavis&TheWritersJourney Instagram: @laurasaridavis

Lauren is a palliative care doctor, motherless daughter, longtime griever and believer that having a healthy relationship with our mortality is the secret to living a better life. Her podcast, "Talk Dying to Me" shares stories from the crossroads of life and death, and all of the messy bits in between. She hopes her work creates space for fellow mortals to contemplate the harder parts of being human and weigh in on life's greatest mystery. 

You can find Lauren at Intagram and Facebook as @talkdying to me and at www.talkdyingtome.com

Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

Regarding the Living with Ghosts virtual movie screening party for anyone in the world, here is the link: https://www.livingwithghostsmovie.com/joinusdesiree 

This will go live on NZ's Oct 30/US Oct 29 and be available for 10 days. 

This episode is the first interview by our new Death Dialogues Project co-host, Kate Burns. A hearty welcome goes out to her.

Kate has served as an Equal Employment Opportunity and Title IX Investigator and a large Midwest university for the last four years. In this role, she investigates harassment, discrimination, and sexual violence. Kate has extensive training in trauma informed interviewing and takes much pride in connecting with people on a meaningful level. Kate has a masters degree in forensic science which has proven helpful during interviews and also aided in achieving some unexpected accomplishments. After suddenly losing her mom in 2019, Kate found deep purpose in helping others navigate the processes which are encountered with death. Kate began volunteering with the Green Burial Council in February 2021 before being elected to serve a three year term on the Board of Directors. Kate is also in the process of becoming a death doula through the Going with Grace End of Life Planning program. Becoming part of the Death Dialogues Project has given life to Kate’s desire to connect with people who are experiencing/have experienced loss and has shined light on the need for more conversation around grief and loss. 

Here’s what Kameron says about this conversation: 

I can’t say that I remember a point in my life where I wasn’t familiar with great loss. My parents met on the cruise ship where my father worked, and my mother managed to convince him to move to Nebraska (he’s from Turkey and was living in Miami at the time, so the deal must have been pretty sweet). Working on a cruise ship meant he was gone for weeks at a time, which familiarized me with absence at an early age. By the time I was in grade school, my parents separated, and it wasn’t too long after that my father wound up in prison (sentenced to life without parole). I was raised only by my mother through middle and high school, which wasn’t an easy job. When I started undergrad at a local university, I decided to live at home despite my rocky relationship with my mother. One morning at the beginning of my second semester of freshmen year, I woke up to find my mother dead in her bedroom. Unexpectedly I found myself completely without parents, and with my entire adult life ahead of me. 

Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

Dr. Mekel Harris, Ph.D., NCSP, PMH-C, a licensed pediatric and family health psychologist/health service provider (HSP) (and CEO of Harris Psychological Services, LLC), currently serves in private practice in the mid-South, offering psychological evaluation and support to children, adolescents, and families. Further, she offers training/education, consultative, and supervisory services to several local organizations throughout the Memphis area. Pre- and post-doctorally trained at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Dr. Harris specializes in coping and adjustment to acute and chronic illness, grief and loss, and health-related trauma. In December 2020, she completed advanced certification through Postpartum Support International (PSI) in Advanced Perinatal Mental Health. Throughout the past decade, Dr. Harris has presented at over 25 domestic and international conferences, focused on pediatric, family, and community health issues, including grief and loss. Further, she is a TEDx speaker, magazine and podcast contributor, and author of a memoir, “Relaxing Into the Pain: My Journey Into Grief & Beyond.” In her spare time, she enjoys writing, traveling around the globe, and spending time with family, friends, and her feisty Beagle. Dr. Harris’ faith and relationships, coupled with real-life challenges, keep her tethered to what matters most in life. Website: www.mekelharrisphd.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/drmekel IG: www.instagram.com/drmekel Twitter: www.twitter.com/drmekel Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

On May 20, 2014, Susan’s world came crashing down. Her 54-year old husband passed unexpectedly of a heart attack. The years since have been a whirlwind of emotion, trauma & joy (yes, she said joy, thanks mostly to the birth of her grandchildren). Over the next 5 years, Susan experienced additional heartache following the death of her dad & both of her brothers. She knew her only way to make sense of all her grief was to find a way to use her experiences to help others. So, armed with a coaching certificate, her learned experience and inspiration she set out to help the grieving. Initially evolve was created as a site to support others moving forward on their path after bereavement. Yet, in time, Susan recognized that the emotional and financial toll created by death is often made more overwhelming because society shuns all aspects of death. In order to truly make a positive impact, we must shatter the taboo about death. Welcome to Code Blue - an annual day dedicated to conversation and education about all things death. Susan encourages collaboration and dialogue so please reach out to her at evolve beyond grief on her website, Facebook and Instagram. Let’s normalize death – before it kills you. https://www.evolvebeyondgrief.com/ https://www.instagram.com/evolvebeyondgrief/ https://www.facebook.com/evolvebeyondgrief • evolvebeyondgrief@gmail.com Please follow The Death Dialogues Project and learn more about this project at www.deathdialogues.net where you will find links to podcast platforms and our social media. Instagram is our fave social media home @deathdialoguesproject

