Remember the last time you tried to talk about grief and suddenly everyone left the room? Grief Out Loud is opening up this often avoided conversation because grief is hard enough without having to go through it alone. We bring you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children &…
In 2022, Steph Tupper's two older children, Ali and Joe, were killed in a car crash. Ali was 16 and Joe was 14. Four years later, Steph is still learning how to live with the reality of losing her children while continuing to parent her youngest daughter. In this episode, Steph talks openly about the devastating night she learned Ali and Joe had died, the ways she continues to feel connected to…
When physician and writer Sh a nda McManus was fourteen, her mother died after living with ovarian cancer. Three years later, her grandmother - the person who became home after that loss - was killed by a drunk driver. Then, while Shanda was in medical school, her younger brother Monir was murdered on Christmas Eve. For years, surviving meant staying busy. Planning funerals. Managing paperwork.…
When it comes to children and grief, there's a lot we misunderstand . Adults might think they are either resilient and unaffected, too young to understand , or irreparably broken by the death of someone in their life . In reality though , their experiences of grief can be just as profound and complex as those of the adults around them. In this episode of Grief Out Loud , Jana talks with C ertified…
For many, September 11th is a shared, historical tragedy. But for today's guest, it is a personal anniversary - the day his father died. David Ferrugio was twelve years old when his dad was killed in the World Trade Center. Twenty-five years later, his grief continues to unfold - from recently sitting with his father's forensic file at the 9/11 Memorial to hosting his own podcast, DEAD Talks ,…
What happens when grief isn't an exception, but a constant presence? In this episode, Jana talks with researcher and educator Nora Gross about her book, Brothers in Grief: The Hidden Toll of Gun Violence on Black Boys and Their Schools , which follows the two years she spent embedded in a Philadelphia boys' high school where students were grieving repeated losses from gun violence. Through…
Is it harder when someone dies suddenly, or when you know their death is coming? It's a question that comes up often in grief spaces, and there's no easy answer. Both are hard - just in different ways . In this episode, Aimee Craig talks about grieving the deaths of both of her parents under very different circumstances. Aimee's dad died suddenly when she was 23, during a season of major life…
How do you talk with children about death, dying, and grief - especially when the truth feels impossible to say? Most adults feel unprepared to tell a child that someone in their life has an advanced serious illness or has died. There's often a deep desire to protect kids from pain, avoid overwhelming them, or wanting to wait until there's a "better" time to talk. But children often already sense…
Have you ever found yourself trying to outrun grief? That's what Camila Crews did when she was 19 and her mother died. Twenty years later, following the heartbreaking disappearance and death of her father, Camila stopped running and started feeling. Unable to just keep pushing through, she had to face her grief and learn how to care for herself in the process. Facing her grief inspired Camila to…
In December of 2021, Sawyer was halfway through their final year of college in a world that was still reeling from the pandemic. Home for the holidays, Sawyer got the heartbreaking news that their older brother, Jason, had died by suicide - a before-and-after moment that continues to reverberate today. Sawyer shares their nuanced perspective on grief, delving into how mental health, incarceration,…
Acknowledgment, validation, and curiosity – meeting grief with these three elements is crucial in creating supportive, culturally relevant grief support environments for children and adults. Dr. Allen Lipscomb has spent his career researching , designing, and implementing anti -racist interventions that directly support not just grief from death loss, but also the grief from ra cialized trauma…