Jeremy's mom was a protector, an optimist, and someone who held onto a sense of lightness - even after a cancer diagnosis that led to her death just a few months later.

In this episode, Jeremy shares what it was like to navigate such a short window between his mom's diagnosis and death, and how her outlook continues to shape him and his grief. From visiting her just before her death to to time spent in the woods bow hunting, he describes the ways he still feels connected to her.

After her death, Jeremy's connection to nature and hunting became a foundation for staying close with his mom. From finding a deer skull to a particularly challenging hunt, he felt her presence and support come through. Jeremy also turned to reconnecting with his Filipino heritage, joining a grief group, and moving to be closer to family as ways to cope with the loss.

At the heart of this conversation is the idea of ongoing connection - how relationships with people who have died can continue and evolve over time.

Note for listeners: This episode includes non-graphic references to bow hunting and the death of an animal. Please take care while listening.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Grief after a rapid illness and loss
• Staying connected to someone who has died
• The role of nature and ritual in grief
• Finding support, even when you're unsure
• Honoring family, culture, and heritage

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Want to learn more about supporting children and teens who are grieving? Sign up for our online courses here: https://classes.dougy.org/

What does it mean to live with uncertainty - especially when your body, your capacity, and your sense of self are all changing at once?

In this episode, Jana is joined again by author and advocate Marisa Renee Lee. You may know Marisa from her first book, Grief Is Love, or from her work helping people tell the truth about grief. In this conversation, she returns to share about her new book, Waiting for Dawn, and the realities of living with long COVID - an experience that has reshaped her daily life, her work, and her understanding of grief.

Marisa reflects on the many losses she's navigated over the years: the death of her mother when she was 25, a pregnancy loss, the recent death of her beloved dog, and the ongoing grief of living with chronic illness. We explore how grief shows up not only after someone dies, but also in the loss of health, identity, and certainty.

Marisa shares how she's learning to live within that uncertainty, from asking for (and accepting) help, to finding small, sustaining moments of joy, to letting go of who she used to be. The conversation also touches on parenting through grief and illness, including how Marisa talks with her young son about death, and what it's been like to watch him develop his own relationship with grief.

We discuss:

• The difference between grieving a person and grieving your own health
• How long COVID has reshaped Marisa's identity, work, and daily life
• The loneliness of illness and the challenge of asking for help
• Parenting through grief and talking with children about death
• The impact of cumulative loss and how different losses intersect
• Letting go of who you were before loss or illness
• Finding "micro joys" and small footholds in hard seasons
• The role of faith, hope, and rest in navigating uncertainty

Find Marisa: marisareneelee.com Get the book: Waiting for Dawn — available April 7, 2026

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Want to learn more about supporting children and teens who are grieving? Sign up for our online courses here: https://classes.dougy.org/

Shelby Forsythia is well acquainted with grief. After a series of losses that started in her late teens and culminated in the death of her mother from cancer, Shelby became an expert in avoiding and outrunning her grief. Then, an incident with a stolen wallet broke through that avoidance; in the aftermath of letting those feelings out, she realized she needed to give herself permission to grieve. Since then, Shelby's done so much in the realm of grief support—as a coach, author, and host of the Grief Grower podcast. Shelby's newest book, Of Course, I'm Here, Right Now, written for friends, family, and community members, provides answers to the ubiquitous question: "What do I say to someone who is grieving?"

We discuss:

• The "four years of hell" when Shelby experienced multiple losses.
• The stolen wallet incident and the loud, messy grief eruption that followed.
• Why people fear falling into the abyss of grief if they start crying.
• Three stories people who are grieving tell themselves.
• The three phrases that help dismantle those unhelpful stories.
• What people said after Shelby's mom died vs. what they said after her best friend Tami died.
• How to start the conversation with someone who is grieving.

Connect with Shelby Forsythia: https://www.shelbyforsythia.com/
Her latest book, Of Course, I'm Here, Right Now, is out on 3.31.26.

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Want to learn more about supporting children and teens who are grieving? Sign up for our online courses here: https://classes.dougy.org/