The Empowered Grief Journey

A Mother’s Grief After Suicide Loss: Finding A Way Forward

In this deeply moving episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Suzanne Jabour to talk about the unimaginable—losing her 19-year-old son, Ben, to suicide.
Suzanne shares the moment her life changed, the shock and devastation that followed, and what it felt like to try to make sense of something that often feels impossible to understand. She speaks openly about the early days of grief, the questions that come with suicide loss, and the emotional weight that many parents carry after losing a child this way.
Through her story, Suzanne brings voice to a type of grief that is often surrounded by silence, stigma, and isolation. She shares how she began navigating life after Ben’s death, what helped her take steps forward, and how she found meaning in continuing on—even when everything felt broken.
This conversation is both raw and grounding, offering insight into the reality of suicide loss, parental grief, and learning how to live again after losing a child.

Grief, Divorce & Midlife Reinvention With Carolina Gonzalez

In this episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Carolina Gonzalez, a Sydney-based mindfulness and meditation teacher who helps women in midlife feel calm, grounded, and clear again.
Carolina shares how her life began to unravel after her 20-plus-year marriage ended while she was raising two young children. As she was grieving the loss of the relationship, the future she imagined, and the identity she had built as a wife and mother, her mom was unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal cancer while visiting family in Australia. Carolina describes that season as feeling like she was “free-falling,” with the people and structures she once relied on no longer there in the same way.
Through that grief, Carolina began turning inward. She found mindfulness, meditation, self-compassion, and nervous system regulation as tools to rebuild her relationship with herself.
Chris and Carolina also discuss her work with women 40+ and women in midlife who are exhausted from people-pleasing, overgiving, perfectionism, and constantly putting everyone else first. Carolina explains why this stage of life often becomes a turning point where women begin asking, “When is it my turn?” and how learning to say no, honor your needs, and rebuild self-trust can become a powerful part of healing.
In this episode, we explore grief after separation, losing a parent, identity shifts in midlife, nervous system regulation, boundaries, self-compassion, and what it means to come back to yourself after life changes everything.

Grieving the Loss of Two Children as a Couple

In this deeply emotional episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Tim and Becky Graff to talk about the unimaginable—losing both of their daughters—and what it took to navigate that level of grief as a couple.
Tim and Becky share their story openly, including how each of them processed the loss of their daughters in different ways, and the strain that kind of grief can place on a relationship. They speak honestly about the moments where disconnection could have taken over—and the intentional choices they made to stay present, communicate, and support each other through it.
This conversation sheds light on something many couples experience but rarely talk about: how profound loss can either create distance or become something you learn to move through together.
They also share what helped them begin rebuilding—not just individually, but as partners learning how to carry grief side by side.

Frank DiMaio on Losing His Wife & Learning to Live Again

In this deeply personal episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Frank DiMaio to talk about the reality of losing a spouse and having to rebuild your life from the ground up.
Frank shares his story of losing his wife and what that loss actually looked like—not just emotionally, but in the day-to-day reality of waking up to a life that no longer felt familiar. He opens up about the shock, loneliness, and identity shift that followed, and the difficult process of learning how to move forward without the person he built his life with.
This conversation goes beyond surface-level grief and into the moments most people don’t talk about—what it’s like to sit with the silence, to question what comes next, and to slowly begin rebuilding when you didn’t choose to start over.
Frank also shares how he began finding purpose again, what helped him take steps forward, and how his perspective on life has changed through loss.

Traumatic Brain Injury & Grief: How to Heal After Life Changes Overnight

In this powerful episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Jennifer Taylor to explore what it means to navigate grief after sudden loss and traumatic brain injury.
After a life-changing skiing accident that resulted in a brain injury, Jennifer’s world shifted overnight. Alongside the emotional weight of loss, she was forced to confront changes to her identity, her daily life, and her ability to function in ways she once took for granted.
This conversation offers an honest look at the intersection of physical trauma and emotional grief—and what it takes to keep moving forward when both your body and your life have been disrupted.
Jennifer shares how she navigated the challenges of recovery, processed deep emotional pain, and leaned on faith and inner strength to begin rebuilding her life.
If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, brain injury, or sudden life change that left you feeling lost, overwhelmed, or disconnected—this episode will meet you in that space.

The Hidden Grief No One Talks About: Losing Yourself & Starting Over With Carissa Karban

In this powerful episode of The Empowered Grief Journey, Chris sits down with Carissa Karban—systems architect and shadow alchemist—to explore a form of grief that often goes unseen: the loss of identity.
Carissa shares her personal journey through profound life transitions, including the unraveling of marriages, careers, and the versions of herself built for survival rather than truth. Together, they dive into what it really means to grieve the life you thought you would have, and how to rebuild from a place of authenticity.
This conversation goes beyond traditional grief and opens the door to deeper healing through shadow work, self-discovery, and emotional integration.
If you’ve ever felt lost, disconnected, or unsure of who you are after major life changes—this episode will meet you there.

What Grief Teaches Us About Life, Purpose, and Starting Over Again | Bill Cushing

Grief has a way of changing everything—and the hardest part is learning how to move forward when life no longer looks the same.
In this episode, Chris sits down with Bill Cushing, who shares his personal journey of losing his wife to breast cancer and the profound impact that loss had on his life, identity, and sense of direction.
Through honest reflection and lived experience, Bill opens up about what it’s like to walk through deep grief, face the reality of life after loss, and begin the process of rebuilding when everything feels uncertain.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
What it’s like to lose a spouse to breast cancer
How to navigate the emotional weight of grief and loss
The challenges of rebuilding your life after losing a partner
Finding strength, resilience, and meaning after tragedy
How your perspective on life shifts after experiencing deep loss
This episode is a powerful reminder that while grief never fully goes away, it can reshape you—and over time, help you rediscover purpose, connection, and a path forward.
If you’ve lost someone close to you or are struggling to find your footing after loss, this conversation offers real, grounded insight into what healing can look like.
You don’t have to have it all figured out—you just have to take the next step.

Healing Grief Through the Body: Breathwork & Love with Colleen Quinn

Grief doesn’t just affect your mind—it lives in your body.
In this episode, Chris sits down with psychologist, mystic, and breathwork practitioner Colleen Quinn to explore how trauma and grief are stored in the body—and how true healing happens when we begin to work with it, not avoid it.
Drawing from decades of experience in somatic experiencing, internal family systems (IFS), and breathwork, Colleen shares how unresolved grief can shape our identity, emotions, and nervous system—and how we can begin to release it in a safe, embodied way.
Together, they dive into:
How grief and trauma are stored in the body
Why healing isn’t just mental—it’s physical and emotional
The role of breathwork in processing grief
How identity shifts after loss
Learning to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable”
Turning pain into personal growth and transformation
If you’ve experienced loss and feel stuck, disconnected, or overwhelmed, this conversation will help you understand why healing takes time—and how to begin reconnecting with yourself in the process.
Grief isn’t the end of your story—it’s the beginning of a new chapter.