Grief Dialogues: Out of Grief Comes Art Podcast Series

I Gave Birth To Death | Author, Laurel Marlantes | EP 23

I Think I Know My Purpose | Renee Benmeleh, Musician | EP 22

This week’s episode focuses on the power of music and sound! Renee Benmeleh, a multicultural vocalist/composer/instrumentalist, founded Sound Nourishment where she leads workshops and events using mindfulness practices, vocal and movement games, and improvised melody/rhythm games. Having found refuge through music and sound to work through her own grief, Renee works lovingly with others who are deep in grief and emotion, and looking to express themselves.  Listen in to hear this incredible ...

Find Your People - Out Of Grief Comes Activism | Amy Reuben, Playwright & Bob Courtney, Producer | EP 21

We’re Not Alone In This Broken World | Hank Greenspan, Playwright, Actor | EP 20

What a powerful way to start a Wednesday morning... This episode, the Grief Dialogues duo Elizabeth Coplan and Halle Williams speak with Henry "Hank" Greenspan, a phenomenal playwright, actor, and psychologist (University of Michigan, emeritus) whose work has focused on survivors of genocide. His plays have been produced for radio on NPR and at more than three hundred stage venues worldwide.  Today's grief topic: Genocide. Where (and how) does one even begin to wrapping their heads around ...

Give Yourself The Freedom | Jocelyn Jackson Williams, Blogger & Grief Recovery Specialist | EP 19

Today’s podcast topic: finding your freedom! We speak with JoceIyn Jackson Williams, a grief recovery specialist and blogger, about how her blogging about life and loss have helped her navigate her grief. #outofgriefcomesart #blogger #griefrecoveryspecialist #grief #lovedones #lossandlove #griefjourney #podcast #podcasters About Jocelyn Jackson Williams, AKA @mobettajo: Jocelyn is passionate about the world of recovery. She has been helping grievers overcome the pain and heartbreak as a ...

Talk About The Person | Emma Payne, Grief Coach Texting | EP 18

This morning we chat with the founder of Grief Coach, Emma Payne! Grief Coach is a texting service that delivers expert support to grievers, and gentle coaching to friends and family who want to support them, but may not be sure how.  #griefcoach #texts #grief #lovedones #lossandlove #griefjourney About Emma Payne:  Emma Payne is the Founder and CEO of Grief Coach, an innovative service that delivers personalized grief support via text message. Grief Coach combines Emma's passion for mobi...

Boarding The Plane | Katherina Thomas, Author, Scientist | EP 17

Katherina Thomas is a writer, narrative practitioner, medical humanities researcher and infectious diseases social scientist working with stories as a medium in healthcare. However, she is also a daughter who worked lovingly with her father before his passing to co-author an incredible story. Together, they “boarded the plane” of life through words, creating a treasure she will never forget and have forever.  “Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is bo...

We Are All Creating | Robert Pardi, Author, Life Sculptor | EP 16

This week we are pleased to introduce Robert Pardi, who joins our episode all the way from Italy! In today’s episode, we discuss how life is like a mosaic, and we are the artists. What piece of the mosaic represents your grief? Halle and Elizabeth also get into Robert’s books, and how his own grief sparked a new journey in his life, and ultimately the exploration of his inner child.   Robert Pardi is a three-time Author, Keynote Speaker, Transformational Life Coach, and Adjunct Professor. ...

We All Deserve Healing | Rana Awdish, Critical Care Physician, Author, Painter | EP 15

"We all deserve healing!" Rana Awdish is a pulmonary and critical care physician in Detroit, Michigan. She began painting when she was incapacitated after a near fatal illness that left her bed-bound for months. She has no formal art training, and rather enjoys the process of discovery and of being a novice, which she is not as able to be in other aspects of her life. On this episode, we discuss Rana's #griefjourney, #WorkLifeBalance, #momlife, #painting , and #MentalHealth.  Rana, we are...

Look Directly at Grief | Cindy Weinstein, Author, Professor | EP14

  This week, we're excited to introduce author Cindy Weinstein, of Finding the Right Words: A Story of Literature, Grief, and the Brain. We pick Cindy's brain about processing illness with words and discussing the grief that exists around illness.   And, today is extra special, as it's the 1 year birthday of the book!   Cindy Weinstein is an English professor who wrote a dual memoir with Dr. Bruce Miller, neurologist at UCSF, about her father's early-onset Alzheimer's. She describes her...

