Podcast
Restorative Grief with Mandy Capehart
Hosted by Mandy Capehart · EN
Explore the raw and unseen sides of loss and healing with stories, reflections, and real-life guidance on navigating grief—whether it’s a deep personal loss, an identity shift, or life’s inevitable heartbreaks. Each conversation offers practical tools to integrate healing in mind, body, and spirit. Join for support, growth, and a compassionate community that understands. For bonus content, visit Patreon.com/MandyCapehart. Interested in sharing your story as a guest? Reach out at MandyCapehart.com/PodMatch.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
247. The Signs All Around Us with Jenny Robinson Clark
6d ago00:34:51Tap to summarize“I don’t want to stay in my grief. I know I’m going to carry it with me, but I don’t want to stay in the sadness.”What does it look like to stay connected to someone you love after they die? And how do we make space for grief without losing ourselves inside it?Today’s conversation is with children’s author Jenny Robinson Clark, whose book Are You Here? was born from the loss of her mother, the experience of raising young children while grieving, and the quiet moments that helped her feel connected again.We talk about the complicated overlap of motherhood and loss, the fear and skepticism that can show up around signs and synchronicities, and the importance of curiosity in grief. Jenny shares honestly about feeling disconnected from her mother years after her death, how creativity became part of her healing, and why she chose to tell this story through a children’s book.This episode is gentle, hopeful, and deeply honest about the non-linear nature of grief.If you’ve ever wondered whether healing means letting go, whether comfort is something you’re “allowed” to receive, or how to stay open to beauty after loss, this conversation is for you.In this episode, we talk about:What it was like to lose a mother while raising very young childrenThe fear of death and grief that begins in childhoodWhy grief can feel both heavy and strangely awakeningHow signs and synchronicities can create comfort after lossThe role of curiosity in healingParenting while actively grievingWhy emotional honesty matters for childrenThe connection between creativity, nature, and grief workLearning to notice beauty again after lossWhy grief is never linearLinks + Resources from this episode:Jenny Robinson Clark - jennyrobinsonclark.comPurchase "Are You Here?" at Bookshop.orgConnect with Jenny on IG - instagram.com/jennyrobinsonclarkFollow Mandy on IG - instagram.com/mandycapehartGet the Workbook or become a Patron - patreon.com/mandycapehart
Transcribe →246. Parenting Through Divorce and Grief
2w ago00:07:23Tap to summarize“You are not responsible for removing your child’s grief. You are responsible for the environment you help create.”What if parenting through divorce didn’t require you to make everything okay, but instead invited you to understand what is actually yours to carry?This conversation holds space for the quiet, often unspoken grief that comes with the end of a relationship, especially when you are still showing up every day for your children. It offers a gentle reorientation away from pressure and toward presence, helping you consider what steadiness can look like in the middle of change.If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, or unsure how to support your children while navigating your own grief, this episode invites you into a more sustainable way forward: one rooted in connection, capacity, and small, meaningful shifts.In this episode, we talk about:What it means to parent while grieving the loss of a relationshipThe difference between creating safety and trying to prevent painWhy you are not responsible for fixing your child’s griefHow connection supports children more than perfectionThe role of repair when parenting feels messyCreating small, consistent moments of safety and belongingHow to begin tending to your own capacity, one week at a timeLinks + Resources from this episode:Alan Wolfelt on divorce & grief: https://amzn.to/3NGVZCCLisa Rites: https://amzn.to/4dMPaK9Get the workbook/Become a Patron!Learn more about Restorative Grief
Transcribe →245. Reclaiming Agency While Grieving with Kyle Kittleson
3w ago00:41:33Tap to summarizeWhat does grief need from us - time, understanding, or something else entirely?In this episode, I’m joined by Kyle Kittleson, host at MedCircle, to explore what it means to live alongside grief rather than trying to fix or outpace it. We talk about how loss shapes the way we listen, why grief resists timelines, and what thousands of conversations with mental health experts have revealed about what actually helps. This conversation offers permission to slow down, trust your own rhythm, and rethink what healing can look like.Links + Resources from this episode:Kyle Kittleson at MedCircle: https://medcircle.comJoin the Restorative Grief Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rests Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mandycapehartSubscribe to the Restorative Grief Newsletter: https://www.mandycapehart.com/subscribe Work with Mandy: https://www.mandycapehart.com/coaching
Transcribe →244. Avoiding Advice When You Walk Beside Grievers
4w ago00:10:24Tap to summarizeHave you ever sat with someone who is grieving and felt completely unsure what to say?If so, you're in good company! This week, let's talk about how the awkward silences you fear are an offering of solace and care for your beloved grievers. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable; that's where the magic is!Links + Resources from this episode:Learn more about Stanier's workListen to Emily Kasriel's interview on Restorative GriefJoin the Restorative Grief CommunityBecome a PatronSubscribe to the Restorative Grief NewsletterWork with Mandy
Transcribe →243. Becoming a Grief Ally with Aly Bird
