Podcast
Good Grief with Nikki the Death Doula
Hosted by Nikki Smith; Death Doula, Grief Coach, Podcaster, Nature lover · EN
Demystifying and destigmatizing grief with compassion and humor. We'll dive into all the ins and outs of grief and loss and meet some guests along the way.
If you like Terrible, Thanks for Asking or We Can Do Hard Things, you'll love Good Grief.
34episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bonus Episode: Silver Moon
2w ago00:10:26Tap to summarizeIn this bonus episode, I'm reading a letter sent in by a listener named Kim, written shortly after her father's death. Her dad was a brilliant, complicated man whose life was also shaped by depression and addiction. Kim writes about holding his hand through his final hours, singing him the lullaby her grandmother once sang to her, and discovering that his death became one of the most healing experiences of her life.This isn't just a story about loss, it's about presence, forgiveness, and the strange grace that can show up at the very end. Thank you, Kim, for trusting us with something so personal. If you've ever loved someone whose struggles made loving them complicated, I hope this offers some comfort.Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →171. "Suck It Up": Why Blue-Collar Men Are Never Taught How to Grieve with Adam Daviau
3w ago00:37:24Tap to summarizeIn blue-collar workplaces, the culture runs on toughness. Show up, do the job and don't complain. But what happens when a worker loses a father, a coworker, a marriage, or a career, and that same "drive on" mentality is the only tool he's been given to cope?In this episode, I sit down with Adam Daviau, a bilingual end-of-life doula and grief coach who has spent his career helping men navigate loss, especially men in trades and industries where vulnerability isn't exactly part of the job description. We talk about why the standard grief-support system so often fails working men, what unprocessed grief actually looks like on the job site and at home, and what it takes to build a different kind of support.Adam Daviau is a bilingual end-of-life doula based in Sudbury, Ontario, and the founder of Beautiful Existence Doulas. After navigating the overwhelming logistics and emotional weight of his own father's death, Adam became the advocate he wished his family had had; now helping individuals and families lead through loss with clarity and dignity.You can find Adam here: https://beautifulexistencedoulas.com/https://www.instagram.com/beautiful_existence_doulas/https://www.facebook.com/beautifulexistencedoulaservices#Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →170. Comfort Always: Dr. Alan Cohen on the Forgotten Art of Healing
4w ago00:33:26Tap to summarizeDr. Cohen is a pediatric neurosurgeon with more than four decades of experience treating critically ill children at institutions including Boston Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins. In his new memoir, Comfort Always: Healing in the Age of Technology he opens up about one of the least discussed realities in medicine: the emotional weight physicians carry when delivering life-and-death diagnoses to children and their families.Through deeply human stories from the operating room, Dr. Cohen explores what it means to guide families through fear, grief, uncertainty, and hope and how compassion and emotional presence often become just as important as medical expertise itself.You can find Dr Cohen here: dralanrcohen.comPlease grab a copy of his book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2JVBTJG/ or support your local bookstore!Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →169. Losing My Daughter: Danielle Crittenden on Grief, Faith, and Surviving the Unthinkable
Jul 800:40:08Tap to summarizeIn this deeply personal conversation, journalist and author Danielle Crittenden joins the show to discuss her new memoir, Dispatches from Grief: A Mother's Journey Through the Unthinkable. On a February morning in 2024, Crittenden received the call no parent prepares for: her 32-year-old daughter, Miranda, had been found dead in her Brooklyn apartment. In this episode, she talks candidly about the howling early days of loss, mourning rituals that gave her structure, the search for a grief therapist who could actually help, and how she found her way back to living .You can get Danielle’s Book here:Dispatches from Grief: A Mother's Journey Through the Unthinkable: Barnes & Noble | AmazonPlease read more about Pelotonia here: Pelotonia.orgIf you want to donate to me: https://my.pelotonia.org/profile/NS0026Want to Join the Good Grief Society? https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →168. Just Stare at the Wall: A Former Marine's Mission to Bring Meditation to Prisons and Senior Living with Mark Blacknell
Jul 100:43:15Tap to summarizeTW mentions of suicideWhat does meditation look like when you strip away the incense, the apps, and the spiritual jargon? In this episode, I sit down with Mark Blacknell, a former Marine turned ordained Soto Zen meditation guide and author of Stare at the Wall, to talk about the no-frills practice he's built his life around.Mark works with two populations many wellness conversations overlook entirely: incarcerated individuals, including correspondence with someone on Florida's death row, and seniors in assisted living and memory care communities. We talk about why a practice as simple as sitting and staring at a wall can reach people in solitary confinement and people living with memory loss just as powerfully as it reaches anyone else, and why Mark believes simplicity, not complexity, is what makes a meditation practice actually stick.www.stareatthewall.orgWant to Join the Good Grief Society? https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →167. Letting Go to Live Fully: Olivia's Story of Transition, Family, and Joy
