Meghan Riordan Jarvis: What No One Teaches Us About Loss

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I’m joined by Meghan Riordan Jarvis, trauma trained psychotherapist, grief and loss specialist, TEDx speaker, and host of Grief is My Side Hustle. Meghan is also the author of End of the Hour and Can Anyone Tell Me, and creator of the Grief Mentor Method.

Meghan’s story is both professional and deeply personal. After the loss of her father to cancer and the sudden death of her mother just two years later, she found herself plunged into a level of grief that no amount of training had prepared her for. Checking herself into inpatient care, she came face to face with the reality that most of us are never taught what to do with grief, even those who are supposed to help.

In this conversation, we explore:
• Why therapists are often not trained in grief, and what that means for those seeking support
• The difference between “normal” grief and when grief becomes traumatic
• How unresolved grief shapes our lives and sense of connection
• The six core components of the Grief Mentor Method, and why movement, nourishment, and ritual matter
• Learning to tolerate grief as energy in the body rather than something to “fix”
• Why we need cultural change around grief education, support, and bereavement

Meghan’s honesty about her own breakdown and recovery is powerful. She challenges the myths we are told about grief and shows how truth, embodiment, and simple practices can open a way forward.

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