We Can Get Through Anything | Kathryn Keats, Performance Artist & Songwriter | EP 13

Special Episode for National Grief Awareness Day, ”Let’s Do Art!” | Art For The Health Of It & Grief Dialogues

In honor of National Grief Awareness Day, hosts Elizabeth Coplan and Halle Williams team up with Richard and Catherine from Hearts Need Art on their podcast, Arts For The Health Of It for a very special episode, discussing grief and creating some art! Please take a few extra moments today to explore the Hearts Need Art organization and especially their podcast. They ask important questions like: Why do humans turn to the arts in times of crisis? How do the arts impact our health and well-be...

Be Brave and Tell Your Story | Emma Goldman-Sherman, Dramaturg & Founder of BraveSpace | EP 12

Grief Is Non-verbal | Sal Marx, Visual Artist Narrative Medicine | EP 11

Meet Sal Marx: a visual storyteller, artist, and patient advocator out of New York City. This week’s episode tackles a different type of grief: chronic illness. After years of misdiagnosis and invisibility, Sal turned to art to express her grief and frustrations, earning a M.S. in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She helps patients, doctors, caregivers, and other stakeholders to synthesize stories into powerful tools for connection and shared-decision making. Sal notes, “My bod...

Facing Your ”Why” | Venise Vinegar, Content Creator | EP 10

After a sudden major job loss and multiple traumatic deaths in the family, this week’s guest Venise Vinegar traveled to South Africa to find new meaning and purpose. Out of grief truly came art; Venise turned the COVID-19 lockdown into an educational and creative sabbatical and drafted a manuscript for holistic self-help, non-fiction transformational book of 365 days of evidenced-based best practices for finding passion, purpose, and dream jobs. “Life does not wait for you to pick yourself u...

Using All The Tools Available | Mervin Alexander Jr., Actor | EP 9

“…and be true to yourself.” This week we host Mervin Alexander, an unbelievably talented and accomplished actor. While has has performed in Grief Dialogues’ plays, he has also blessed stages worldwide and worked with incredible performance institutes. His recent roll in American Son as Lieutenant John Stokes tackles grief head on. Join this week’s conversation as we unpack the many layers of grief within the black community, associations and dynamics with the police, understanding how the s...

”Good Art” is a Mirror | Gwen Goodkin, Writer | EP 8

Author Gwen Goodkin chats with us about her writings for Grief Dialogue and her published book, A Place Remote. Gwen Goodkin is the author of the short story collection, A Place Remote, recipient of a Silver IPPY Award. She has won the Folio Editor's Prize for Fiction as well as the John Steinbeck Award for Fiction. She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Gwen was a featured writer in the New Short Fiction Series, performed in North Hollywood. GwenGoodkin.com

What brings you joy, every day? | Bonnie Bizzell, EOL Planner | EP 7

What brings you joy? This episode, Halle and Elizabeth chat with Bonnie Bizzell, an end of life planner, on the importance of advance care planning and honoring of the self during grief.

Claudia Coenen | Creative Grief Therapist, Author | EP 6 | Out Of Grief Comes Art

“Move the grief in your body!” When her husband suddenly died, Claudia Coenen channeled her inner creative and became a creative grief counselor and certified thanatologist. She specializes in developing coping and processing strategies to help families and individuals through life’s most challenging transitions. On this episode, Halle & Elizabeth discuss with Claudia how her grief has transformed into a career of helping others, encouraging art expression, and writing resources for navigat...

Lisa Sniderman, Aoede | Musician, Playwright, Filmmaker | EP 5 | Out Of Grief Comes Art

“Grieving, like illness, is a rollercoaster.” This week, Halle hosts Lisa Sniderman, aka Aoede, on the Out Of Grief Comes Art podcast! They discuss Lisa’s incredible variety of creations that stemmed from the grief of her chronic illness, the artistic process, and the harsh realities of managing illness daily. Lisa Sniderman's received more than 100 accolades and awards as the artist Aoede, and is author of a powerful new spoken word musical audiobook: "The Grieving Project" (Aug 2020), all w...

