82. Reclaiming a Joyful, Meaningful Life after Loss: with Tara Accardo
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

82. Reclaiming a Joyful, Meaningful Life after Loss: with Tara Accardo

In today's episode, I chat with Tara Accardo—a Grief & Transformational Life coach and the host of the podcast Life With Grief—about finding a joyful, fulfilling, and meaningful life again after loss.

Grief expert David Kessler describes this as the “sixth stage of grief” in his book Finding Meaning. Now to be crystal clear: this is NOT referring to finding meaning in the death or horrific event, it’s referring to finding meaning in your life after the loss.

“Finding meaning” is different for everyone. It might involve completely changing your life; it might be folded into small but significant moments. For many people, it’s when we try to answer the question “what now?” after a loved one’s death. Tara and I talk about this, and much more.

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81. Grief Note: How I Untangled a Toxic Belief
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

81. Grief Note: How I Untangled a Toxic Belief

In today’s Grief Note episode I talk about a time when I untangled a toxic belief—or story—I was holding related to my friend Lauren’s death.

It’s not uncommon for us to create stories around our loss. David Kessler talks about how when we create a story “that is not true and is not helpful,” we can “get stuck in the narrative.” In other words, stories can complicate our grief.

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77. Finding New Purpose after Traumatic Loss: with Brendan Shaw
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

77. Finding New Purpose after Traumatic Loss: with Brendan Shaw

In today's episode, I chat with guest Brendan Shaw about navigating the many complex layers of tragedy and grief, and finding new purpose in life, after a traumatic loss. Since the 2022 murder of his brother, Philip, Brendan has been using storytelling, social media, and community work to process his own grief and help others feel less alone in theirs.

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76. Remembering Poppy Chancellor: with The Grief Gang's Amber Jeffrey
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

76. Remembering Poppy Chancellor: with The Grief Gang's Amber Jeffrey

In today's episode, guest Amber Jeffrey shares stories about her beloved friend Poppy Chancellor, who died in September of 2023. The two of them met through their grief work in 2019 – Amber with The Grief Gang, and Poppy with The GriefCase – and what followed was a deep, loving friendship and creative partnership.

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71. Update on My Grief Journey: True-Crime, Rage, and Justice
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

71. Update on My Grief Journey: True-Crime, Rage, and Justice

Rather than an interview, this is me giving you a real-time update of my grief journey right after hearing some very important news about the man responsible for my friend Lauren’s death. This is sort of a Part 2 to episode 68 (My friend’s death is part of a True Crime. Can I talk about it?)

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69. The History and Evolution of Female Friendships
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

69. The History and Evolution of Female Friendships

Today’s episode is all about friendships. I talk to my guest Sydney about the book “Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship” by Kayleen Schaefer. This book includes history, sociological perspectives, research, and more, about how female friendships have evolved and changed over the years.

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66. Grieving a Friend Who Betrayed You
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

66. Grieving a Friend Who Betrayed You

How do you process your grief when an ex-friend has passed away? Today I talk to Alex Kuisis about the complicated and messy grief that can come after an ex-friend’s death – in her case, the death of a friend who had majorly betrayed her—falsely accusing her of 7 felonies she did not commit (which she details in her memoir Truth Matters, Love Wins).

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65. How to be a Grief Ally
Hannah Rumsey Hannah Rumsey

65. How to be a Grief Ally

If you’ve ever wondered how to support your loved ones who are grieving – far beyond the initial weeks of grief – you don’t want to miss this episode. My conversation today is with author and psychotherapist Aly Bird about her book Grief Ally, which teaches us how to support the bereaved.

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