Grief'd Up

Rebecca Feinglos

Welcome to Grief’d Up, the podcast where we discuss intricate and tough conversations around all aspects of grief and loss. Join us each week as your host, Rebecca Feinglos, shares powerful stories, engages with experts, and challenges the misconceptions about loss that keep us silent. You don’t have to grieve alone; it’s time to get real about grief.

  1. Caregiver Grief and Anticipatory Loss with Chris Punsalan

    HACE 6 H

    Caregiver Grief and Anticipatory Loss with Chris Punsalan

    "We only have so much battery in a day... you owe it to those people and the work that you do to take care of yourself." In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes Chris Punsalan, the content creator known to millions as "the grandma guy." Chris shares his journey of caring for his beloved Apu for eight years, documenting their daily life through viral videos that resonated with caregivers worldwide. When Apu passed away in January 2024 at age 97, Chris faced a profound identity shift from caregiver to former caregiver. Chris opens up about the stereotypes he encountered as a young man in a caregiving role, something he didn't even realize was uncommon until people started reaching out online. The conversation explores anticipatory grief - that confusing experience of grieving someone before they die, and the guilt that can follow when relief comes instead of expected sadness. From Montreal (Rebecca's mom's hometown, and where Rebecca’s brother took care of their nana for 7 years), they discuss the beauty of intergenerational households and how caregiving forced Chris to develop healthy habits and self-care routines. Chris shares his "gratitude hack" - imagining life without the people you love to appreciate what you have right now. He talks about his grandmother's wisdom around saving money, caring for family, and the simple joy she found in watching The Price is Right and being surrounded by loved ones. The episode tackles the delicate balance of maintaining your own identity while caregiving, and how Chris stayed grounded through music production during those eight years. He emphasizes that taking care of yourself isn't selfish: it's essential for showing up fully for the people you love. Join Rebecca and Chris as they explore the realities of young caregiving, processing grief in public, and finding meaning after profound loss - because as Chris reminds us, you can't pour from an empty cup. Connect with Chris: Instagram: @chrispunsalan YouTube: @ChrisPunsalanTV _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resource

    52 min
  2. Growing Up Without Mom: A Conversation About Teen Grief with Leila Musto

    11 SEP

    Growing Up Without Mom: A Conversation About Teen Grief with Leila Musto

    "Losing someone at a young age is very hard. It gets easier to manage. It doesn't hurt less. You just grow as a person and you understand your emotions on different levels... your grief always stays with you, but not always in a bad way.” What happens when two people separated by decades but connected by this specific, terrible thing get to talk? In this very special episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos connects with Leila, a teenager from Massachusetts who lost her mom, Justine, to cancer when she was just 12 years old. This conversation came through Experience Camps, a national nonprofit that transforms the lives of grieving children through summer camp programs and innovative year-round support. They connected Rebecca with someone who knows what it's like to be the girl with the dead mom, navigating a world that doesn't quite know what to do with you. Rebecca lost her mother to brain cancer at 13. Leila lost hers to lung cancer at 12. The parallels are striking: both were kept in the dark about their mothers' true prognoses, both were "the baby girl" in their families, and both had to figure out how to be teenagers when everyone around them struggled to know what to say. As Rebecca and Leila share their stories, the connection is immediate. They talk about the anger of being "protected" from the truth, the weirdness of being the only kid at school with a dead mom, and how grief doesn't look the way people expect it to. Most importantly, they explore how finding someone who truly understands your experience can be transformative. From making TikToks in hospice to picking out urns from catalogs, Leila's story captures the surreal reality of loss at a young age, and the unexpected ways we find to honor the people we've lost. This episode is a powerful reminder that grief is universal, messy, and that even if you think you're alone, there's probably someone out there who understands what you're carrying. _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resource

    57 min
  3. Pet Loss Grief: No, You're Not Overreacting - How to Navigate the Grief

    4 SEP

    Pet Loss Grief: No, You're Not Overreacting - How to Navigate the Grief

    "Give yourself some grace to feel your pet grief. Feel the anticipatory grief as your dog gets older and you navigate healthcare decisions and end-of-life decisions for your pet. That's grief. You are not silly. You are not weak. You are not being ridiculous. You are not overreacting.” In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes listeners into her most unexpected grief journey yet, pet grief. When her dog Ralphie suddenly developed mysterious red spots and a life-threatening blood condition, Rebecca was thrust into a world of emergency vet visits, impossible medical decisions, and emotions that surprised her with their intensity. Rebecca opens up about the terrifying night she left Ralphie at the animal hospital, not knowing if she'd see him again, and the guilt that comes with every caregiving choice when your pet doesn't understand why they're sick. She shares her shock at how hard the grief hit her - even questioning whether someone who "works in grief all day" should be stronger than this. From witnessing another family's final goodbye at the emergency vet to becoming a full-time caregiver managing steroids and sleepless nights, Rebecca explores what makes pet grief so unique and heartbreaking. She challenges society's tendency to minimize pet loss as "disenfranchised grief" and argues that we don't need to rank our pain to validate it. Join Rebecca as she gets honest about anticipatory grief, the intersection of guilt and love in pet caregiving, and why the innocence of our animals makes their suffering so devastating - because as she reminds us, you don't have to grieve alone, no matter what kind of loss you're facing. _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resource

