When her father died of cancer, a few days before her 18th birthday, Laurel Braitman started running. Running towards the academic and professional accomplishments her father pushed her to achieve and running away from the intense shame and guilt she carried about their last conversation. It wasn’t until her 30’s that Laurel stopped running long enough to face her greatest fear: feeling her feelings.
Laurel’s newest book, What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey through loss to love, chronicles her quest to connect with grief and how it led to the biggest adventure of all - opening up to love.
In our conversation we delve into:
Growing up with her father’s illness and the threat of him dying
Running from guilt & shame in grief
Overachieving as a coping mechanism
Wanting to be a “geriatric kid” at Josie’s Place, a peer grief support program for children & families
What Laurel learned about grief from being a volunteer facilitator in that program
Learning a new way of being in the world & staying open to love
Having a “cosmic do-over" in helping her mom at the end of her life
Find The Helpers - Fred Guttenberg
Caregiving For A Parent - Priya Soni & The Caregiving Effect
Grieving While Black - Breeshia Wade
Living With Loss Over A Lifetime - Hope Edelman & The AfterGrief
"Am I Even Safe In My Home?" Collective Grief In Communities With Marginalized Identities - Dr. Amber Nelson PsyD
"I Can't Even Imagine" - Grieving Both Parents
Widowish - Melissa Gould
The Indigenous Death Doula Mentorship Program - Chrystal Wàban Toop
Love Stories - A Griefy Valentine's Special
Ep. 182: Healing Trauma, Attending To Grief - Native Wellness Institute & Jillene Joseph
Ep. 181: "She's Always With Me" - Finding Peace In The Permanence Of Grief
Ep. 180: More Than Just A Number - Grieving When Someone Dies Of COVID-19
Ep. 179: Sons Of Suicide - 50 Years Of Friendship & Grief
Ep. 178: Survivor's Guilt - Julia Mallory
Ep. 177: The Relentless Nature Of Grief - Carmel Breathnach
Ep. 176: Grief In Your Twenties - Amber Jeffrey/The Grief Gang
Ep. 175: Grieving A Mother While Becoming A Mother - Dara Kurtz
Ep. 174: Holidays & Grief + A Pandemic
Ep. 173: Grateful In Grief? Never, Ever Give Up – Allison Hite
Ep. 172: Living After Your Child's Life Ends - Margo Fowkes
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