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It was my honour to interview Alison Tedford and to be sharing that episode with you.
Alison is an Indigenous business consultant and author from Abbotsford, BC. She is an expert in diversity and inclusion communications, a single mom and a woman living with a disability. She regularly writes for large publications and has worked on Indigenous issues for the majority of her career as a former public servant.
I enjoyed our conversation, both for the stories and insight Alison shared, but also the lightness that showed up, too. I always appreciate levity in Big Topics, and this conversation offered it up generously. Like me, Alison has her fingers in many delightful projects and wouldn't have it any other way. She is completing her new book, Stay Woke Not Broke, which is now available for pre-sale here or here, she continues to speak about her book Chronic Profit: Building Your Small Business While Managing Persistent Pain, and has a couple of exciting heart projects on the horizon, which involve rompers (making them!) and coffee (yes, please!)
Here are the ways that you can connect with Alison and follow her brilliance and offerings to the world.
Instagram & FB: @alisontedford
Twitter: @alliespins
Website: http://www.alisontedford.com
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In this solo episode, Tara Caffelle shares grief that has engulfed the city she lives in after the bodies of 215 children were confirmed to be buried on the grounds of Kamloops' former Indian Residential School.
In future episodes, we will seek to amplify marginalized voices, so that we may hear the stories and take action to support all that needs to be done.
Here are some resources to support action, shared with gratitude from Pamela Roach (@pamroach on twitter) who is an Assistant Professor and Director of Indigenous Health Education at the University of Calgary:
The call for a Royal Commission Report
The National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation
Here’s the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). If you haven't already read it, do it now. If you've read it before, review it again.
Calls. To. Action.
Learn about international Indigenous rights.
Read about the impact of colonization and genocide.
And finally, a report on how this racism persists today.
We have work to do.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Welcome to Part II of my conversation with Tina Overbury to talk about her one-woman show debuting later this month. The show is O My God and it will be available for all to screen on May 28th.
We talk about so many things in this episode: the grief entwined in the show, the journey of living in this time and this space, and of soul-deep reconciliation. Not something to miss, I tell ya.
Links to things mentioned:
The release of O My God
The counselling firm of which I am now a part, C&C Resources for Life (and a way to book some time with me, if you wish)
My grief community, which you are always welcome to join, The Grief Room
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It was a JOY (it often is) to sit with Tina Overbury to talk about her one-women show debuting later this month. The show is O My God and it will be available for all to screen on May 28th.
This is the first episode after a substantial break, and I start with a brief explanation of that, before leading us into this brilliant conversation.
We talk about so many things in this episode: the grief entwined in the show, the journey of living in this time and this space, and of soul-deep reconciliation.
Links to things mentioned:
The release of O My God
The counselling firm of which I am now a part, C&C Resources for Life (and a way to book some time with me, if you wish)
My grief community, which you are always welcome to join, The Grief Room
Fleabag (I think I said it was on HBO, but it's actually on Amazon)
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This show is a lovely meander through grief with Shelby Forsythia, founder of The Grief Grower's Garden and the author of Permission to Grieve. After losing her Mom at the age of 21, Shelby sought to heal and make sense of her loss, and along the way, she found the aching beauty of grief in all the corners of our lives. She supports those lost in the everyday moments of grief in their lives.
Our conversation, more than a year ago (due to an unplanned hiatus for Grief: A Love Story!) was a joy, and it is an honour to work alongside such a gifted woman in this arena of grief.
Now, here are all the places where you can find Shelby and be showered by her loving wisdom:
Her community on Facebook, The Grief Grower's Garden The Coming Back Podcast - which Shelby says is the heart of her work (and you can catch my episode there, too!) Her website And finally, on Amazon, where her book, Permission to Grieve is widely available and will enlighten your grief journey in ways you can't even imagine, yet*and the book I mention in the broadcast is When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
It's a treat to be back - I hope you enjoy listening in to this brave conversation.
