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Best Overall Podcast - 2024 Ear Worthy
True stories of healing, grief, and starting over.
A grief and healing podcast. Host Matt Gilhooly has honest conversations with real people about sudden loss, trauma, and the moment their lives split into before and after. New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.
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New here? These six are a good place to begin.
11
May 24, 2022
The Dichotomy of Grief - My Story | Matt Gilhooly
In this episode, we flipped the script so I could tell my story. Throughout the first batch of episodes, the guests (and listeners) asked when I would tell my story. So, in this episode, my first guest, Christin Lindley, leads the conversation as I share the pivotal moments that shaped my life and eventually led to The Life Shift podcast.
259
June 24, 2026
Adoption: The Chapter You Thought Was Finished
Adoption, Identity, and Finding Home
207
Oct. 7, 2025
Sally McQuillen on Carrying Her Son’s Light Forward After His Death
Psychotherapist and author Sally McQuillen shares her journey of sobriety, child loss, and finding gratitude while carrying her son’s light forward.
234
Feb. 17, 2026
Grief: Making Something Beautiful From What Broke
A quiet conversation about learning to stay open and find meaning when life moves you through loss and change.
245
May 6, 2026
Part of Me Died That Day: Learning to Live After the Worst Day of Your Life
Stephen Panus lost his 16-year-old son Jake in a sudden accident. This conversation explores grief, forgiveness, guilt, and what it means to keep walking when part of you didn’t survive.
275
Aug. 19, 2026
147 Days: Raising and Losing My Sister
A woman who became a parent at twenty two learns that loving someone completely, and losing them, means grieving out loud and finding your center again.
Recent Episodes
300
Nov. 15, 2026
She Waited Six Years to Be a Mom, Then Showed Up Without a Single Onesie
Leslie Lopez spent six years and six rounds of IVF becoming a mom, then showed up to the hospital without a single onesie. Hear how she held joy and sadness at the same time, and the day she asked for help.
299
Nov. 11, 2026
For 12 Years She Checked His Breathing Every Night and Told No One
Tania Chomyk lost her six month old son in 1998 and, for twelve years, quietly checked on her next baby every night. Hear how she learned to carry grief and turned it into a book.
298
Nov. 8, 2026
Widowed After 45 Years: How Writing Gave Me a Reason to Get Up
Pamela Joy Dlugos lost her brother, both parents, and her husband of 45 years. Hear how her faith and her pen carried her through, and what she hopes for next.
297
Nov. 4, 2026
Time: When My Father Said It Just Went So Fast
Jennifer Griffith learned at 13 to carry her family's silence. Hear how her father's last words sent her to the page at 42, and what it took to finally write the book.
296
Nov. 1, 2026
Belonging: Leaving the Only Life I Had Ever Known
Margaret Eastman Smith left the movement she was born into at 35 and drove to Boston to start over. Hear what she kept and what she left behind.
295
Oct. 28, 2026
Letting Go: The Afternoon My Mother Said It Was Time
Oliver Christen came home for one year and stayed. Hear how he supported his mother at the end of her life and what it taught him about letting go.
294
Oct. 25, 2026
She Woke Up Paralyzed on Her Honeymoon & Finally Questioned Her Checklist Life
Charu Moorjani woke on her honeymoon unable to lift a croissant. Hear how that morning cracked open a checklist life and led her back to herself.
293
Oct. 21, 2026
Undercover Cop with a Deathwish, and the Man With Grief Behind Him
Former Queensland detective Todd Maguire spent years undercover as "Donny" trying to outrun grief. Here's how a memoir and his own family finally brought him back.
292
Oct. 18, 2026
Forty Seizures in Six Weeks: Learning to Stop Hiding
Travis White hid his seizures and depression for fifteen years. A 2024 crisis and a call to 988 finally pushed him toward the help that changed everything.
Recent Blog Posts
Nov. 15, 2026
Why Emotional Armor Prevents Us From Preparing for Joy After Loss
When deep trauma or loss teaches us that happiness can be ripped away at any moment, building emotional armor becomes an automatic survival mechanism. This protective barrier stops us from preparing for joy, making moments of eventual triumph feel c…
Nov. 11, 2026
Why Secret Grief Rituals Like Nighttime Breathing Checks Persist For Years
Secret grief rituals, such as checking a subsequent child's breathing every single night without telling anyone, are a deeply private survival mechanism for parents surviving infant loss. This article explores the psychology behind hidden trauma hab…
Nov. 8, 2026
How to Use Writing as a Grief Journal After Losing a Spouse
Writing through grief can provide a vital anchor when the loss of a spouse of 45 years leaves your daily routine shattered. This guide explores how putting pen to paper offers a concrete reason to get out of bed, helps process complex trauma, and tr…