The Grief Gang

Welcome to the parenting without a parent series of the podcast! This topic has been one that has been widely requested throughout the years of GG and I'm finally getting round to it and can't be happier to have started this conversation with today's guest.For the first ep in this series, we're meeting Will Hunter Howell. Will is a bestselling author and the creator of The Pretty Painful Grief Book, a journal full of carefully crafted prompts to help you navigate your own grief journey. Having lost his Dad in a plane crash on his 3rd day at university, when he was just 19, this journal is the result of Will's own experiences with life after loss. An unapologetic space for you to stop pretending you're okay and start feeling it all—every raw, messy, f*cked-up emotion that comes with losing someone you love.Will shares with us in this episode what it was like for him to lose his dad at an incredibly young age and in incredibly tragic circumstances. Will walks us through his experience of becoming a Dad and the nuances it presented for him and still does. The question's we might ask ourself when it comes to our parenting styles - the styles we might pull on from our parents and the ones we leave behind. How we memorialise and tell our children about their ancestors and who they come from. Lastly, how we tend to our own grief whilst navigating becoming another human beings protector, provider and safe space. Will is so candid in this episode and I loved every minute of our chat, I hope you do too! Find and purchase Will's book via the links below:Book: Available on Amazon or linktr.ee/prettypainfulgriefbook Instagram @prettypainfulgriefbookTikTok @prettypainfulgriefbook***Please forgive the slight clicky noises throughout this ep. I tried my best to fix it but alas. It's the conversation that matters!***Big love,Amber xxxConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the loss of a parent in childhood leaves more questions than answers? In this episode, I'm chatting with Alvin Carpio, film maker and campaigner as we explore his journey to the Philippines in 2022 to retrace the life of his late father who died when Alvin was 9 years old.Through the lens of childhood bereavement, we follow Alvin in his film 'Rites' on his emotional pilgrimage to the country his father called home. Piecing together memory, his father's and his own identity and what continuing a bond with him now looks like. Alvin shares with us in this episode the layers, complexities and journey of what it is like to be a bereaved child and how that experience has shaped him throughout his life.About Alvin: Alvin Carpio is a campaigner and filmmaker. He is the founder of the School of Social Justice and director of rites, a short documentary film about childhood bereavement, grief, and healing. Born and raised in Newham, East London, Alvin’s work is currently focused on how people can face their demons in order to achieve liberation — drawing from his own journey of confronting grief to find freedom and purpose.Watch Rites:I really hope you enjoyed this episode and through Alvin's story have perhaps felt inspired to explore what storytelling is to you. To watch Rites for free on Youtube on Father's Day, follow the link below to register: https://schoolofsocialjustice.com/register-for-rites/As mentioned in the episode, it is now confirmed that the World Premiere of Rites will take place on Friday 13 June 2025 at a beautiful, state-of-the-art cinema at UCL East, One Pool Street Cinema, in Newham, East London. If you would like to attend, please email alvin@schoolofsocialjustice.com with the subject like: “World Premiere”.Big love,Amber xxxConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Christmas episode 2024! The episode where we hear from you, the listener. Thank you to everyone who wrote in or sent a voicenote for this special yearly episode. You make this episode magical!I am sending every one huge love and light as navigate this Christmas. Whether it's your first or tenth Christmas without your loved one, know that you are not alone. I hope this episode can really highlight that for you.Whatever you do today, I hope you can find a moment to stop, reflect and remember. Do what you need to get through, we've got this.Thank you all for a wonderful season 7 and 2024. This community means everything to me, thank you for letting me into your lives in so many ways. I'll see you in 2025 for season 8!Big love,Amber xxxConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks episode is a bit of a diary dump. Verbal diarrhoea if you will!I've been feeling a bit stuck, if I'm totally honest. Creatively constipated, and it's been tough. As I've been grappling with the unfolding of my new identity since Poppy's death, the penny has well and truly finally dropped as to what that means for me as a creative. How this grief and life changing loss has sculpted my creative identity and the rut I'm in at the moment. It's very kitchen table-esque style. It might make sense to some of you and if it does, I'd really really love to hear from you. I know I need community in this experience to see me through, I want community in this experience.So if you identify as a creative in any shape or form and relate to this or have navigated through this creative ickiness in grief, please do reach out. I'd really love to be in touch and find ways we can navigate through this together. Find our creative selves again and welcome all the new unfolding parts of ourselves.Big love,Amber xxxConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this