Libsyn Directory

Understanding Loss Due to Addiction

Release Date: 08/18/2025

How To Manifest Signs from Your Loved Ones

Tendrils of Grief

In this episode of Tendrils of Grief, we are honored to welcome Kelly Daugherty, a seasoned social worker with over two decades of clinical experience and a Fellow in Thanatology: the study of death, dying, and bereavement. Based in Malta, NY, Kelly is the founder of Greater Life Grief Counseling and the Center for Informed Grief, LLC. Her personal journey with grief began as a teenager following the loss of her mother to breast cancer, inspiring her lifelong dedication to supporting individuals navigating the complexities of grief. Kelly's mission extends beyond individual support to creating...

You Don’t Heal Grief—You Live With It: An Embodied Approach to Loss

Tendrils of Grief

In this deeply grounding episode of Tendrils of Grief, I’m joined by Sheena Nancy Sarles—lifelong student of well-being, certified yoga teacher, author, and creator of Yoga for Living with Loss™—for a powerful conversation about grief as an embodied experience and the wisdom of learning to live with loss rather than trying to heal or fix it. After the profound losses of her parents, sister, and best friend, Sheena began to notice what many grievers intuitively feel but rarely hear validated: grief doesn’t only live in the heart or mind—it congests in the body. Through years of...

Continuing bonds after death

Tendrils of Grief

In this deeply moving episode of Tendrils of Grief, I sit down with Ksenia Merck—artist, architect, and creative storyteller—to explore how love, creativity, and spiritual connection continue long after loss. Ksenia shares her powerful grief journey following the death of her husband, William F. Merck II, and how honoring his final wish led her to bring his genre-blending science fiction novel, Ghost Flower, to life through posthumous publication and her own original illustrations. What unfolds is an intimate conversation about enduring bonds, creative healing, and the unseen ways our...

Beyond the Goodbye – Perspective on grieving from a funeral director

Tendrils of Grief

In today’s episode with Karen Roldan, a licensed funeral director, embalmer, and the creator of Behind the Funeral, to pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood industries in our lives — death care. With nearly twenty years of experience and a deep respect for the families she serves, Karen brings honesty, compassion, and clarity to conversations many of us avoid until we’re forced to have them. As a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science and a licensed professional in funeral services, cremation, pre-need planning, and cemetery property, Karen offers a rare insider...

Curious Compassion: A Gentle Look At Grief

Tendrils of Grief

Today I sit down with Kyle Kittleson, the on-camera host for MedCircle, known for making complex mental health topics accessible through thoughtful, compassionate conversations. Kyle opens up about his personal grief journey after losing his mother as a teenager and how unprocessed loss shaped his emotional world for years. Drawing from both lived experience and thousands of interviews with leading mental health experts, Kyle shares powerful insights on grief, trauma, emotional healing, and rebuilding life after loss. We talk about why there’s no “right” way to grieve, how avoidance...

Don’t Call Me Widow

Tendrils of Grief

In this episode of Tendrils of Grief, I sit down with Samina Bari—a corporate leader, author, and grief advocate whose life changed forever after the sudden loss of her husband. Known for advising CEOs and boards on over $40 billion in global M&A transactions, Samina brings that same clarity and strength to a deeply personal conversation about grief, widowhood, and rebuilding life after loss. We talk openly about the realities of sudden grief—the loneliness, identity shifts, and emotional overwhelm that often go unseen. Samina shares why grief makes people uncomfortable, how...

What Grief Really Feels Like

Tendrils of Grief

In this episode, I’m joined by Marie Crews, a transformational coach, speaker, retreat facilitator, and best-selling author whose work is grounded in one core belief: your story can set you free. For over 15 years, Marie has helped women rewrite the narratives that limit them—guiding them through grief, trauma, and profound life transitions with compassion, courage, and clarity. Marie’s 25-year journey of self-discovery led her to the practice that became her greatest healing tool: journal writing. This deeply personal process inspired her to create The Nautilus Way: Write Your Way Free,...

Don’t Grieve Alone – There is a Community Ready to Support You

Tendrils of Grief

In today's episode Julie Fingersh, an accomplished writer and freelance journalist with a knack for exploring the intricacies of life. Through her essays, editorials, and reporting, Julie dives into topics like culture, wellness, relationships, and parenting adult children—all while offering insights on how to lead a better, more meaningful life. Her work has graced the pages of The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, The Huffington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Miami Herald, to name a few. Julie's current blog is a midlife sequel to her award-winning humor column she wrote in her...

What To Do When Your Faith Isn’t Enough

Tendrils of Grief

I sit down with Rev. Kate J. Meyer, LPC—an ordained minister, licensed professional counselor, hospice professional, and acclaimed author—whose life’s work is dedicated to bringing grief out of the shadows and helping people move through loss with honesty, compassion, and faith. Drawing from decades of experience in hospice care, private practice, and spiritual counseling, Kate offers deeply grounded insights into the emotional, spiritual, and psychological realities of grief. She shares why so many grievers feel unseen or misunderstood within their faith communities, how spirituality...

Change Your Mind and Change Your Life

Tendrils of Grief

We sit down with Zoilita Grant, a transformational mindset expert with over 50 years of experience in subconscious reprogramming, hypnosis, and personal development. Zoilita has helped thousands of people break free from old patterns, release fear, and step into a life of clarity, confidence, and purpose. Known for her grounded, heart-centered approach, Zoilita blends science-backed techniques, hypnosis for healing, and mindset transformation tools that empower individuals to create real, lasting change. Her message is simple yet profound: everything you need to transform your life is already...

More Episodes

In today's episode of Tendrils of Grief, we have the privilege of speaking with Patricia Roos, a former professor of sociology at Rutgers University, whose life took a tragic turn in 2015 when her 25-year-old son, Alex, passed away from a heroin overdose.

Guided by her academic background in sociology, Patricia embarked on a deeply personal journey to make sense of the devastating loss that her family endured. This journey led her to write a compelling and insightful sociological memoir, Surviving Alex: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction, which was published by Rutgers University Press in May 2024.

Patricia brings a unique perspective to the conversation, blending her professional expertise with her lived experience as a grieving mother. In this episode, she shares her insights into the complex factors surrounding addiction, the challenges faced by families navigating this crisis, and the process of healing and rebuilding life after such a profound loss.

Join us for a poignant and enlightening discussion as Patricia opens up about her personal story, the creation of her memoir, and her mission to bring awareness and understanding to the multifaceted issue of addiction and its impact on families.

Episode Highlights

· Grief and Loss

· Addiction and Recovery

· Heroin Overdose

· Sociological Perspectives on Grief

· Healing After Loss

· Parenting Through Addiction

· Memoir of Grief

· Surviving Alex book

· Rutgers University Press

· Coping with Child's Death

· Sociology of Addiction