Podcast
Journey to Grateful
Hosted by Tim Bigonia · EN
Through the loss of my wife to cancer, I've discovered that many people – my support system included – don't know quite how to navigate through daily life after loss. Whether grieving themselves or wanting to help those they attempt to support, it's an uncharted path for many. I’ve come to understand the most valuable asset my family and friends possess is the ability to lift me up when I’ve needed it most with the simplest of gestures. There is no perfect formula to help someone grieve, the being there, listening, and providing a slice of normal is often exactly what is needed. The most difficult task for those on the outside is understanding the many facets of loss that are present almost every single day. This podcast was created to help us understand the process of loss with the help of those who are living it.
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
EP205 - When Your Life Keeps Changing Without Them
2w ago00:10:47Tap to summarizeOne of the hardest realities of grief is realizing that life continues to move forward—even when someone we love is no longer here to experience it with us. In this episode, Tim reflects on the emotional weight of navigating changing seasons of life after loss: children growing older, milestones unfolding, routines evolving, and becoming someone you never imagined you’d have to become alone. Through honest and compassionate reflection, Tim explores the complicated emotions that can arise when life continues changing without the person who should still be beside us. Whether your loss involves a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or close friend, this episode offers reassurance that grief is not only about mourning the past—it’s also about learning how to carry love into a future you never expected to walk alone.
Transcribe →EP204 - Loneliness in a Life That Keeps Moving
3w ago00:13:17Tap to summarizeLoneliness in grief isn’t always what we expect—and it doesn’t always fade with time. In this episode, Tim explores how loneliness evolves along the long road of grief, shifting from the visible isolation of early loss to a quieter, more complex presence in the years that follow. As life continues to move forward, moments of connection and even joy can still carry an undercurrent of absence. With honesty and compassion, Tim reflects on the difference between being alone and feeling alone, the subtle social shifts that occur after loss, and the quiet realization that someone who should be there… isn’t. No matter the type of loss you’ve experienced, this episode offers reassurance that this kind of loneliness is not something to fix—but something to understand, carry, and gently move through.
Transcribe →EP203 - The Quiet Weight of the Middle Years of Grief
Apr 2800:11:37Tap to summarizeMuch of the conversation around grief focuses on the early days and months after loss—the shock, the fog, and the painful “firsts.” But what happens in the years that follow? In this episode, Tim reflects on what he calls the middle years of grief, a quieter season where life continues forward while grief still walks beside us. With honesty and compassion, he explores the often unseen emotional weight carried long after the world assumes we’ve moved on. Whether your loss is recent or many years behind you, this episode reminds us that grief doesn’t simply end—it evolves, becoming part of the long road we learn to walk while carrying love with us.
Transcribe →EP202 - When Grief Gets a Name
Apr 2100:11:38Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Journey to Grateful, Tim explores a deeply personal and often unspoken part of grief — what happens when grief is given a name.For those who have lost a spouse, words like “widow” or “widower” can feel less like descriptors and more like labels imposed before the heart has had time to process the loss. These labels may serve a purpose in paperwork and systems, but emotionally, they can feel foreign, limiting, and disconnected from the fullness of a life and love that cannot be reduced to a single word.Through personal reflection and honest storytelling, Tim shares his experience of carrying a label he never chose — and the tension between what the world calls us and who we truly are. He also explores how labels shape perception, how they can quietly influence identity, and why grief, in all its forms, deserves far more depth than language often allows.This episode is a reminder that while grief may be named, it is never contained — and that love, loss, and the life that continues beyond them cannot be defined by a single word.
Transcribe →EP201 - The Chapter I Never Expected to Walk Alone
Apr 1500:19:48Tap to summarizeNearly six years after losing his wife Colleen, Tim finds himself reflecting on a part of grief that few people talk about openly — the middle years.In the early days after loss, life often feels chaotic and uncertain, but there is still a clear purpose: caring for children, holding the family together, and simply surviving the unimaginable. But as time passes and children grow into adulthood, a new chapter quietly begins to emerge.In this deeply personal episode, Tim reflects on the reality of an empty nest ahead and the unexpected loneliness that can surface years after a loss. He shares the internal questions many grieving people carry but rarely say aloud, including whether we are “doing grief right,” and what it means to continue building a life that looks very different than the one we once imagined.This conversation gently explores the tension between gratitude for the love that shaped our lives and the loneliness that can appear as life continues forward.For anyone navigating the long road of grief — especially years after the loss — this episode offers an honest reminder that healing isn’t about replacing what was lost, but learning how to carry love forward into chapters we never expected to walk.
Transcribe →EP200 - Living Forward Without Leaving Love Behind
Apr 400:12:00Tap to summarizeIn this milestone 200th episode of Journey to Grateful, Tim closes the Seeing Grief Differently series by reflecting on what it truly means to live forward after loss — without leaving love behind. This episode gathers the themes of grief, companionship, faith, identity, and patience, offering reassurance that moving forward is not a betrayal of what was, but an integration of love that continues to shape who we become.
Transcribe →EP199 - The God Who Doesn’t Hurry
Mar 3100:06:39Tap to summarizeIn a world that urges quick healing and easy answers, grief often reveals a different experience of God — one marked by patience, presence, and quiet companionship. In this episode, Tim reflects on encountering a God who doesn’t rush pain toward purpose, but stays close through uncertainty, sorrow, and slow healing. A gentle exploration of faith, grief, and divine presence without timelines.
Transcribe →EP198 - When Faith Stops Sounding Like Certainty
Mar 2400:06:30Tap to summarizeGrief often softens the certainty of faith, leaving questions where answers once lived. In this episode, Tim reflects on how belief, spirituality, and trust can change after loss — not as a failure of faith, but as a deeper form of honesty. A compassionate conversation for anyone navigating doubt, silence, or spiritual uncertainty while grieving.
Transcribe →EP197 - The Version of Me Grief Introduced
Mar 1700:06:47Tap to summarizeLoss changes us — not by erasing who we were, but by introducing us to someone new. In this episode, Tim explores identity, becoming, and the quiet ways grief reshapes how we see ourselves and the world. A compassionate reflection for anyone navigating who they are now, and learning to make peace with the version of themselves grief has introduced.
Transcribe →EP196 - Grief as a Teacher (Even When We Didn't Enroll)
Mar 1000:07:35Tap to summarizeGrief is not something we choose — and yet it often becomes one of life’s most powerful teachers. In this episode, Tim reflects on the quiet lessons grief can offer without suggesting the loss itself was meaningful, necessary, or something to be grateful for. This conversation honors the truth that grief is a response to love, while acknowledging how it can deepen awareness, compassion, and understanding over time — even when we never asked for the lesson.
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