Podcast
Full-Time Grievers
Hosted by Nathan M McTague · EN
Full-Time Grievers is a deep dive into the turbulent waters of losing a loved one. Grief can be so isolating. This podcast provides companionship and comfort to fellow grievers, and guidance to those who are supporting a full-time griever.
Join cofounder of the Center for Emotional Education and Grief Support Specialist, Nathan M McTague, in exploring the complexities, personal stories, and practical tools of being with grief.
You can download your free grief journal here:
A Place to Put it Down
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep. 32 Karen Hollenbeck: At the Intersection of Life and Death
May 401:08:56Tap to summarizeAs a paramedic for over 15 years, and now as a sound therapist and Reiki practitioner – Karen Hollenbeck supports those near death and those having to survive their loved one’s death. She's also a fellow Full-Time Griever, navigating the death of two brothers, among others close to her, all passing within a few years.In this conversation, Karen and Nathan talk about what it's like to support others through catastrophe and loss while carrying your own grief. They get into what grief actually does to the nervous system; what practices like sound therapy and Reiki can reach that talking and thinking can't; what her years in emergency medicine taught Karen, and how she managed when loss hit home.They also go deep on what we keep getting wrong about supporting grievers, what it would look like to actually do it well, and what Karen now believes about grief that our culture hasn't caught up to yet.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.You can find out more about Karen’s work here.
Transcribe →Ep. 31 The Invisible Concussion of Grief
Apr 600:53:19Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Nathan describes the functional parallel between the experience of acute grief and the documented symptoms of traumatic brain injury.The cognitive fog. The bone-deep exhaustion. The emotional volatility, the strange relationship to time, the inability to make decisions or hold a conversation – all of it has a neurological basis.Drawing on the neuroscientific research of Mary-Frances O'Connor, Lisa Feldman Barrett, and others, Nathan walks through what's actually happening in the brain during acute loss — why it disrupts everything from memory to social cognition to sleep — and closes with seven practical, science-grounded strategies for caring for the grieving brain without abandoning yourself in the process.This is an episode about understanding what happened to you. And about treating yourself, finally, with the same patience and care you'd give someone with a visible injury.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 30 Grief Confessional: I Miss My Brother
Mar 900:09:34Tap to summarizeSometimes grief feels like reality glitched — and you’re the only one who noticed… The Grief Confessionals is a new minisode format.Raw pieces of grief – written by real people and read without commentary or advice.Just truth being witnessed.In this first confessional, Nathan shares a reflection from “the Broken-Hearted Twin” on losing their brother, and the strange, persistent sense that reality itself has somehow misfired.No brightsiding.No fixing.Just unfiltered grief, spoken out loud.Listeners are invited to submit their own Grief Confessional – anonymously or with their name – for the private collective archives of Full-Time Grievers. Some will be read (with permission) in upcoming Grief Confessional minisodes.If there’s something in your grieving process that you’ve never been able to say anywhere else, you’re welcome to share it with us. Here’s the link: https://forms.gle/rBE4o8kdL7v3pBAm6Because, often, the most powerful thing we can do for our grief is simply be witnessed.
Transcribe →Ep. 29 You’re Not the Same — and You’re Not Supposed to Be
Feb 2300:31:35Tap to summarizeGrief doesn’t just hurt – it changes who we are.In this episode, Nathan names an experience most grievers have, but very few expect — after loss, you may not recognize yourself. Your values and priorities shift.Your capacity changes.Your motivation gets weird.Your sense of belonging rearranges.And on top of everything else, our culture pressures us to “get back to normal” – as if we’re supposed to return to who we were before. (And, of course, we may long for that too…)But we’re *not* the same after loss, and we’re not *supposed* to be.This is a conversation about where grieving becomes identity shift – without pathologizing normal experience – and about how to live forward without betraying our love, who we were with them, or the person we’re becoming.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 28 Minisode: Sitting with Grief
Feb 1600:13:49Tap to summarizeIn this minisode of Full-Time Grievers, Nathan M. McTague offers a different approach — not a solution, not a lesson, but a gentle invitation to be with what’s already here.This is a quiet, grounding episode for anyone who needs permission to be with their grief, just as they are.You can listen while resting, walking, or going about your day — and return to it anytime you need a reminder that you’re not alone, and you’re not doing grief wrong.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 27 10 Things I Don’t Like About Grieving in America
Feb 200:45:28Tap to summarizeGrief is hard — and in many ways, our culture makes it harder than it needs to be.In this episode of Full-Time Grievers, Nathan M. McTague names ten common ways grieving in America is constrained, misunderstood, or actively complicated — from unrealistic expectations of emotional coherence, or platitudes offered instead of presence, to the pressure to “move on” or return to who you were before loss.This is not an episode about fixing grievers or finding silver linings in our sorrow.It’s about telling the truth.In the second half of the episode, Nathan explores what grieving could look like instead: more emotional permission, more nervous-system awareness, more communal accompaniment, and fewer timelines imposed on love.This conversation is for people who are grieving, for those who support grievers, and for anyone who has sensed that something about how we handle grief isn’t working.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 26 Selysa Love on Choosing a Slower Life
Jan 1300:50:02Tap to summarizeReiki Master, Grief Specialist, Performance Artist, and former Full-Time Grievers CoHost, Selysa Love talks about stepping away from the show and what it took to honour herself and her own growth and healing above all else.To find out more about Selysa's work go here.To see Selysa's TEDx Talk go here.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 25 A Seasonal Portal
Dec 2200:19:45Tap to summarizeA threshold episode. Honouring how we began and looking ahead to where Full-Time Grievers is going in Season 2 and beyond. The episode closes with a short grounding practice and a seasonal blessing for anyone moving through grief at the end of the year.You can download your free grief journal here.Send your Grief Confessional here.And contribute to the show here.
Transcribe →Ep. 24 Holidays Hurt: Grieving When Everyone Seems Happy
Dec 100:47:24Tap to summarizeWhile the world turns up the sparkle, gatherings increase, and social media floods with picture-perfect celebrations, grief can feel more isolating than ever.In this episode, we explore:💛 How to use the holidays as a potent time for grief work. 💛 Finding your balance between isolation stress and social overwhelm. 💛 The neurochemistry of connection — and how it can soften the season💛 Permission to opt out, slow down, rest more, or be delightfully “Grinchy”💛 How to design a holiday experience that meets your needs — not anyone else’sWe’re grateful you’re here. You’re not alone 🤍Free Download: How to Receive Support While Grieving
Transcribe →Ep. 23 Guided Grief Journaling: Acute Grief in the First Year
Nov 1000:19:15Tap to summarizeSelysa and Nathan offer another session of journal prompts to support the listener in consciously attending to and expressing specific elements of grief. You can pause the episode and write along with each prompt, and/or pick and choose from the options throughout. If you’ve been looking for ways to let more grieving out, this is for you. (Companion to episode 18.)Free Download: How to Receive Support While Grieving
Transcribe →