I grew up with an intense fear of losing my mom. The fear had a grip on me tighter than I realized. Her validation was all I needed in life. I grew up to become successful--earning a masters degree in forensic science and becoming an investigator which is what I had set out to do. She was so proud. I took on a hobby of photography which quickly became a small business.  She loved my photography--she was my  biggest fan.  Everything I did in life, I did for her pride and validation. Then, she died.  My source of self worth was ripped from my world and I was lost.  In the two years since my mom died, I've experienced the intense realization that pride comes from within. It sounds cliche--something everybody knows, right? But I gained a very clear understanding of what it meant to be 'okay' with myself.  Losing my mom was equally the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. It is an experience I feel every single day.  And I vow to not let the negative overpower the positive.  She wouldn't have wanted that.  But more importantly, neither do I. More of my story at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CL__PgQFLZA/?igshid=15w9e4npciqw9 @kate.b.photo Please go to www.deathdialogues.net to learn more about our project & find us on Instagram & FB. This podcast is available on most platforms. We’d love for you to subscribe & leave your comments. 🖤

I am so pleased to bring you this conversation with today’s guest:  My name is Joél Simone Anthony. I am a licensed funeral director and sacred grief practitioner. Originally from Beaufort, South Carolina, I was raised in the heart of Gullah and Geechee culture. Spirituality has always been a huge part of my life and professional approach which is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom passed down from community elders, generation to generation.  During my decade of service in the funeral service industry, I fashioned my unique background and professional experiences into a caliber and style of care and comfort that guides countless families toward healing through the exploration of alternative practices designed to help you navigate and heal through your journey with grief. It is my life's work to educate everyone –regardless of faith, race, age or status – that death, dying and grief are sacred and transformative to our journeys as human beings.  All of Jo’el’s links can found here https://linktr.ee/Thegravewoman Please go to www.deathdialogues.net to learn more about our project & find us on Instagram & FB. This podcast is available on most platforms. We’d love for you to subscribe & leave your comments. 🖤

Brooke Hartman is a wife, mom, and friend. Death became an "old friend" early on in life with the loss of her grandfather- which acted as a catalyst to grief not associated with death. In her journey through multiple deaths of close friends and loved ones, Brooke learned that she had a desire to become more educated in regards to death and death practices She has become a nursing student at her local community college, where it's her goal to become an RN to work in hospice care to help educate and advocate for others regarding death. You can connect with Brooke on IG @bhartman7785. For more about the project please go to deathdialogues.net & find & follow us on Instagram @deathdialoguesproject & at FB. We’d love it if you’d help our mission by subscribing to the podcast & leaving a review. Your support is greatly appreciated. 🖤

This fascinating conversation shares the shocking experience of being introduced to death at the age of 14 while working on the family owned ambulance and how more experiences with death expanded Emily Thiroux Threat to a place where she had a book that had to come out: Living and Loving Your Way Through Grief.

In Emily's words: Having gone through the experience of the death of two husbands and many family members and friends. I have much experience in the grieving process, and I have learned to face life with love, optimism, and joy. I have taught writing many years at the university level. My new book, Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief is being published by Mango Press. I facilitate Writing Through Grief groups to help others on their journey. My Email emily@lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com My website https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/ https://linktr.ee/emily_thiroux_threatt My Private Facebook group Writing Through Grief with Emily https://www.facebook.com/groups/2869332503181276/ My Private Facebook Group Reclaiming Your Joy After Loss https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReclaimingYourJoyAfterLoss/ My Blog where you can sign up to be on my mailing list https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/blog/ My Public Facebook Accounts Emily Thiroux Threatt Greif Transformation with Emily My course delivery site for classes on grief and writing https://www.reclaimingyourjoywithemily.com/ Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/emilythirouxthreatt/ YouTube Chanel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP4Y0hr8M9Nn1x0T40bVmjg

Instagram: @Emily_thiroux_threat