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It was such a pleasure to connect with Dr. Martha Jo Atkins, who has build an entire career from "moving and out of the spaces" of grief. Our conversation meanders to some beautiful places, and there is no shortage of great resources, insights and information. By way of Official Biography, Martha Jo helps individuals and families create space for meaningful experiences at end of life. Dr. Atkins is the executive director at Abode Contemplative Care for the Dying, an interfaith non-profit whose mission is to care for people at end of life who have no place to go or no one to care for them. Before coming to Abode, Dr. Atkins founded the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas where she served as executive director for eight years. Dr. Atkins researches and teaches about the trajectory of dying. Her first book, Signposts of Dying, is available on Amazon. You can learn more about Dr. Atkins on her website or in our discussions in the Grief: A Love Story Facebook group. Other things we mention in the episode that y'all will probably want to check out: Death Over Dinner (who wants to invite me for dinner??) Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in the video Martha Jo cited when we spoke about infinite receiving. The Zen Hospice Project This is (yet, another) interview that leaves me feeling so completely blessed to have these conversations. I hope you enjoy.
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"Planning for death is a life-affirming act." My guest for this episode is DeAnne Joy, a fellow soldier in grief and death, and like so many of these conversations, I felt we could have gone on for days together. We covered all manner of topics, from advance directives, to mortality, to self-care, to women in crisis to the straight-up vulnerability of releasing a Book Baby to the world. This interview is exactly what I love; layers of topics covered as we meander about, with death and grief as the gateway in. DeAnne is a a master transformation coach, speaker, and author who teaches people about living, and dying, authentically and powerfully. She is a Master Practitioner of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and a licensed clinical therapist with a Masters in Social Work, having worked as a therapist and end-of-life social worker for over 20 years. Drawing on both personal and professional experience, DeAnne specializes in helping women in their 40s and beyond turn their pain into purpose and live a fulfilled and unstoppable life with no regrets. Over the course of her career, DeAnne has helped thousands of people, including celebrities and CEOs in the entertainment industry. She has trained physicians in facilitating end-of-life conversations with patients and families, and is a strong advocate for completing advance healthcare directives to prepare for the future, while fully embracing life today. Her upcoming book, No Regrets: Embracing Death to Awaken to Life - 5 Keys to Living - and Dying - with Joy, Peace and Purpose, is due for release in June, 2018. In the episode, we talk about books. (Obviously.) Here are the ones we mention: Brene Brown - Braving the Wilderness Stephen Levine - Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture Atul Gawande - Being Mortal To connect with DeAnne, you can use the following map coordinates: Website: www.joyservllc.com On Facebook: @DeAnne Joy, @JoyServLLC, or her private FB group, Choose Joy And as always, you are more than welcome to join us on the Grief: A Love Story group - you can share your thoughts on this and any of the episodes, and ask DeAnne or myself whatever questions you have. Download Episode
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"There's a constant stream of grief in parenting." Some conversations are just always delicious and I have never not enjoyed speaking with Gillian Rowinski in the years that I have known her and we have stolen some time to connect. In this conversation, we take a quick-but-deep dive into some of the grief that comes with parenthood (spoiler alert: it's a lot) and, I know I say this a lot, but it's one of my favourite episodes thus far. A little more on Gillian: Gillian is a writer and the creator of Unlearning SuperMom. She is also a certified coach, specializing in neuroscience and transforming consciousness and an HR professional, specializing in leadership development and change management. When she isn't making all that impact professionally, she is also a wife and mother of three kids. I have long-loved her sense of humour and her generous way of showing up in the world. In the episode, I predictably can't remember the name of a great book I am recommending, it is Tattoos on the Heart - The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle, and Gillian mentions Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression by Johann Hari. And we would both invite you to continue this conversation over in the Grief: A Love Story group on Facebook; Gillian and I are both there, so I'm really not sure what would possibly keep you from joining us.
