Bury Me In NJ

This week, I’ll be sharing my interview with my long-time friend Kristen Fowler as we both speak candidly about our shared grief experience in a topic not often discussed: the grief that comes after divorce.During our conversation, we discuss some of the complicated aspects of loss related to divorce that go beyond the dissolution of the marriage, including the other relationship

This week, I’ll be sharing my interview with Laura Smothers-Chu, CEO & Founder of Befriended Heart, who speaks candidly about her fertility journey. During our conversation, which was recorded in October during National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, we explore the various situations she and her husband have navigated in their desire to become parents, including n

This week, I’ll be sharing my interview with my long-time friend, Joyce DeStasio. During our conversation, she shares her experience giving birth to her baby girl, Alaina, at 27 weeks, and the subsequent 104 days Alaina spent in the NICU before passing away the following February.Joyce shares how her initial documentation of her daughter’s medical care soon evolved into writing

This week, I’ll be sharing my interview with Jillian Ryan, my long-time friend, and fellow S. Jerseyean where we discuss her experience with losing her daughter, Isabelle, during her 8th month of pregnancy. During this discussion, Jill talks about how she handled her grief in the weeks and months immediately following the loss of her daughter; how the experience has shaped her as

This week's episode features Effie Anolik, founder of Afterword, an online funeral planning service offering virtual and in-person memorials, as well as a combination of the two. Effie garnered inspiration for Afterword after experiencing the sudden loss of her own father, and realizing that the funeral industry offered no convenient ways to funeral plan online. Using her exte

This week, we're sharing our conversation with Lori LoCicero and Lisa Pahl, creators of The Death Deck, a game and conversation tool consisting of 112 cards, allowing friends and family to share thoughts, stories, and preferences about life and death in a relaxed way.Lori and Lisa first met when Lori’s husband, Joe, was on hospice and Lisa was their hospice nurse. The two fe

For our Season 4 release, we spoke with Emma Payne, founder and CEO of Grief Coach, a text message-based platform that provides personalized grief support to the bereaved and people in their inner circle throughout the year. During our conversation, we discuss the personal experiences that drew Emma to developing this service, the difficulties many grieving individuals face after

In our final episode for this season, we speak with Penny Smtih, a hospice nurse who's gained a viral following on TikTok for helping to normalize conversations about death and dying. During our conversation, we talk about what led her to pursue work as a hospice nurse, the ways helps people navigate their death experiences, and what inspired her to share her stories through s

This week we speak with Co-Founder & CEO of GatheringUs, Noha Waibsnaider. Based on her own experiences of organizing memorials and funerals as part of a large family, Noha was determined to help other families honor their loved ones in a way that was easy and convenient. With the onset of COVID-19, and the global travel restrictions set in its wake, the need for alternative an

Today's conversation is with pioneer and established thought-leader of pet death care, Coleen A. Ellis. She uses her decades of experience to assist those mourning the loss of a beloved animal companion and bring much-needed continuing education to the veterinary industry to help better guide clients through the loss of a pet. Produced by Nick Rumaczyk. Theme music "P to