When someone is deep in grief, the people closest to them often want to help — but don't know how. And the grieving person? They're often too exhausted to explain. In this episode, relationship coach and author Joelle Lydon breaks down what's really happening in relationships when grief enters the picture, how both partners can navigate it without losing each other, and what dating after loss actually looks like.

Joelle talks about the power of making clear and specific requests, why partners often inadvertently short-circuit the grief process by trying to fix things too quickly, and her concept of the sacred third — the relationship itself as something both people contribute to or take away from. She also dives into dating after loss — why transparency beats strategy, why dating is a sorting process not a search, and how companionship can look very different than you'd expect.

Plus: a beautiful in-the-moment insight about honoring a friend through daily "marquee moments" at the dinner table.

Guest Bio: Joëlle Lydon is a relationship coach, creativity facilitator, and the author of Unbreakable Us: Removing the Barriers to Love. For over 15 years, she has guided individuals and couples in understanding the deeper architecture of their relationships — helping them move beyond surface communication strategies into sustainable, embodied connection.

Her work integrates relational systems thinking, nervous system awareness, and creative process to illuminate the patterns that quietly shape intimacy. Known for her clarity, depth, and grounded presence, Joëlle brings both intellectual rigor and heartfelt wisdom to conversations about love.

Based in New York's Capital Region, she is passionate about reframing relationship education as a vital life skill — one that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened at any stage of life.

Connect with Joelle:

https://joellelydon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joellelydon/

https://www.instagram.com/joellelydon/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

What do you do with a loved one's belongings after they die? In this episode, certified grief coach and TEDx speaker Charlene Lam — founder of the Grief Gallery — shares her Curating Grief framework: Collect, Curate, and Create. Each C carries a powerful anchoring question that helps grievers move from overwhelm to intention.

Charlene and the GRIEF Ladies explore how to navigate the emotional weight of physical belongings, what to do when you have too much (or nothing at all), how grief changes the meaning of everyday objects over time, and how to reclaim your narrative — especially when relationships were complicated. Plus: the unforgettable story of commissioning, using, and ultimately smashing her mother's urn.

Whether you're standing in a room full of someone's things or grieving without a single object to hold onto, this conversation meets you where you are.

Guest Bio: Charlene Lam is a certified grief coach, TEDx speaker and the founder of The Grief Gallery. After her mother died suddenly in 2013, Charlene leaned into her creativity and instincts as a curator to guide herself through grief. Her Curating Grief® framework is a creative, accessible way grievers can navigate dealing with the physical stuff and the emotional stuff. Her first book, Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies, is out now.

Charlene's Website: https://curatinggrief.com

Curating Grief Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGLV7X7V

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Polyvagal Theory & Grief: Grounding Tools to Calm Your Nervous System. Grief isn't just emotional — it's physiological.

In this episode (37) of the GRIEF Ladies Podcast, we explore how grief impacts the nervous system and why you may feel anxious, shut down, exhausted, or on edge. Joined by Gabrielle Juliano-Villani, we discuss polyvagal theory, grounding techniques, and practical tools to help regulate your body during grief.

You'll hear:

• How the nervous system responds to loss
• Why burnout and grief often overlap
• The role of self-compassion
• What "glimmers" are and why they matter
• Simple grounding practices you can try today

Grief can feel overwhelming — but small shifts in awareness can create meaningful change.

As always, we close with practical steps you can use this week.

Guest Bio: Gabrielle Juliano-Villani is a business mindset coach and consultant who helps therapy practice owners scale, sell, and thrive without burning out. After building and selling her own 7-figure group practice in 2021, she now combines her expertise as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Small Business Administration coach to help other entrepreneurs create sustainable, profitable businesses.

Specializing in supporting practice owners as they navigate Medicare/Medicaid billing, Gabrielle brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and business strategy to her work. She's been featured on NBC News, Spruce Health, and speaks internationally about preventing burnout while building successful practices.

Connect with Gabrielle:

medicareconsultingfortherapists.com

gabriellejulianovillani.com

instagram.com/gjvconsulting

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellejulianovillani/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Nobody tells you what the first year of grief is actually going to feel like.
Not the forgetting. Not the exhaustion. Not the moment when the casseroles are gone, the phone stops
ringing, and the full weight of it finally hits you. In this special bonus episode of the GRIEF Ladies Podcast, Kelly Daugherty and Karyn Arnold talk about their brand-new book — The First Year After Loss — the first in their Grief Brain Reader series, launching June 16th on Amazon.

They share:
• Why they wrote this book — and who it's really for
• The grief reactions that feel terrifying but are completely normal
• The grief box analogy: why your box gets bigger, not your ball smaller
• What "grief brain" is and why it changes how you read, remember, and focus
• Why the Grief Brain Reader series is intentionally short, digestible, and accessible
• How family and friends can use this book to better support the people they love
"Grief is not over after one year — it evolves."

Whether you're newly bereaved, supporting someone who is, or years into your grief journey, this episode will
remind you that what you're feeling is real, it's valid, and you are not going crazy.

