Those Left Behind - Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life

Gayle Miller
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

If you've lost someone you love to suicide, you are not alone. Not in your grief, not in your questions, not in the tangle of emotions you're feeling right now or ever. I'm Gayle Miller, and after losing my niece, Laura, I've learned that this particular kind of grief is like its own country. It has its own language, its own landscape. And if you're new to this place, it can feel impossibly lonely. Because the truth is, grief doesn't belong to one person or one role. It lives in all of us who are left behind, each carrying our own version of love and loss. That's why I created this podcast. Not to offer quick fixes or easy answers, but to walk with you through this unfamiliar terrain. To bring together voices, survivors, mental health professionals, and loved ones who understand what it means to live in the aftermath of suicide. And if you're someone contemplating taking your own life, I hope this space reaches you too. Because this is an epidemic. We need to have the difficult conversations and remove shame from it. My intention is for you to discover comfort, healing, and new perspectives you may not have considered before. You matter and you are loved. Those Left Behind: Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life is a space for all of us.  This is for everyone learning to carry this weight. And this is for Laura.

Episodes

  1. Apr 1 ·  Video

    Darlene Lost Her Son Dylan to Suicide

    Those Left Behind - Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life

    40 min

  2. Mar 30 ·  Video

    Olivia Lost Her Son Conor to Suicide

    Those Left Behind - Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life

    50 min

  3. Mar 18 ·  Video

    You Don’t Want to Die — You Want the Pain to Stop

    Most people who think about ending their life don’t actually want to die — they just want the pain to stop. In this powerful conversation, therapist, author, speaker, podcaster, and intuitive medium, Susan Grau, shares the truth about grief, trauma, and the pain that gets left behind. Susan Grau has lost five people to suicide, and she has personally battled thoughts of ending her life for many years. Susan shares what grief and trauma really do to the mind and body, why people reach a place where the pain feels overwhelming, and a powerful truth many families learn too late: the pain doesn’t disappear — it transfers to the people who love you. She also offers compassionate tools that helped her survive her darkest moments, including the grounding practice: “Stay where your feet are.”     Connect with Susan at https://susangrau.com/   https://myinfinite.app/   https://infinitesoulbenefits.com/   https://www.instagram.com/SusanGrauofficial/   If you are in immediate danger or need crisis support, please call 988 or your local emergency number. End of episode song: Angels By My Side by Lunar Years, licensed on Bensound Certificate # 2245544 Connect with us on Instagram @thoseleftbehindpodcast

    54 min

  4. Mar 11 ·  Video

    Grief Doesn’t Have An Ending — It Changes Shape

    Julia lost her little brother Dillon to suicide when he was just 24 years old. In this honest conversation with Gayle Miller, she shares what the aftermath of suicide loss really looks like. While the topic is deeply painful, Julia brings a lighter energy to this episode than we may have felt, compared to others, as she reflects on who Dillon was, the joy he brought to their family, and the peace she is beginning to find by remembering him and imagining the life he might be living today.   If you are in immediate danger or need crisis support, please call 988 or your local emergency number.   Julia wants to acknowledge a charity near and dear to Dillon’s heart, DFW Normal https://www.instagram.com/dfwnorml/

    40 min

  5. Mar 4 ·  Video

    She Knew She Wouldn't Make It To Twenty

    In this episode of Those Left Behind, Gayle sits down with one of her own family members, Rose, who lost her daughter Maya to suicide. It's unimaginable that this has happened twice in her family, but it's not as uncommon as you might think.  This is not a neat conversation. It’s the real version. Maya had a big personality: sharp, funny, gorgeous, smart, complicated, hypersensitive, and wired for justice. But she used to say, even when she was young, that she wasn’t going to grow up. That she was “done.” This episode will help you to see through Rose's lens what this kind of loss can do to your mind, your body, and your self-worth.  You'll also learn what can happen to a family after and the ripple effect that hits everyone, and the quiet truth that life keeps demanding you show up anyway. Rose loved being a mom, but she doesn't feel like she's a mom anymore.   Rose recommends: https://www.theleftoverpieces.com/podcasts/the-leftover-pieces-suicide-loss-conversations-2   If you are in immediate danger or need crisis support, please call 988 or your local emergency number.   End of episode song: Angels By My Side by Lunar Years, licensed on Bensound Certificate # 2245544 Connect with us on Instagram @thoseleftbehindpodcast

