The Million Stages Of Grief - Michael Reed On Finding His Way After Catastrophic Loss
Release Date: 03/05/2026
The Million Stages Of Grief - Michael Reed On Finding His Way After Catastrophic Loss
Grief Out Loud
What does grief look like when you lose your wife, two daughters, your home, and nearly everything you own - all in a single night? In this episode we talk with , a husband, father, and author whose life was forever changed when a wildfire swept through his community, taking the lives of his wife Constance, his older daughter Chloe, his youngest, Lily, their pets, and reducing their home to ashes. Nearly a decade later, Michael shares about the darkness he fell into, who was there to hold him and his son up, the ways he stays...
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Tending To The Roots Of Ritual With Joél Simone, The Grave Woman
Grief Out Loud
In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with death & grief care professional, educator, and cultural advocate Joél Simone, also known as . Joél shares the story behind a childhood drawing that declared her future as “the grave woman,” and how that early curiosity about death grew into a lifelong vocation in funeral service, grief education, and cultural competency. Drawing from decades of experience, Joél reflects on the spiritual, cultural, and embodied dimensions of grief,...
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Restrung: Music, Grief, And Fatherhood With Matt Fogelson
Grief Out Loud
When father died of lung cancer during his senior year of college, he turned to music to express what words couldn't - rage, self-loathing, and grief so profound he didn't know where to put it. In this conversation, Matt - author of the new memoir - talks about the silence that surrounded his father's terminal illness, the vacuum left by an absent but beloved parent, and how grunge music (especially Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) created space for him to feel what was hard to put into words. Matt shares how his Aunt Wendy became his unlikely...
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When Grief and Trauma Collide – Christina Babich, MA
Grief Out Loud
When partner, Alex, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm while they were visiting his family in Italy, her world shattered in more ways than one. In addition to the grief of losing the person she loved and the future they were building together, Christina was also left to navigate the aftermath of a deeply traumatic event - one that profoundly impacted her nervous system, sense of safety, and identity. In this episode, Christina shares what it was like to grieve a sudden, “out-of-order” death while also navigating the...
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Echoes Of Her - Adell Coleman On Grieving Her Mother & Finding Community
Grief Out Loud
In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with Adell Coleman about her mother who was killed when Adell was just 24 years old. Adell reflects on the closeness of their relationship and how her mom’s death radically shifted her sense of safety in the world. She shares how the circumstances around her mother’s death, including being the person who found her, has made it difficult to remember how her mom lived, without reliving how she died. Adell also talks about what it’s been like raising two daughters who never met their grandmother, but somehow...
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Why Grief Isn’t A Journey (And What It Is Instead) - John Onwuchekwa
Grief Out Loud
What if grief isn’t a journey for us to eventually finish, but more a language we become fluent in? In this first episode of 2026, we talk with , , and , John Onwuchekwa, whose life was profoundly shaped by the death of his brother Sam in 2015. John shares how Sam’s death altered not just his relationships and priorities, but his understanding of grief itself. Rather than framing grief as a journey with an endpoint, John offers a different metaphor: grief as a language that we learn over time, one with past, present,...
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Time Keeps Moving, But She Doesn’t: Mackenzie Galloway-Cole On Grief And New Year’s
Grief Out Loud
In the fall of 2023, Mackenzie Galloway-Cole was living out her rom-com-worthy love story with her wife Megan in New York City. Then, on an ordinary night in November, Megan collapsed and died a few hours later from a sudden cardiac event. In the aftermath, Mackenzie had to find her way in this newly shattered world without Megan, her anchor and biggest cheerleader. Mackenzie reflects on the shock of becoming a young widow, the added layers of grief that come with queer partner loss, and the painful realities of navigating death care systems that often default to heteronormative...
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Brennan Wood On How Grief Is To Feel, Not Fix - Even At The Holidays
Grief Out Loud
It’s our annual holiday episode, this time with Dougy Center Executive Director and . Brennan first encountered Dougy Center after her mom, Doris, died of breast cancer three days after Brennan’s 12th birthday. She has since navigated almost four decades of holiday seasons with grief along for the ride. She shares about the early years that were awful; the young-adult years she spent volunteering away from family; and how, as an adult, she’s learned to hold both grief and joy while creating new traditions for...
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Beyond Silence: Kyndal Parks On Honoring Her Grandfather & Advocating For Better Grief Support
Grief Out Loud
When Kyndal Parks’ grandfather died on Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving – she lost one of her biggest supporters and confidants. While navigating her grief, Kyndal was also navigating life as a college student where she often felt unseen in her grief by faculty and the wider institution. What began as a class assignment turned into a powerful audio piece about loss, legacy, and the urgent need for grief-informed spaces on college campuses, particularly at HBCUs where collective trauma, silence, and resilience intertwine. In...
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Going To College With Grief - Loss In Young Adulthood
Grief Out Loud
When Hilary was 18, her oldest sister, Kelly, died from a rare cancer called DSRCT (desmoplastic small round cell tumor). In the same year, Hilary left for college and her parents divorced - three life-altering events that reshaped her relationships, sense of stability, and the early years of adulthood. In this episode, we talk about: Growing up as the youngest of three sisters and the creative, nurturing bond she shared with Kelly Navigating Kelly’s diagnosis, treatment, and death while still in high school Trying to appear “fine” in college while carrying...
info_outlineWhat does grief look like when you lose your wife, two daughters, your home, and nearly everything you own - all in a single night? In this episode we talk with Michael Reed, a husband, father, and author whose life was forever changed when a wildfire swept through his community, taking the lives of his wife Constance, his older daughter Chloe, his youngest, Lily, their pets, and reducing their home to ashes. Nearly a decade later, Michael shares about the darkness he fell into, who was there to hold him and his son up, the ways he stays connected to his wife and daughters, and how he's re-engaged with life through writing and helping others.
Michael Reed is the author of The Million Stages of Grief, a self-published book born from years of middle-of-the-night writing as he tried to make sense of catastrophic loss. He also became an unexpected public face of his community’s tragedy - a role he has since transformed into a mission of talking openly about grief, faith, and learning to live again.
In this episode:
- Michael shares vivid memories of his daughters: Chloe’s extraordinary compassion and Lily’s unforgettable sass and spirit.
- What it’s like to lose not only the people you love but every physical trace of them - and how Michael keeps their memory close without tangible reminders.
- How his son Nicholas became a teacher for Michael in how to grieve.
- His experience with EMDR therapy and what acceptance means to him.
- The origin of The Million Stages of Grief: how raw, unedited Facebook posts led to a blog, then to a self-published book.
- Why the five stages of grief didn’t work for Michael - and how he came to understand that grief can move through a million stages in a single day.
- A raw, honest account of his anger at God after the fire.
- What it was like to become the unwilling public spokesperson for a community’s tragedy, and how he has reclaimed that platform on his own terms.
- His core message: loss is loss, no matter who or what you’ve lost — and using your own hurt to help others is how we change the world.
Connect with Michael:
Website - https://themillionstages.com/
Books - https://themillionstages.com/books
IG - https://www.instagram.com/reedstrong2020
Want to learn more about supporting children and teens who are grieving? Sign up for our online courses here: https://classes.dougy.org/