Colleen Kavanaugh: A Grief Primer

Today's guest is Colleen Kavanaugh!

Colleen is such a vibrant, cheerful, and colorful human being despite having gone through many difficult chapters in her life. It feels as though half of what I've learned about grief and grieving well have come from her work. She has a wealth of information to share, and decided for this conversation she would give us a grief primer--essentially the basics of self care while going through grief. These concepts are so vital to anyone going through it. Whether your grief has been around for years, is brand new, or you're looking to support a friend... we can all learn something new from her.

Ways to connect with Colleen:

Website: ⁠colleenkavanaugh.com⁠

Instagram: ⁠@colleenkavanaugh_⁠

Book Recommendations from Colleen:

⁠Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir⁠ by Roz Chast⁠There Is No Good Card for This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love⁠ by Dr. Kelsey Crowe, Emily McDowell

*The photo for this episode is by Madison Luikens. I just love this selection Colleen chose. It shows her love of music, (e)motion, and her inner joy!

Supportive links to things from our discussion:

⁠The After Life Podcast by Colleen Kavanaugh with guest, Rachel Marie (Helden)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Our interview from five years ago!

⁠A playlist to get you dancing: ⁠Dance the days longer: winter 2021⁠⁠ by Colleen

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Way: A Road Trip Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Rachel

And here’s a quote Colleen thought of when I spoke of doing the dishes etc: 

“I learned to find equal meaning in the repeated rituals of domestic life. Setting the table. Lighting the candles. Building the fire. Cooking. All those soufflés, all that crème caramel, all those daubes and albóndigas and gumbos. Clean sheets, stacks of clean towels, hurricane lamps for storms, enough water and food to see us through whatever geological event came our way. These fragments I have shored against my ruins, were the words that came to mind then. These fragments mattered to me. I believed in them. That I could find meaning in the intensely personal nature of life as a wife and mother did not seem inconsistent with finding meaning in the vast indifference of geology and the test shots.”― Joan Didion, ⁠The Year of Magical Thinking⁠

Some of Colleen's projects, past and present:

⁠⁠Love Letter: To You It May Concern⁠⁠⁠ Podcast - Excellent! Full of music, poetry, and creativity. Season 3 Coming Soon.

⁠⁠Your Life, Styled by Colleen Kavanaugh⁠⁠ - Where Colleen makes your home and business look and function as well as the life you live and the work you do.