    38 min
  4. Pregnancy Loss: How to Break the Silence and Support Others with Dr. Jessica Zucker

    28 AGO

    Pregnancy Loss: How to Break the Silence and Support Others with Dr. Jessica Zucker

    Content Warning: Jessica gets really candid about her miscarriage experience in this episode. Not everyone is in a place where they can listen to a story about pregnancy loss, and that's completely understandable.. If you're not, it's okay. You can skip to 17 minutes 15 seconds and still get a lot out of this episode. ​​"I think we should let grief change us. I'm not into the idea of silver linings. I'm not into trying to, ‘get back to who we were before.’ I just let it all rush over me." In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes Dr. Jessica Zucker, author of "I Had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, A Movement" and "Normalize It: Upending the Silent Stigma and Shame That Shape Women's Lives," whose personal tragedy built a global movement for normalizing conversations about loss. Jessica thought she understood pregnancy loss until she experienced a traumatic 16-week miscarriage alone at home. The gap between professional knowledge and lived experience felt isolating. Friends offered well-meaning but painful platitudes: "At least you have a healthy child," "At least you have a thriving career." Jessica realized that our collective discomfort with loss creates a toxic cycle where silence breeds stigma, stigma breeds shame, and shame keeps people suffering alone. This led to her "I Had a Miscarriage" campaign and two books challenging how we talk about difficult experiences. The conversation tackles practical territory: How do you celebrate a sister's pregnancy while grieving your own struggles getting pregnant? What's the difference between "normalizing" and "getting back to normal"? Rebecca and Jessica explore the messy realities of grief in relationships, the courage required to start talking about hard things (even in Instagram comments), and why avoiding someone who's grieving can make them feel worse. Join Rebecca and Jessica as they debunk the myths surrounding grief and explain why allowing loss to change us is essential, because there’s no going back to who we were before. And that’s ok. Connect with Jessica: Instagram: @ihadamiscarriage Website: www.drjessicazucker.com/ Books: "I Had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, A Movement" and "Normalize It: Upending the Silent Stigma and Shame That Shape Women's Lives" are available everywhere books are sold _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resource

    42 min
  5. Dating While Disabled: How Mainstream App Discrimination Led to Building Dateability with Jacqueline and Alexa Child

    21 AGO

    Dating While Disabled: How Mainstream App Discrimination Led to Building Dateability with Jacqueline and Alexa Child

    "I got it out of him that he told his mom about me, and she told him to run as fast as he can and never be with someone who has complex medical issues." In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes sisters Jacqueline and Alexa Child, founders of Dateability, the only dating app for disabled and chronically ill people. The sisters share their personal journey with chronic illness and how it inspired them to create a space where the world's largest minority can find connection without fear of rejection. Jacqueline became disabled at 14 when mono triggered multiple autoimmune conditions, including dysautonomia, gastroparesis, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She opens up about grieving her former athletic identity, from quitting soccer to losing her hair overnight. The conversation explores her dating experiences on mainstream apps, where disclosure of disability often led to discrimination and painful rejection. At 27, facing the decision to get a feeding tube, Jacqueline had to navigate yet another layer of grief while learning to live fully with chronic illness. Alexa shares her perspective as the "healthy sister" and how witnessing Jacqueline's dating struggles during the pandemic motivated them to create Dateability. Together, the sisters and Rebecca explore the challenges of dating with invisible disabilities, Glass Child syndrome, and how upfront disclosure can prevent the kind of rejection that can lead to grief. They discuss marriage equality issues for disabled people and envision a future where disability is seen not as a burden, but as part of human diversity. Join Rebecca as she chats with Jacqueline and Alexa about the realities of dating while disabled, the discrimination faced on mainstream apps, and how creating Dateability became both a business solution and a way to process their own grief around acceptance and belonging.   Connect with Jacqueline and Alexa Child: Instagram: @dateabilityapp TikTok: @dateability App Store: Dateability  _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resource

    1 h y 3 min
  6. The Grief Hustle: Why We Can't Outrun Loss with Thai Branch

    14 AGO

    The Grief Hustle: Why We Can't Outrun Loss with Thai Branch

    "Grief is just transition. And when someone passes, they're just transitioning, but it's just a very big transition."In this powerful episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes Thai Branch, a lifestyle influencer turned grief advocate. Thai shares her journey after losing her mother Eula in September 2021, and how it revolutionized her understanding of grief as something that touches every life transition - not just death. Growing up as the youngest of 15 siblings, Thai was always emotionally intuitive, even giving conflict resolution seminars at age 10 (seriously, listen to the episode to hear her talk about it). But the death of her mom taught her that grief shows up everywhere: graduations, job changes, breakups, birthdays. Thai rejected the "grief hustle" - society's pressure to stay busy and avoid feelings. Thai and Rebecca explore the delayed nature of grief (it often hits hardest months after loss, not at funerals), the importance of expanding our emotional vocabulary, and how grief can paradoxically set us free. Thai shares moving experiences like visitor dreams where her mother squeezed her hands, and emphasizes how we can still honor a loved one’s presence rather than focus on their absence. Join Rebecca and Thai as they challenge misconceptions about loss and offer wisdom for navigating life's inevitable transitions - because as Thai reminds us, "you'll be grieving for as long as you're breathing." Connect with Thai Branch: TikTok: Ella Thaii  Instagram: @ella_thaii YouTube: Ella Thaii Podcast: The Emotional Thesauras _____________________________________ Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resources