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"We are here to fill the shoes of the dead." Erin Zimmerman is one of those humans who just creates...space. She bounds with joy, she laughs easily, and she seems to make setbacks into stepping stones as she evolves. We crossed paths a little more than a year ago, at a kick-in-the-butt, meet-lots-of-people event in Texas. It was at that event that this podcast was born, actually. I love that she is doing work in the world that matters. Her energy and light caught me immediately. I loved the story of her business and her family, and how she has honoured her own losses in the steps of her business. It was a joy to interview her last fall and I am truly thrilled to post her episode, at last, and share it here. Here is Erin's Official Bio: Erin Zimmerman is the Visibility Guide & Visual Storyteller with her company, Elephant Social. Through small group programs, the Social Elephant Incubator Facebook Group, weekly emails, and 1:1 intensives, she helps business owners and laypeople alike get over the fear and overwhelm of consistent visibility to release their ideas into the world. Because we ALL have a genius inside of us that, when released, will change at LEAST one person's life. She is the queen of bringing ease and flow to the hustle, making vulnerability FUN! Erin is also a photographer/videographer (director and editor) with Doubletake Productions - the company she owns with her twin sister Meredith. When she's not working, Erin likes to lift heavy things, knit, and hang out with her family in Kansas City!
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"Grief is what we are left with." I consider it one of the greatest blessings of my work and my life to have conversations like this one. To have in front of me inspiration, and strength and a poetic, magical way of communicating, is an endless gift. In this conversation with Jana Buhlmann, we explore her sweet grief, Medically Assistance in Dying (MAID), and the gifts that lie in the question of what is left after people we love die. It is one of my Top 5 Conversations of all time, and I hope you'll enjoy it, too. A bit about Jana:
Jana Buhlmann is a mother, a writer, a village member. She earns her living as a bureaucrat, so that she may direct her attention to community. She is passionate about process, community gardening, participatory medicine, flamenco, and her iPhone camera. In the last year she moved to New Westminster, BC, and is enjoying saying hello to people on the street and watching the working river. In September of 2017, Jana supported her husband in his medically assisted death. Her blog tells the stories of her heart.
-- In our interview, Jana mentions several great resources to learn about MAID and supporting a loved one who is living with cancer: Dying with Dignity Canada Bridge C14 Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) I invite you to reach out to Jana on Instagram, where she is @baldgrrl or through her blog (link above) Photo credit: @dayna_foto Download Episode -
It feels weird to let this baby out into the world. You can download a hold-in-your-hot-little-hands copy here, but I wanted to give it a voice, too. And as I mention at the end of the episode, this chapter and the book are a team effort, and I wish to thank my writing coach, Nicole Baute for her gentle and effective championing of my words, Karla Johnson for her brilliant sound engineering, particularly in the intro and extro of the podcast, and of course Bensound for the music that we use. Download Episode
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"We're all each other's teachers." Sometimes (well, a lot of times) I get connected with people who are My People. You know what I mean? People who get me, people who I get. Soul-like connections. Andria Racich (pronounced "rasich") is one of those people and I am so grateful for this conversation with Andria from The Innerview. Andria has been interested in hearing people’s stories all her life. The Innerview was born from the idea that everyone is important and has story to share. It is through taking the time to listen to others, and ourselves, that we can learn from one another. We are all each other’s teachers and hold many of the answers inside of us already. With a background in transpersonal counselling psychology, she has cultivated her skills in listening, compassion, and empathy. Intuitively knowing where to guide her clients, each session uniquely tailored to the individual. Andria believes in community, working together, and supporting one another through personal growth. Stories are so important, and I'm so happy you're here for this one. Download Episode
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Ep 7 One Death, Many Experiences, Many Lessons It's a chapter in the book, and it's just true: a thousand people (and more) will have an experience of each death, and we are all capable (and have permission) to learn and take from each loss whatever is meaningful for us. In this solo episode, Tara talks about the moment this realization came, and what she knows because of it. Download Episode
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"Get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
Cassie Barrett has been a death worker since 2010 and is the Director of Operations at Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, a conservation and green cemetery located in Western North Carolina. Since she was a kid, Cassie has felt a natural connection to death and a deep desire to serve others. Cassie considers her work a form of death activism, working to help society heal its relationship to death, using education, conversation, and art as a way to engage people. Her biggest mission is to encourage and empower people to prepare for their own death and live a fuller life. You can follow her work on Facebook at Death Activism.