The First Year After Loss is available June 16th on Amazon.

As always, we close with an actionable step: find your support, tether yourself to something, and believe that
help makes a difference.

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Coping with Pet Loss: Grieving a Beloved Dog & Preparing for the End of Life. Losing a pet can feel devastating — and yet pet grief is often minimized or misunderstood. In this episode (36), of the GRIEF Ladies Podcast, Adam Greenbaum shares the story of losing his Boston Terrier, Baxter, and how that experience led him to create Love Baxter, a resource supporting pet owners through end-of-life decisions and bereavement.

We discuss:

• Why pet loss is often disenfranchised grief
• Preparing for a pet's end of life
• The emotional toll of euthanasia decisions
• Ways to celebrate and memorialize your pet
• Finding support during pet bereavement
• Our pets are companions, family, and witnesses to our lives. Their loss matters.

As always, we close with practical steps you can take during your own grief journey.

Guest Bio: Adam Greenbaum built WhiskerCloud—now part of PetDesk—into a platform powering 10,000+ veterinary clinics worldwide. When his Boston Terrier, Baxter, passed away in October 2024, Adam turned his grief into purpose and founded Love, Baxter, now the world's largest pet end-of-life resource. His mission: give every pet a calm, dignified farewell by connecting devoted pet parents with compassionate professionals.

Connecty with Adam:

https://lovebaxter.com/

https://www.instagram.com/lovebaxterco

https://www.linkedin.com/company/love-baxter/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Mindfulness for Grief: Finding Peace and Healing After Loss, Grief can pull you into the past or push you into fear about the future. Mindfulness invites you back to the present moment.

In this episode, we talk with Holly McNeill about how meditation and mindful awareness can support healing after loss. We explore the P.E.R. L.O.V.E. framework, the role of gratitude in grief, and how acceptance helps create peace — even when life feels shattered.

You'll hear:

• How mindfulness changes your relationship with grief
• Why meditation builds emotional resilience
• The connection between gratitude and healing
• How to practice presence during pain
• Healing through grief is not about forgetting — it's about learning to be here now.
• As always, we close with practical steps you can try this week.

Guest Bio: Once designing hospitals and now designing peace of mind, Holly McNeill—known as The Mindfulness Architect—vowed at a personal low point to walk a more conscious path. Drawing from over two decades of study in neuroscience, quantum physics, psychology, spirituality, and Buddhism, she developed the P.E.R.L.O.V.E. Formula: a practical blueprint for transforming suffering into self-awareness, agency, and peace. After navigating profound personal loss and the unraveling of her identity, Holly came to see grief not as something to escape, but as a sacred gateway to transformation. Today, she helps others understand how their minds work so they can move through pain with clarity, compassion, and intention.

Connect with Holly: Holly McNeill - The Mindfulness Architect

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollymcneillofficial
Instagram: https://instagram.com/hollymcneillofficial/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollymcneillofficial
Podcast – Pay Attention: https://www.hollymcneill.com/podcast
Email: holly@mindfulnessblueprints.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollymcneill/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Grief doesn't look the same at every age.

In this episode (33) of the GRIEF Ladies, we're joined by clinical social worker Jennifer Kimlingen to talk about how children process loss, why grief can resurface at different developmental stages, and how adults can create safe, supportive environments for grieving kids.

You'll hear:

• How children express grief at different ages

• Why routine and structure help during acute loss

• The role of self-compassion for caregivers

• Storytelling as a powerful way to honor loved ones

• Why it's okay not to have all the answers
  
  

No child should ever grieve alone — and caregivers deserve support, too.

As always, we close with practical steps you can try this week.

Guest Bio:

Jennifer Kimlingen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker whose passion is helping to create a more compassionate and accepting culture towards those who are grieving. Jennifer believes that humans can benefit from removing the fear and barriers around death and death education! She cares deeply about improving children's grief and bereavement experiences and presents on the topic every chance she gets! She is a Trauma-Thriver and hopeful to help as many other people as she can to develop their own meaning of survival and resilience, after facing some of the worst this life has to offer. Jennifer credits her father for her strong values and ethics, which led to her social work education and completion of her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Adelphi University in 2014. Her career background includes medical social work, grief and bereavement counseling and private practice. Jennifer currently provides grief education for mental health clinicians through the Agents of Change Continuing Education online platform. Her specializations include grief and bereavement, trauma and traumatic grief and loss. Jennifer is currently employed as a bereavement counselor with Choices Health (Hospice & Community Care & Hospice of Central Pennsylvania) and lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.

Connect with Jennifer:

Direct Office # 717-598-4343

Email- jkimlingen@choiceshealth.org

https://www.hospiceofcentralpa.org/our-services/bereavement/

Grief Education and Webinars with Agents of Change:

https://agentsofchangeprep.com/continuing-education/live-ce-event-grief-therapy-recent-developments-and-applications/

https://agentsofchangeprep.com/continuing-education/course-detail/childs-grief-journey/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/
Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.