Marisa Renee Lee | Waiting For Dawn

Marisa Renee Lee returns for a second conversation with host Lisa Keefauver to discuss her powerful new book, Waiting for Dawn, which delves deeply into the nuanced experience of living with ongoing uncertainty, particularly in the context of grief, chronic illness, and systemic challenges. As always, Marisa is candid, warm, and witty - offering insights that empower listeners to navigate life's unpredictable moments with resilience, honesty, and hope.

Key Topics:

• The concept of gray grief and navigating ambiguous, non-death losses
• How chronic illness like long COVID reshapes our understanding of identity and community
• The importance of acceptance and honest acknowledgment of pain as a pathway to healing
• Practical frameworks like the spoon theory for managing energy and emotional resources
• Building hope through honest assessment, action, and flexible pivoting
• Recognizing systemic barriers, especially internalized ableism, in our journey of acceptance
• The active practice of healing as ongoing rather than a fixed destination

ABOUT GUEST

Marisa Renee Lee is the award-winning and bestselling author of Grief is Love. For her work on grief and healing, she has been featured on Good Morning America and NPR, in Vogue and The Atlantic, among other outlets. Her new book Waiting For Dawn (out in April 2026) reflects on her experiences with chronic illness and grief, offering solace to folks living with all kinds of uncertainty. A longtime rabble-rouser of social healing and equity, Lee previously served as a deputy director in the Obama White House and is now CEO of Beacon Advisors, a social-impact consulting firm. She is a graduate of Harvard College and lives with her husband Matt and son, Bennett, in New York.

Website: www.marisareneelee.com

Instagram: @marisareneelee Substack: https://marisareneelee.substack.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisareneelee LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisareneelee/ The Book: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/marisa-renee-lee/waiting-for-dawn/9781538770191/

ABOUT THE SHOW & HOST

Lisa Keefauver is an author, keynote speaker, narrative therapy trained social worker, widow, assault & cancer survivor turned grief activist on a mission to help us center aliveness in a world full of loss by reimagining the narratives of grief, one conversation at a time.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LISA: at https://lisakeefauver.com/

ACCESS GRIEF SUPPORT: https://lisakeefauver.com/support

READ BOOK: Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss. https://bookshop.org/p/books/grief-is-a-sneaky-bitch-an-uncensored-guide-to-navigating-loss-lisa-keefauver/ffd73d6b6921e6b5?ean=9781477329306&next=t&

READ ESSAYS: AFGO with Lisa Keefauver on Substack - https://afgowithlisakeefauver.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

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