Jun 2400:31:37Tap to summarizeTW light politics, adult themesWeek 4 of our June Pride Month series brings one of my favorite conversations yet. This week I sat down with my longtime friend Olivia. Olivia is and author and founder of the podcast; It’s All Been Done Radio Hour.In this episode, Olivia opens up about what it felt like to finally step into her true self, what life looks like now as a trans woman and a parent of two amazing small humans.This is a story about love, honesty, courage, and what it really means to live your most authentic life.You can find Olivia’s show at https://www.iabdpresents.com/Want to Join the Good Grief Society? https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →166. Coming Out, Starting Over & Hot Flashes: Heather Vickery on Living with Joy
Jun 1700:41:54Tap to summarizeWhat happens when you finally stop living by everyone else's rules and start living your truth? This week, I sat down with transformational coach, Human Design expert, and all-around brave human Heather Vickery of Vickery & Co for a warm, honest, and deeply moving conversation about what it really looks like to come out later in life.Heather opens up about coming out after years of living a life that looked great on the outside: married, successful, a mother. But didn't fully reflect who she was on the inside. She shares what it was like to navigate divorce, redefine her relationship with her children as they grew into adults, and do all of that while going through menopause. (Because of course.) This is the kind of conversation that reminds you: it is never too late to choose yourself.You can find Heather here: https://vickeryandco.com/Want to Join the Good Grief Society? https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →165. The Raw Truth About Traumatic Loss with Author & Coach G. Scott Graham
Jun 1000:47:01Tap to summarizeTW: language, graphic description of traumatic deathWhat does grief actually look like when the loss is sudden, traumatic, and completely shatters the life you knew? In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, author, coach, and psychedelic support coach G. Scott Graham opens up about the traumatic death of his husband — and what the experience taught him about the limits of clinical language, the courage it takes to feel real emotions, and what healing actually requires.You can find G Scott here: https://gscottgraham.com/Want to Join the Good Grief Society? https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch and find any other info you need on the podcast here: https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/podcast
Transcribe →164. Living Grief: How Author Jackie Disch Turned the Sudden Loss of Her Wife Into a Memoir
Jun 300:45:11Tap to summarizeKicking off our 4-week Pride Month series celebrating voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, we sit down with Jackie L. Disch. Jackie is a poet, indie author, and the woman behind a raw and honest grief memoir; Losing Katy: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Living Grief. It is a genre-bending work that weaves together poetic prose, journal entries, and emotional insight to paint an intimate portrait of what she calls "living grief." The memoir follows her journey from just before the sudden death of her wife, Katy, through the third anniversary of that loss.In this conversation, Jackie opens up about what it means to lose a spouse without warning, how writing became her lifeline, and why she believes grief isn't something you get over, it's something you learn to carry.Whether you've experienced loss yourself, love someone who has, or simply want to hear a story about how deep love can go, this episode is for you.You can find Jackie here: jackieldisch.comAnd her book: https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Katy-Memoir-Living-Grief/dp/1665310480/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oj2TLojOcFn0Y-YMTklkbKAOg-1KjX2fWdru89knFdc.6CQFvIBr2EEtyEA1mpvqTcStRSm9Oxk9h0C4wHb9U-o&qid=1756238881&sr=1-1Want to Join the Good Grief Society?https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societyHave a burning question for Nikki the Death Doula? Leave me a message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/458190/1/9pa2xynf4iwbj6p1Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaYou can find me here:https://linktr.ee/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch! https://good-grief-podcast.printify.me/
Transcribe →163. Honoring What Matters: The Art of Memorialization with Liz Balli of Dignity Memorial
May 2700:39:05Tap to summarizeWhat does it really mean to memorialize someone, and why does it matter more than most of us realize?I sat down with Liz Balli of Dignity Memorial, for an honest and compassionate conversation about death, grief, and the profound importance of honoring those we've lost. Liz brings a thoughtful, human-centered perspective to an industry that touches every single one of us.We explore the evolving landscape of burial practices and dig into what the act of memorialization really does for the living. Whether you're navigating a recent loss, thinking ahead for your own end-of-life planning, or simply curious about how we as a culture relate to death, this episode will leave you with both comfort and clarity.Want to Join the Good Grief Society?https://www.nikkithedeathdoula.com/the-good-grief-societySupport me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nikkithedeathdoulaYou can find me here: https://linktr.ee/nikkithedeathdoulaGet merch! https://good-grief-podcast.printify.me/
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