Good Grief

Cheryl Espinosa-Jones

4.9 (16)
Health & Fitness
Updated Biweekly

On Good Grief we explore the losses that define our lives. Each week, we talk with people who have transformed themselves through the profound act of grieving. Why settle for surviving? Say yes to the many experiences that embody loss! Grief can teach you where your strengths are and ignite your courage. It can heighten your awareness of what is important to you and help you let go of what is not.

4d ago

Between Them An Ocean

In this episode we turn the tables to talk about Good Grief host Cheryl Espinosa-Jones and her novel, An Ocean Between Them. The story is about a mother and her lesbian daughter estranged and alienated. It is also a story of deep redemption and transformation, as they work together to repair what has been broken. Dawn Gross, radio host of Dying to Talk and palliative care physician at UCSF, will turn the tables on Cheryl and explore how the book came to be written, what matters most to Cheryl in telling the story and what in Cheryl's life led her to this latest creative work. Because the book also touches on the impact of being an LGBTQ+ person on the experience of illness and end of life, we'll be talking about these too. What is different about facing illness when you are also marginalized? How can the effect of oppression be minimized?
Jul 22

Inconvenient

Running from death was a big part of Sue William Silverman's response to early adulthood. Over time, she began to see that running from death was also about running from those things in her life that she didn't know how to cope with; fearful and traumatic events. Over item, Sue would unravel those fears and face up to what she came to realize she could not escape. How did she find her way? And what has resulted from making the trip? Sue has written a compelling book about what scared her, why, and how she began to face up to it all. In a world where we all have reason to fear and cause to run, talking about how to live with these uncertainties is something we all need!
Jul 15

Witness

Religions like Jehovah's Witness promise their followers certainty and safety. Leaders demand obedience to proscribed standards of behavior, beliefs and practices. But what happens when a follower begins to doubt? For Amber Scorah, leaving the Witness meant giving up everyone and everything in her life. On top of this severing of every tie, she would have to live with uncertainty in a way she never had before. Growing up in the culture, which she now saw as a cult, brought what she thought of as happiness. Now she would choose becoming who she felt she really was but not know what was true about God. And when the worst loss she could imagine came next, she would have to navigate grief without any certainty at all.
Jul 1

After

As human beings, we wonder what awaits us after this life is over. When death has come to those near us, the question often becomes compelling! In her quest to understand the many ways people think about what comes next, Claire Bidwell Smith investigated and wrote about various beliefs and practices about the time after death. How do each of us imagine or believe it to be? How does this connect or disconnect us from those we love after their deaths? What can we gain by asking these questions and investigating our ideas about death for ourselves? Coming after Claire's first book, Rules of Inheritance, about the deaths of her parents when she was 18 and 24, After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go? continues her deep reflection on the meanings we give to life, to grief and to death.
Jun 24

Wisdom at the Kitchen Table

For sixty years, Rachel Naomi Remen has lived with a diagnosis, Crohn's disease, that was considered universally terminal when she was first diagnosed. How did that affect her life? She became a physician who worked with terminal illness, a New York Times bestselling author and a fierce advocate for compassionate medicine. She founded the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness (ISHI) at Commonweal and is also co-founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program. She worked with thousands of patients and trained many doctors in healing care. Join us as we talk about her own story and the stories of those she has worked with over many decades. We are all sure to be inspired.
Jun 10

The Hours

Meghan Riordan Jarvis was a therapist specializing in grief and trauma. So maybe she and her highly trained friends and colleagues recognized just a little sooner that she was in trouble. After the loss of her father then her mother, she developed severe PTSD that required in-patient care. How does a therapist navigate her own extreme trauma? What does the experience teach her about supporting other people in the same situation? And how does it change her life and perspective? Join us as explore the science and human experience of trauma- and the lessons we sometimes find at the end.
Jun 3

Revolutionary Grief

Roshni Kavate and Rebecca Servoss noticed in their own grieving the lack of services to support grief, especially for people across all identities. They committed to creating a new paradigm for grief support, built on hope, joy, and the strength of the human spirit. Their organization, Marigolde, they sought to support grieving boldly, loving tenderly, and celebrating the blooming, visceral transformation that unfolds in grieving people. As two nurses trained in offering support and committed to inclusion in all their rituals, practices and writings, they are creating a vision of Revolutionary Grief Wellness!
May 27

Queer Grief

Faced with numerous losses and feeling deep grief, Jamie Thrower could not find grief services that understood how to support a queer griever. Struggling through the feelings and inevitable difficulty of their own grief, they became intent on doing their part to save others from what they experienced. Queer Grief Club was born! As a death doula, workshop leader, writer and artist, they have made it their mission to offer safe spaces to grieve for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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4.9

out of 5

16 Ratings

A Thoughtful Space for the Many Faces of Grief

Mar 6

Steph Kwong

Good Grief offers such a compassionate and meaningful exploration of loss and the ways it shapes us. The conversations are honest, reflective, and deeply human, reminding us that grief isn’t just something to survive, but something that can transform us. I appreciate how the show honors both the pain and the growth that can emerge through grieving. It’s a powerful reminder that within loss, there can also be courage, clarity, and profound healing.
Great podcast

12/05/2022

RSB5

Cheryl is warm, prepared and so knowledgeable. Thank you for your important work in helping us all learn from loss.
Great Host!

02/08/2022

David Richman Author

Cheryl is a great host! She's very welcoming, engaging, and knows how to get the flow going. I had a great time being interviewed on her beautiful Good Grief show. Way to go, Cheryl!
Wonderful Host & Show

12/10/2021

Sabine Gedeon

Cheryl is an amazing and engaging host! She made me feel at ease during the interview and I had a wonderful sharing my story, lessons learned, and strategies to help others move through their seasons of trauma, grief, and growth. Thanks Cheryl!

On Good Grief we explore the losses that define our lives. Each week, we talk with people who have transformed themselves through the profound act of grieving. Why settle for surviving? Say yes to the many experiences that embody loss! Grief can teach you where your strengths are and ignite your courage. It can heighten your awareness of what is important to you and help you let go of what is not.