Jun 700:35:43Tap to summarize“Becoming a grief ally isn’t about having the perfect words—it’s about cultivating the humility, courage, and self-awareness to show up with compassion when someone you love is living through loss.”When grief enters the life of someone we care about, many of us freeze. We worry about saying the wrong thing, doing too much, or not doing enough. In this conversation, Aly Bird—life coach and author of Grief Ally—invites us to rethink what meaningful support really looks like. After the sudden death of her husband Will while hiking alone, Aly discovered that much of the common advice about grief support didn’t quite fit her experience. What grew from that realization was a deeply thoughtful framework for becoming a healthier, more compassionate presence for those who are grieving.Together we explore how grief allies can move beyond quick fixes or performative care and instead practice the steady, intentional support that grieving people actually need.We talk about:Why becoming a grief ally begins with self-awareness and self-compassionThe difference between reacting to grief and learning to accompany itWhat it means to “wait in the wings” and offer long-term supportHow active listening helps us honor the nuance of someone’s griefWhy grief allies must resist minimizing grief or rushing someone toward “strength”How to repair missteps and stay present even when we feel uncertainThe importance of flexibility, humility, and courage when supporting someone through lossLinks + Resources from this episode:Follow Aly on Instagram: @thealybirdPurchase Grief Ally wherever books are soldConnect with MandyGet the workbook / Become a Patron
Transcribe →242. Why Your Enneagram Type Didn't Prepare You For This
May 3100:13:10Tap to summarize"What will you do when all your self-awareness isn't making a difference?"This is more common than you suspect, because learning alone doesn't move the needle in our search for the path toward wholeness.This week, we're talking about how the Enneagram is a helpful tool for language of what we're experiencing, and then we'll learn how to start integrating that language and awareness into our actions so we stop knowing and start healing in an intentional and sustainable way.Links + Resources from this episode:Become a Patron/Get the WorkbookLearn more about Restorative Grief and Enneagram CoachingConnect on Instagram/Threads
Transcribe →241. How Stories Shape Grief and Identity with Kaitlin B. Curtice
May 2400:44:50Tap to summarize“Sometimes grief isn’t just about losing a person. It’s about losing the story we thought our life would follow.”The stories we inherit shape who we are, but they aren’t always meant to stay. In this conversation, Kaitlin B. Curtice, author of Everything Is a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives, invites us to notice the narratives we carry, grieve the ones that no longer fit, and begin cultivating new ones.We talk about:How stories shape identity, faith, and belongingGrieving the narratives we’ve outgrownRecognizing loving, liminal, and lethal storiesCommunity, connection, and collective healingDiscovering the “medicine” you bring to the worldLinks + Resources from this episode:Learn more about Kaitlin and her workPurchase Everything Is a StoryThe Liminality Journal on SubstackConnect with MandyGet the workbook / Become a Patron
Transcribe →240. Living With Grief: Transforming Loss Into Awareness and Healing
May 1700:09:04Tap to summarize“Grief is not something to get over. It is something to carry with awareness, intention, and openness to transformation.”In this episode, we explore what it means to live with grief rather than move past it. Through a restorative framework of sight, insight, action, and healing, we consider how grief becomes a guide for self-awareness, intentional living, and deeper connection.We also reflect on the importance of communal care, the role of identity in grief, and how learning to carry loss can shape the way we show up for ourselves and others.Links + Resources from this episode:Become a PatronConnect with MandyLearn more about Restorative GriefJS Park's workFrancis Weller's workAlua Arthur's work
Transcribe →239. Above The Clouds with Jon Hill
May 1000:49:41Tap to summarize“There’s a moment in grief when you realize the story didn’t end… it just changed shape.”In this episode of Restorative Grief, Mandy is joined by filmmaker and Emmy-winning producer Jon Hill, whose feature film Above the Clouds was born from the loss of his father and shaped over thirteen years of quiet persistence. What began as heartbreak slowly became a creative path toward meaning, connection, and unexpectedly laughter.Together, we explore what it looks like to honor someone we love through art, why humor can coexist with deep sorrow, and how creative expression can help us move through grief without trying to rush past it. Jon shares the personal roots of his film, the long road to bringing it into the world, and the gentle hope he carries for anyone walking their own healing journey.This conversation is an invitation to hold grief with honesty, to stay open to moments of lightness, and to remember that restoration often arrives in ways we don’t expect.In this episode, we discuss:Turning personal loss into meaningful creative workThe surprising role of humor in the healing processWhat thirteen years of persistence can teach us about griefBalancing tenderness and levity when telling hard storiesHelping grieving people feel less alone in their experienceLinks + Resources from this episode:Learn more about Above the Clouds: https://www.abovethecloudsfilm.com/Learn about Jon's work: https://www.jonhilldirects.com/Learn more about Restorative Grief: https://www.mandycapehart.com/Become a Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/mandycapehart
Transcribe →238. Staying Present Without Drowning: Grief in an Age of Doomscrolling
May 300:13:55Tap to summarize“Much of what we experience while scrolling the news is actually grief trying to move through the body.”How do we stay present to the world’s suffering without being swallowed by it? In this episode, we explore the very real tension of living everyday life while absorbing constant global distress. From doomscrolling and body tension to the quiet pressure to stay informed, this conversation names what so many are feeling but struggle to articulate.We talk about how grief shows up physically in the body, why your nervous system responds the way it does to ongoing crisis, and how to practice what I call responsible distance. You’ll walk away with simple, grounded ways to stay compassionate and engaged without overwhelming your capacity to keep showing up.Links + Resources from this episode:MandyCapehart.com/coachingAround the Circle: National GriefPolyvagal Theory overview with Deb DanaGet the workbook for more on doomscrolling management
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