insightful part 2 episode, I'm deep diving into the intersections between grief and the nervous system with my friend Meghan Riordan Jarvis, a renowned grief therapist and trauma expert. Together, we explore how our bodies react to loss and how understanding the nervous system can empower us to navigate grief with self-compassion. Meghan shares practical approaches, including vagal toning techniques and her signature Six Mentor Methods (keep your eyes peeled for this!), to support nervous system health throughout the grieving process. We also answer questions from you, The Grief Gang listeners, addressing your experiences and concerns about how grief impacts your well-being and nervous systems.If this episode landed with you, I'm excited to share that Meghan and I are cooking something up off the back of your wonderful feedback to our episodes. This will be a workshop hosted by me and Meghan , where we’ll take a deeper dive into understanding and tending to grief through nervous system support. This workshop will cover hands-on strategies for managing grief’s impact on the body and exclusive insights into Meghan’s Six Mentor Methods.This workshop will be taking place in the 2025 New Year, but we wanted to get the word out nice and early to gauge interest. So if this sounds up your alley, be sure to register your interest below to receive early access and updates about this incredible workshop!Register interest here for Grief, the brain and nervous system workshops.Resources Mentioned:•"Grief is crime prevention" Instagram post Amber mentioned early in the episode. •Vagal toning exercises - From Neurodivergentinsights.com•Can Anyone Tell Me? - Meghan's new brilliant book!Big love,Amber xxxConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, I'm welcoming Sara Rian.Sara Rian is a poet, self-published author, mother, wife, licensed therapist, and griever living in Metro Detroit. She has been drawn to grief poetry ever since her mother's death in 2018. Her mother embraced the power of words through her own love notes and poems and had always wanted to publish a book. As a mental health professional, suicide loss survivor, and grieving human, Sara shares her work with others to let them know that they are not alone in their big love or big grief. Sara opens up in this episode about the complexities of grief that come with such a profound loss through suicide, and how she found solace and healing through the power of words and poetry. Her experience shines a light on the struggles and emotional waves that follow, offering a compassionate perspective for others who may be grappling with a similar experience.Towards the end of the episode (Where Sara also shares some exclusive poetry with us!) Sara explains how writing became and is a vital outlet for her to express feelings that often felt too overwhelming to speak aloud. Writing that makes and made her tremble as she put pen to paper. Poetry provided her with a space to give voice to sorrow, confusion, guilt, and hope, helping her to process and navigate this world of grief.This episode also touches on the healing potential of writing for others facing grief. Sara encourages us to explore our own creative outlets and to remember at the core of it all, our why. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or have never tried poetry, I hope Sara’s insights will inspire you to take that first step, to embracing writing as a gentle companion on this path of grief.Connect with Sara Rian:•Instagram •Website Big love,Amber xConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to season 7!In this episode, I'm diving into the journey of navigating the year of firsts after the death of my friend, Poppy. I explore how grief impacts our personal and professional lives, the ways disassociation can emerge as a coping mechanism and can actually be beneficial, and the unexpected lessons I've learned in healing and personal growth. You’ll also hear for the first time on the podcast what it has been like starting a business in the midst of the most emotionally weighted time of my life.Key Topics Covered:•Grief and the “Year of Firsts”: What navigating the year of firsts has been like for me, even with 8 years of grief under my belt already. My unexpected pleasant experience of Poppy's 1 year anniversary and what it has taught me, once again.•Coping with Disassociation: Understanding and sharing how disassociation as a coping mechanism during intense grief has kept me afloat and it's positives to me.•Building a Business During Grief: My insight into starting a business while navigating personal loss.It feels really good to be back and I hope you enjoy this episode and the season ahead!Big love,Amber xConnect with The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Share this episode with someone who might need to hear it today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And it's a wrap for Season 6 of TGG podcast!What a whirlwind of a season it's been. One I'll never forget, that's for sure. I decided for this final episode, I wanted to hit the pavement again. Get outside in nature to bring this season to a close.Thank you all, for your continuous love and support for this podcast. It means more than you'll ever know.Big love,Amber xFollow and be part of The Grief Gang community:Enquire about Grief Gang 1:1 and group circle mentoring hereBook onto a Grief Gang group circle hereInstagramTwitterFacebookYoutubeTikTokSubstackWebsiteSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/thegriefgang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.