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Bereaved But Still Me

Bereaved But Still Me

Written by: Anna Jaworski
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About this listen

 "Bereaved But Still Me" is a podcast for the bereaved community that was formerly known as "Heart to Heart with Michael." As we entered Season 5, we decided to rebrand our podcast to make it easier for the bereaved community to find us.

We are happy to announce that "Heart to Heart with Michael," was nominated for a 2020 WEGO Health Award. "Heart to Heart with Michael" was a finalist in the Health Podcast category. This was a great honor for our podcast.

"Bereaved But Still Me" is a product of the Hearts Unite the Globe Network of Podcasts. Our Host is Michael Liben, our Producer is Nancy Taylor Jensen, and our Executive Producer is Anna Jaworski. Our monthly program has been designed to empower, educate, and support the bereaved community. New episodes are broadcast every 1st Thursday of the month.
For more information about the "Bereaved But Still Me," please check out our website: www.heartsunitetheglobe.org and look at the "Bereaved But Still Me" tab.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me--2108929/support.Copyright Anna Jaworski Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • How We Teach Children To Face Grief And Move Forward

    How We Teach Children To Face Grief And Move Forward
    Jan 1 2026
    Grief doesn’t run on a schedule, and kids feel that truth in their bones. We sit down with author and grief group facilitator Ta'Shay Mason to unpack how children experience loss, why feelings often arrive in waves, and what adults can do to create safety without forcing conversation. From a mother’s steady persistence to the surprising comfort of equine-assisted activities, Ta'Shay shares practical ways to help kids express themselves when words feel too heavy.

    You’ll hear about a powerful memorial option many families don’t know exists: eco-friendly reef balls that incorporate a loved one’s ashes and become a living habitat for marine life. Families decorate the form together with handprints, shells, and ribbons, then watch it lowered into the sea and receive coordinates to visit later. This ritual turns goodbye into a shared act of care for the ocean, giving children something tangible, creative, and hopeful to hold onto. We also talk about common dynamics like anger, magical thinking, and memory gaps, and how to normalize them with honest language and gentle choices.

    Ta'Shay walks us through her series A Child’s Journey Through Grief, where a nine-year-old learns to say goodbye, finds connection in group therapy, and builds new traditions for birthdays and recitals. The core takeaway: don’t push kids to “move on.” Help them move forward—one story, one photo, one small tradition at a time. If you’re supporting a child or navigating your own loss, you’ll leave with grounded strategies, fresh ideas for memorials, and a kinder framework for the long road of remembrance.

    If this conversation helped you, subscribe, share it with someone who’s grieving, and leave a review so more families can find these tools.

    Here's Ta'Shay's website: https://tashay-mason.com/books

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me--2108929/support.
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    31 mins
  • Hope All The Way with Theo Boyd

    Hope All The Way with Theo Boyd
    Dec 4 2025
    A life can fall apart and still grow deeper roots. That’s the energy of our conversation with award-winning author and podcaster Theo Boyd, whose first memoir sparked national attention and whose next book, Hope All the Way, turns tender signs and hard data into a roadmap for living with loss. We begin with the question so many grievers whisper: am I doing this right? Theo shares how formal training validated what her heart already knew—there’s no single path, but there are better choices. Integrated grief becomes our north star: building a future that holds the past, telling stories that keep loved ones present, and creating rituals that transform memory into momentum.

    We move from personal to cultural with Theo’s original national study, The Silent Weight of Grief in America. The findings are striking: most grieving Americans want more media that actually teaches coping, while many feel pressure to hide their sorrow, especially younger millennials. We talk about why people look to media for guidance, how that can help or hurt, and what needs to change across workplaces, schools, and social feeds to normalize grief literacy. Instead of vague platitudes, we offer concrete language and practices that lower the burden: permission to feel, community that listens, and habits that anchor the day.

    Threaded through it all are the signs Theo trusts: a partner whose life echoes her parents, a song about dirt that sent her home, and a plan to build on the family farm with pieces of the old house woven into the new. Hope becomes tangible—recipes saved for the holidays, a notebook on the kitchen table, fences repaired, pastures prepared. It’s the opposite of moving on; it’s carrying forward with care. If you’ve struggled to reconcile love and loss, you’ll leave with language, perspective, and a few next steps that make the weight easier to bear.

    If this conversation resonated, follow the show, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find tools and hope when they need it most.

    To learn more about Theo, visit her website: https://thinktheo.com/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me--2108929/support.
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    23 mins
  • The Acceptance Ladder: Climbing From Curse To Gift with Stephen Nawotniak

    The Acceptance Ladder: Climbing From Curse To Gift with Stephen Nawotniak
    Nov 6 2025
    (00:00:00) Authenticity, Grief, And Purpose
    (00:00:55) Meet Stephen: Trek, Diagnosis, And Work
    (00:02:04) Hospitalization And The Two Lies Of Depression
    (00:04:52) Medication, Perspective, And Self-Talk As Opinion
    (00:06:00) Daily Function: Rest Breaks And Zero Days
    (00:08:23) Fulfillment Over Happiness
    (00:09:01) Identity Shift: I Have It, I’m Not It
    (00:12:01) Reframing Negative Self-Talk For Everyone
    (00:14:59) From Stigma To Self-Acceptance
    (00:17:20) The Acceptance Ladder Explained
    (00:20:19) Children’s Books And Finding Self Within
    (00:23:10) Speaking, Resources, And Perspective Shift
    (00:25:21) Closing Reflections And Takeaways

    We explore how perspective turns pain into purpose, from hospitalization and stigma to practical tools that make tough days workable. Stephen Nawotniak shares the Acceptance Ladder, reframing self-talk, and small habits that change how we move through depression and bipolar.

    • two lies of depression and how to challenge them
    • medication as intensity-softener, not magic cure
    • negative self-talk as opinion rather than fact
    • fulfillment over happiness as a daily aim
    • zero days, rest breaks and night-before prep
    • identity shift from I am to I have
    • community stigma vs self-stigma and selective disclosure
    • the Acceptance Ladder from curse to gift
    • turning pain into purpose through service and craft
    • children’s books that guide an inner journey
    • personal growth vs illness management framing

    If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who needs real, usable tools. Subscribe for new episodes, leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: which rung of the Acceptance Ladder are you on today?

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me--2108929/support.
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    33 mins
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