    57 min
  7. Season 2 Kick Off! The Anniversary That Doesn't Exist: Grief After Divorce or The Death of a Spouse

    7 AGO

    Season 2 Kick Off! The Anniversary That Doesn't Exist: Grief After Divorce or The Death of a Spouse

    "It's my hope that through the Grief’d Up podcast, we spark more of those conversations outside of this setting, that we spark conversations that you can then have with people you love and that you care about." In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos, certified grief support specialist and founder of Grieve Leave, delves into the often-unacknowledged grief associated with what she calls "what-would-have-been dates". Rebecca shares her personal experience with the upcoming 10th anniversary of her wedding, despite being divorced. She opens up about the "gaping hole" this date creates on her calendar and the societal silence surrounding such milestones. Rebecca explores the complexities of acknowledging a past marriage, a relationship that ended, or even a loved one's anniversary after their passing. She shares insights from her TikTok community, introducing terms like "noniversary" and "exiversary" as ways people are finding to name these significant dates. She also reflects on her late father's experience with his wedding anniversary after her mother's death, highlighting the unspoken sadness that often accompanies these dates. This episode challenges the notion that grief is solely tied to death, expanding the conversation to include mental health, breakups, and other significant life changes. Rebecca encourages listeners to sit in the "ickiness" of these feelings and offers validation for whatever emotions arise on these "what would have been dates". She emphasizes that there's no right or wrong way to honor these moments, whether it's by listening to an old song, looking at pictures, or simply allowing the day to be what it is. Join Rebecca as she normalizes the quiet grief of lost milestones, fostering a conversation that encourages listeners to feel less alone in their experiences.  This episode also features the perspectives of Grieve Leave community member Greer, from Arkansas, whose voicemail closes out the episode. If you’d like to leave a voicemail for the Grief’d Up Podcast on this episode’s topic, or on any topic, give us a call: (919) 213-1053.  Grieve Leave Links: Website: GrieveLeave.com Instagram: @GrieveLeave Facebook: Grieve Leave Email: hello@grieveleave.com Newsletter: Sign up at GrieveLeave.com for grief support resources

    25 min
  8. Five Lessons from Grief’d Up Season One: What Our Guests Taught Me About Grief

    6 MAR

    Five Lessons from Grief’d Up Season One: What Our Guests Taught Me About Grief

    "Resilience is bullshit. I felt incredibly validated by her. Maybe you did too."     In this season finale episode of Grief'd Up, Rebecca Feinglos shares her top five takeaways from conversations that fundamentally shifted how she thinks about grief and loss. She returns to conversations with Erin Levine, JS Park, Amber Jeffrey, Shane Battier, and Jessica Guthrie - each bringing unique perspectives that have continued to resonate throughout the season.Erin challenged the concept of resilience during her breast cancer journey; hospital chaplain JS offered wisdom on grief support without religious language; and Amber opened up about her complex feelings around having children after experiencing profound loss. Former NBA player Shane spoke candidly about losing his brother to CTE and a drug overdose, describing the painful "what ifs" that accompany sudden loss. Jessica’s reflection on becoming a caregiver for her mother with Alzheimer's highlighted the impact of labels on both the caregiver and the person receiving care, revealing how her journey to publicly identifying as a caregiver took years but eventually led to recognizing both the challenges and profound meaning in caregiving. These conversations showcase how differently people experience grief while offering universal insights that Rebecca continues to draw upon in her own grief journey. Through these diverse perspectives - from a divorce attorney navigating illness, a chaplain working across faith traditions, a grief community founder, a professional athlete, and a caregiver advocate - the podcast reveals the many dimensions of loss and how we can support each other through itNo matter where you are in your own grief, there's something here that will speak to your experience, validate your feelings, or offer a new way of thinking about loss that might just help you feel a little lighter.  Listen to the full length episodes with our guests: ● Erine Levine ● JS Park ● Amber Jeffrey ● Shane Battier ● Jessica Guthrie _____________________________________ Follow for more resources: ● Instagram: @grieveleave ● Website: grieveleave.com _____________________________________ Don’t forget to leave a review and share this episode with someone who needs to hear this!

    54 min
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Welcome to Grief’d Up, the podcast where we discuss intricate and tough conversations around all aspects of grief and loss. Join us each week as your host, Rebecca Feinglos, shares powerful stories, engages with experts, and challenges the misconceptions about loss that keep us silent. You don’t have to grieve alone; it’s time to get real about grief.

Información

  • Creador
    Rebecca Feinglos
  • Años de actividad
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodios
    37
  • Clasificación
    Explícito
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Grief'd Up

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