Tara Lynn Marta | Writer | EP 4, Part 2 | Out Of Grief Comes Art

PART 2: oops! Technology wreaked havoc! Continue Part 2 of Tara Lynn Marta’s interview. “If you have a dream, this is the only moment we have. We don’t know if we have tomorrow. Make that dream come true… it’s much better than regret.” - Tara Lynn Marta | Tara Lynn Marta joins Halle and Elizabeth to discuss the grief that has inspired her books Look Back To Yesterday and Dreaming Through The Eyes Of God. Follow Tara on Facebook (Tara Lynn Marta, Author) and on Twitter (@TaraLynnMarta)

Tara Lynn Marta | Writer | EP 4, Part 1 | Out Of Grief Comes Art

“If you have a dream, this is the only moment we have. We don’t know if we have tomorrow. Make that dream come true… it’s much better than regret.” - Tara Lynn Marta | Tara Lynn Marta joins Halle and Elizabeth to discuss the grief that has inspired her books Look Back To Yesterday and Dreaming Through The Eyes Of God. Follow Tara on Facebook (Tara Lynn Marta, Author) and on Twitter (@TaraLynnMarta)

Laura Thoma | Playwright, Writer | Out Of Grief Comes Art

“Anchor to yourself.” - Laura Thoma Award winning playwright and writer, Laura Thoma, shares her personal and unexpected grief story that led her to the theater and launched her career in the arts. The complicated layers and components of her grief have provided her inspiration to create powerful (and wildly successful) scripts that have resonated with audiences all over the world. Laura, we are honored to have you! LauraThomaPlaywright.com @laurathoma (Facebook) @laurathomacoaching (Inst...

Father’s Day Stories | Out Of Grief Comes Art

Elizabeth and Halle talk about the upcoming holiday, stories of their fathers, and the new Grief Dialogues film, Honoring Choices.

Father’s Day Stories | EP 2 | Out Of Grief Comes Art

Elizabeth and Halle talk about the upcoming holiday, stories of their fathers, and the new Grief Dialogues film, Honoring Choices.

Annnd… Action! | EP 1 | Out of Grief Comes Art

Meet Halle Williams and Elizabeth Coplan, co-hosts of Out of Grief Comes Art. Hear about our series and all the great artists who will be on our show over the next few months!

Out of Grief Comes Art Episode 1

Meet Halle Williams and Elizabeth Coplan, co-hosts of Out of Grief Comes Art. Hear about our series and all the great artists who will be on our show over the next few months!

Interview with Paul Taylor-McCartney

Interview with poet Paul Taylor-McCartney Read his poem The Choosing  and Unfinished on stories.griefdialogues.com Paul Taylor-McCartney is a doctoral researcher with Leicester University, following a part-time PhD in Creative Writing. His interests include dystopian studies, children’s literature and initial teacher education. His poetry, short fiction and academic articles have appeared in a range of notable UK and international publications including Aesthetica, The Birmingham Journal o...

Interview with Vena Wilson LCSW

I met Vena Wilson through another Las Vegas therapist when I brought our play, Grief Dialogues, to the Cockroach Theatre in Las Vegas.  The show, in honor of the first responders of the Las Vegas Strip Shooting a year prior, required a therapist for our talk back.  When the original therapist was unable to attend and moderate the post-show discussion, she recommended Vena, and a new professional friendship was born.  Since that day in late September 2018, I’ve had the pleasure to work with ...

Peggie Dickens Interview Where Are We Now?

An update from mental health counselor and coach Peggie Dickens on what’s happening in our medical community. What has changed for healthcare providers in the last month?

Funeral Celebrant Paul Boardman

How funerals have changed in time of COVID

Interview with Peggie Dickens, M.A., LHMC

Elizabeth Coplan interviews mental health counselor and coach Peggie Dickens, M.A., LHMC in this inaugural podcast for health care professionals. Peggie Dickens shares her experience with health care providers navigating their way through the current unknowns they're facing during the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic, covering her thoughts on the place the mind/body connection will play in healing moving forward.

Mary Ormbrek Shares Her Story of Love and Loss

Mary’s story losing both her parents within two years is not uncommon. Hear how this former addict built a strong on a dead bed promise to her mother.

Novelist Tara Marta Reflects on Her Own Grief to Write Look Back to Yesterday

By the year 2009, Tara lost all the people that was close to in her life. She wanted to write a story about loss specifically to share her own experiences of loss and combine it with a fantastical idea of being sent back in time to deal with her grief.