    41 min

  6. Feb 25 ·  Video

    Grieving the Same Child, Different Ways

    Laura and Khan lost their daughter, Indiana, just two weeks before her 16th birthday. She's a forever fifteen. In this intimate conversation, they sit down with Gayle to talk about who Indiana was—brilliant, funny, complex, and deeply loved—and what it has been like to live in the world after her death. They share the shock of that night, the letters Indiana left behind, and how those words continue to guide their healing. You'll hear how grief shows up differently in a marriage, how siblings process loss at different ages, and why families often feel abandoned by systems meant to help them. This episode is honest, raw, and deeply human. It's about guilt, love, survival, and the tiny threads of comfort people cling to when the unthinkable happens. If you are grieving, supporting someone who is, or trying to understand how a family keeps going after losing a child, this conversation is for you. Laura and Khan share what they wish they could tell anyone struggling right now: stay. Stay curious. Give tomorrow a chance to surprise you. Connect with Khan: https://www.instagram.com/khansheenanmusic Resources Mentioned: Roses in the Ocean – Peer-led support for lived experience of loss, caring, or ideation. 1800 777 337 (24/7) StandBy Support After Suicide – Peer support for those bereaved by suicide. 1300 727 247 (6am–10pm, 7 days) Ladybird Care Foundation – Matches bereaved parents with peer mentors for 18 months. 1800 954 224 HALO – Hope After Loss Outreach: Facebook & Instagram If you are in immediate danger or need crisis support, please call 988 or your local emergency number End of episode song: Angels By My Side by Lunar Years, licensed on Bensound Certificate # 2245544 Connect with us on Instagram @thoseleftbehindpodcast

    1h 10m

  7. Feb 18 ·  Video

    My niece took her own life - now what?

    And it begins—a healing journey for those left behind. In our first episode, host Gayle Miller speaks about the death of her 31-year-old niece, Laura, a woman she loved like a daughter. This is a space for those navigating the aftermath of losing someone who took their own life. If you're waking up in disbelief, replaying memories, searching for meaning, wondering where you belong in this grief—Gayle is speaking directly to you. Through her relationship with Laura, she gives voice to the love that continues and the devastation that follows. Loss doesn't belong to one role in a family. It lives in everyone who loves, everyone trying to keep breathing, everyone learning to carry what cannot be put down. Here, you are allowed to hurt. Your questions are welcome. You are not invisible. Gayle created this show because she couldn't find a place that spoke to being left behind as an aunt. Her promise: companionship, honesty, and the reminder that love still exists, even now. If you need someone to walk with you, press play. You matter. You are loved. You do not have to go through this alone. If you are in immediate danger or need crisis support, please call 988 or your local emergency number.   End of episode song: Angels By My Side by Lunar Years, licensed on Bensound Certificate # 2245544 Connect with us on Instagram @thoseleftbehindpodcast

    43 min
  8. Those Left Behind - Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life

    Trailer ·  Video

    Those Left Behind - Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life

    If you've lost someone you love to suicide, you are not alone. Not in your grief, not in your questions, not in the tangle of emotions you're feeling right now or ever. Hi, I'm Gayle Miller, the creator of this show, and in January 2025, my niece Laura died by suicide. And in the months since, I've learned that this particular kind of grief is like its own country. It has its own language, its own landscape. And if you're new to this place, it can feel impossibly lonely. After losing Laura, I didn't know where to put my grief. I still struggle with it.  I wasn't her parent, but not having children of my own, Laura, her sister, and brother are loved by me just as much as if they were mine. Because the truth is, grief doesn't belong to one person or one role. It lives in all of us who are left behind, each carrying our own version of love and loss. That's why I created this podcast. Not to offer quick fixes or easy answers, but to walk with you through this unfamiliar terrain. To bring together voices, survivors, mental health professionals, and loved ones who understand what it means to live in the aftermath of suicide. And if you're someone contemplating taking your own life, I hope this space reaches you, too. Because this is an epidemic. We need to have the difficult conversations and remove shame from it. My intention is for you to discover comfort, healing, and new perspectives you may not have considered before. You matter, and you are loved. Those Left Behind: Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life is a space for all of us.  This is for everyone learning to carry this weight. And this is for Laura.

    2 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

If you've lost someone you love to suicide, you are not alone. Not in your grief, not in your questions, not in the tangle of emotions you're feeling right now or ever. I'm Gayle Miller, and after losing my niece, Laura, I've learned that this particular kind of grief is like its own country. It has its own language, its own landscape. And if you're new to this place, it can feel impossibly lonely. Because the truth is, grief doesn't belong to one person or one role. It lives in all of us who are left behind, each carrying our own version of love and loss. That's why I created this podcast. Not to offer quick fixes or easy answers, but to walk with you through this unfamiliar terrain. To bring together voices, survivors, mental health professionals, and loved ones who understand what it means to live in the aftermath of suicide. And if you're someone contemplating taking your own life, I hope this space reaches you too. Because this is an epidemic. We need to have the difficult conversations and remove shame from it. My intention is for you to discover comfort, healing, and new perspectives you may not have considered before. You matter and you are loved. Those Left Behind: Reality After Someone You Love Takes Their Own Life is a space for all of us.  This is for everyone learning to carry this weight. And this is for Laura.

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