Photo credit: Mike Belleme
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"We were a mighty tribe, but we were rudderless. It forced me to grow up very quickly." Ellen Ercolini is a business strategist and gifted coach, and while that may be what you learn about her first, there is so much more to her: she is a veteran of loss and the fortune finder of the gifts her grief has brought her. In this episode, we talk about the waves of impact in a family, growing up too soon, and the priceless wisdom we can all take when supporting grief in the community around us. Ellen Ercolini is a money-making expert and business strategist for creative entrepreneurs. Often referred to as a business visionary, Ellen uses a combination of business acumen, creative thinking and coaching to help clients grow their business and skyrocket their incomes. When she was 20 she lost her father, and several other beloved family members in a 5 year timespan. While they do not define her, those experiences deeply impact who she is today. She's happy to share her learnings around loss and grief to help soften and widen the path for others. There's no one way to grieve, there's no one type of grief, and she's glad to contribute her learnings and experiences to the conversation around healing and love. EllenErcolini.com Download Episode
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"The reason we meditate is to learn how to die." In this conversation with Soul Interpreter, Chris Dierkes, we explore learning to live by being with the dead, the place of "sweet sorrow" in grief, and death as our last great teacher. Chris Dierkes is a Soul Interpreter. A former monk and priest, Chris works to assist individuals in connecting to their soul, aka their deepest unique personal essence. His work advocates for the enduring value and beauty of the soul, a wisdom long-held and in our day forgotten. He writes regularly on topics of contemporary spirituality and its intersection with social justice, pop culture, and politics. Download Episode
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"It was honouring. Like going to war. I had to send it up to be healed." Today, we dive deep into the relationship "half-pipe" between Joy and Grief with Coach, Mother, Speaker, and Empathic Leader, Keri-Anne Livingstone. When Keri-Anne suddenly lost her father in March of 2016, the resulting journey proved invaluable. She credits being "willing to ride the waves" of grief, and "revealing it to heal it" to where she has emerged today. Keri-Anne's irreverent, bold, and unashamed style brings humility and wisdom to the experience of grief. Keri-Anne Livingstone is a comedic speaker, emotional empowerment coach and Intuitive Healer that facilitates the exploration, expression and expansion of Souls who came here to SERVE! She works with Empaths, Helpers and Healers to live, love and lead more daringly through live workshops, group programs and private mentoring in order to get their gifts into the world with more ease, confidence and badassery. Through outlets like her Empathetic Badass Community and LIVE Facebook Show, Daring to Suck, she brings raw, real and radical conversations to light that help humanity navigate Life, Death and all the WTFs in between. Her side soul mission is to find the perfect GIF for every occasion, she makes up words on the fly and will often blurt out mantras like "Bless the Mess and Trust the Process" before she knows they've left her face. Download Episode
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Grief is a call to consciousness Lisa Hartley is a Celebrant based in Vancouver, BC. In this conversation, we talk about the call to grief as a gift, Lisa’s own journey of loss, and (of course) her work as she assists families to craft and design meaningful ceremony for all stages of life. She approaches her work with a simple question: “How do we do this beautifully?" Download Episode
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The true thing is: we will all experience loss. And the choice we have is whether or not we truly feel our grief and ask what it has for us. In 2015, I lost four men in my life and the waves of grief that followed have taught me more than I could have ever imagined.
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