Author Elliott Rose speaks to Grief Dialogues about New Audio Drama, Works of Love, and the Importance of Mr. Rogers when Discussing Grief

Works of Love is an audio drama about love: the possession of and loss of it.  It centers on recent widower Julian Silver as he re-launches his wife’s old show, the eponymous “Works of Love”. Each week Julian reads a new essay about love and one of its variations, be it romantic, familial, fraternal, or existential. Through other’s words he strives to remember the reason why we love if the cost is grief. And once again we learn that Out of Grief Comes Art.

Grief Coach Emma Payne Discusses Her New Text Messaging Service

PERSONALIZED SUPPORT, DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR PHONE Grief Coach is a text-messaging service that delivers personalized content, tips and reminders, to people who are grieving, as well as to the friends and family who want to support them. Find out more at www.grief.coach.

"Mysterious Moments" with clinical psychologist Dr. Jane Williams

Special Grief Dialogues host Kimberly C. Paul, author and founder of Death by Design interviews Dr. Jane Williams on her book Mysterious Moments: Thoughts that Transform Grief. Dr. Williams shares some of her stories and thoughts on the transformative changes that can occur through "aha" or mysterious moments that can change how we experience our griefs. She explains how isolating grief can make us, but how our thoughts can help change our narratives surrounding the grief process and us heal...

Grief Dialogues Contributor Kimberly C. Paul interviews Noha Waibsnaider of GatheringUS

Elizabeth Coplan met Noha when they were both on a panel at ReimagineNYC this fall.  Intrigued by the beauty and simplicity of the Noha’s idea, Grief Dialogues reached out to the founder for a podcast about https://www.gatheringus.com/. Kimberly C. Paul interviewed Noha, whose large family included planning an of memorials and funerals at her home in Brooklyn, NY.  Noha felt the challenges of organizing family and friends during these difficult times and yearned for a simpler way to mobiliz...

Grief Dialogues: The Book Contributors Rachel Greenberg and Sharon Ehlers Share Their Stories

Rachel Greenberg (Connections of Hope) and Sharon Ehler (Grief Reiki) describe the stories that lead to their writings published in Grief Dialogues: The Book.

Karen Vargas Interview

Listen in on our MLK Day interview with Karen Vargas. We talk about the differences in grieving and how we are ultimately all the same.

Creating Memories with Dr. Karen Smith

Join Elizabeth Coplan and Dr. Karen Smith, Clinical Ethicist, LCSW, Ph.D., Henry Ford Health System.  She is also VP of the Funeral Consumer Alliance. Dr. Smith provides independent ethics consultations, ethics policy development and ethics education for hospital staff. Her passion is sharing ethics with medical professionals and the community and assisting families during difficult decisions. She specializes in death and dying issues and lecture on a variety of healthcare related ethical is...

Coming Home

Ever wonder what to do with your loved ones ashes? Chuck Munat wanted his ashes scattered around the world. More specifically, he wanted his ashes sprinkled in Ireland, on Squirrel Island in Maine, and in Akaroa, New Zealand. After Chuck died, Florrie, his wife and caretaker, took his remains to New Zealand where Chuck was welcomed home by family, friends, and three hundred pairs of nesting little blue penguins. Florrie wrote about her experience in her essay “Coming Home” from our book Ju...

Be Brave

Florrie Munat, formerly an English teacher, a reference librarian, and Young Adult book reviewer, describes the six years as her husband’s caretaker as he struggle with dementia in her new book Be Brave: A Wife’s Journey Through Caregiving. Today on our podcast we asked Florrie more about this journey of love. The chapter titled “The Power of Love” offers a glimpse of Florrie’s ability to help us understand the complicated jumble of heartache and letting go.

Widows Wear Stilettos

Have you ever seen Vogue–The Widow’s Edition?  Have you heard of the latest Stella McCartney collection–for Widows?  No?  Neither had Kate Ruffing when she found herself a young widow at age 38 she decided to set a new trend–one her deceased husband would approve.

Til Death Do Us Part

It wasn’t suppose to be this way. The vows said ‘til death do us part but that was not for years, decades, a 50th anniversary party.  Listen to Kate Ruffing as she describes how, after 4 years of trying everything she could - rehab centers, detox wards, countless emergency room visits, interventions and therapists–she knew that soon death would indeed part the young couple.

Grief Bursts

Kate Ruffing, a widow of not quite two years, as she describes what it feels like to be a young widow.  It's nothing like you expect it to be.