S1E1 - Titanium Roads with Rev. Felicia Allen

In this episode of In the Processor, host Rev. Dr. Juana Jordan sits down with certified grief counselor and Fellow of the American Academy of Grief Counselors, Rev. Felicia Allen, for a raw and tender conversation about what it means to grieve well. Juana explores with Felicia how our brains build "titanium roads" to those we love—neural pathways so strong they remain long after our loved ones are gone. Together they examine why Americans struggle to grieve, how cultural norms shape our mourning, and the liberating truth that grief and gratitude can occupy the same space.

Show Notes:

• 7:24 Felicia shares how God placed her on the oncology ward—the last place she wanted to be—and how that assignment launched her grief counseling journey
• 12:48Why we grieve more healthily in community, and how demonstrative grief across cultures is often pathologized in American healthcare settings
• 26:25 The "titanium roads" metaphor: how neurons build pathways to our loved ones from the womb, and why grief requires us to build new roads off the old ones
• 45:59 Grief rituals—from funerals to t-shirts with loved ones' faces—and why these practices are sacred tools for processing loss
• 55:02 Reframing "how can I move on?" to "how can I not?"—and why grief and gratitude can occupy the same space