In this deeply human episode of RESILIENT A.F., Blair Kaplan Venables sits down with writer and award-winning memoirist Casey Mulligan Walsh for a conversation that does not flinch from life’s hardest chapters. Casey shares her layered journey with grief: being orphaned at 12, losing her brother, navigating a painful divorce, and the devastating death of her son, Eric, in a car accident.

Together, Blair and Casey explore what it means to live inside uncertainty, why resilience is not about fixing pain, and how community and belonging can quietly save us. The conversation weaves personal story with wisdom, including Casey’s reflections on the “neutral zone” and the teachings of Pema Chödrön. If you have ever wondered how to keep going when the ground disappears beneath you, this episode is for you.

Casey opens up about being orphaned at age 12, the death of her brother, and the resilience required to survive constant upheaval. These early losses planted the seeds for her deep understanding of grief, belonging, and adaptation. Shae shares the heartbreak of losing her son, Eric, during the same period as a long and contentious divorce. She speaks candidly about the shock, disorientation, and strength it took to survive that season, and the role community played in holding her up.

One of the episode’s most powerful moments centers on uncertainty. Casey introduces the idea of the neutral zone: the uncomfortable, in-between space where the old life is gone, and the new one has not yet formed. Rather than rushing through it, she invites listeners to stay, breathe, and trust the process.

If this episode resonated, please share it with someone who is living in the in-between. Leave a review. And remember: resilience does not mean having answers. Sometimes it simply means staying present long enough for the next breath.

Listen now to this episode of RESILIENT A.F. and join the conversation on grief, uncertainty, and what it means to keep going.

Gift from Casey: The Full Catastrophe Bonus Content, including 5 Ways to Support Those Who Grieve/Resource List, Spotify Playlist, Excerpt, and Reading Guide - https://linktr.ee/caseymulliganwalsh

Sponsorship opportunities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15oZsxAigvb6e4wbAmvW_El_1_laeyK4shMY1md6zVWI/edit?usp=sharing

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About the Guest:

Casey Mulligan Walsh writes about life at the intersection of grief and joy, embracing uncertainty, and the nature of true belonging. Her award-winning memoir, The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted, Everything I Feared, was released from Motina Books in February 2025. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Next Avenue, Modern Loss, The Manifest-Station, Hippocampus, Barren Magazine, and numerous other literary magazines; her essay, “Still,” published in Split Lip, was nominated for Best of the Net. She is a founding editor of In a Flash literary magazine and serves as an ambassador and Board member for the Family Heart Foundation. Casey lives in upstate New York with her husband, Kevin, and too many books to count. When not traveling, they enjoy visits from their four children and ten grandchildren—the very definition of “the full catastrophe.”

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