The Empowered Grief Journey

Rebuilding After Emotional Abuse: A Mother’s Journey to Advocacy and Empowerment with Gail Showalter

Leaving a narcissistic relationship was only the beginning of Gail Showalter’s story.
In this episode, Gail shares her journey of surviving emotional abuse, raising three children, and rebuilding her life from the ground up. But she didn’t stop at survival.
She went back to school.She wrote a book.She started an organization to help other women break free from abuse.
We talk about:
• The subtle patterns of narcissistic control and gaslighting• The grief of losing the life and identity you thought you had• Raising children while healing from trauma• Going back to school later in life to reclaim your future• Writing a book as part of the healing process• Turning personal pain into advocacy and structured support for women
This conversation is about resilience — but more than that, it’s about rebuilding with intention.
Gail’s story is proof that grief can be a catalyst for purpose.
If you’re navigating emotional abuse, identity loss, or starting over later in life, this episode will remind you that it’s never too late to rewrite your story.

How to Retrain Your Brain After Trauma with Cedric Bertelli

Why do certain memories still trigger anxiety, fear, or emotional reactions—even years later?
In this episode, I sit down with Cedric Bertelli, founder of the Emotional Health Institute, to explore the science behind emotional memory and how our brains encode fear.
Cedric explains why many emotional triggers aren’t just “mindset issues,” but deeply learned responses stored in emotional memory. We discuss how phobias, trauma responses, and anxiety are formed—and how they can be unlearned through emotional retraining.
In this conversation, we explore:
• How emotional memories are created in the brain• Why talk therapy doesn’t always resolve emotional triggers• The difference between intellectual understanding and emotional learning• Emotional plasticity and retraining fear responses• How anxiety can be healed at the root—not just managed
If you’ve ever wondered why you logically “know you’re safe” but still feel triggered, this episode will give you a powerful new perspective on healing.
Because transformation doesn’t just happen in thought—it happens in emotional memory.

Sudden Loss of a Spouse: What Helps, What Hurts, and How to Show Up with Heidi Dunstan

What do you say to someone who’s grieving—when you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing?
In this episode, I’m joined by Heidi Dunstan, a certified grief educator, to talk about the real-life impact of sudden loss, what widows and grievers actually need, and why so many people disappear when grief enters the room.
Heidi shares her personal story of losing her husband suddenly just two days after Christmas and the day before her 40th birthday—and how that experience revealed how unprepared most people are to support someone in grief.
We talk about:
Why people avoid grievers (and how to have the courage to show up anyway)
What to say when you don’t have the words
What NOT to say (and why common platitudes can cause real harm)
How to offer support in practical, specific ways (not “call me if you need anything”)
How judgment shows up in grief—and what true compassion looks like
If you’re grieving, supporting someone who is, or you’ve ever frozen up unsure of what to do—this conversation will help you show up with more confidence, care, and humanity. Because grief doesn’t need fixing. It needs presence.

Grief That Coexists: Letting Go of the Life You Thought You Wanted with Simona Costantini

Grief isn’t always one defining moment. Sometimes, it’s woven quietly into the fabric of our lives.
In this episode, I sit down with Simona Costantini, founder of Volt Productions and host of Happiness Happens, to explore the many forms grief can take beyond death and traditional loss.
We talk about grieving the life you thought you wanted, career paths that no longer fit, expectations placed on you, and versions of yourself you’ve outgrown.
Simona shares her journey from corporate marketing into entrepreneurship and how conscious choice, visibility, and amplifying your voice often require letting go of who you used to be.
One of the most powerful moments in our conversation:“Everything and nothing changes at the same time.”
This episode is for anyone navigating identity shifts, career transitions, reinvention after loss, or the quiet grief of becoming someone new.
Because grief doesn’t just close chapters — it opens new ones.

Adoption, Identity & Healing the Primal Wound with Erica Bonham

In this powerful episode, therapist and author Erica Bonham opens her heart and shares a lifelong grief journey shaped by adoption, early loss, identity struggles, and the complex dynamics of loving—and losing—two mothers.Erica and Chris explore the primal wound experienced by many adoptees, the layered grief of identity, and the “brutiful” intersection of love and loss. Erica also discusses her transformative experience with ketamine-assisted therapy, how it helped heal the deepest parts of her nervous system, and why healing is a nonlinear, lifelong path rather than a destination.
If you’ve ever struggled with belonging, boundaries, identity, grief, or the weight of childhood wounds, this episode will offer clarity, validation, and hope. Come listen to a conversation that invites compassion, curiosity, and connection at the deepest level.

Holding On in the Storm: Faith, Loss & the Courage to Grieve with Dr. Bob Cutillo

In this deeply moving episode, Dr. Bob Cutillo—a physician, caregiver, and author of Holding On in the Storm—shares the intimate journey of walking beside his wife Heather through terminal cancer and learning to navigate grief through faith, vulnerability, and emotional honesty.
Bob and Chris explore the shock of diagnosis, the struggle to reconcile faith with suffering, how men can open up emotionally, and the transformative idea of “stewarding our pain” so it becomes a force for compassion rather than destruction.If you’re facing loss, questioning God, or learning to live in the aftermath of a life-changing storm, this conversation will offer comfort, clarity, and hope.

Healing the Inner Emptiness: Addiction, Gratitude & the Search for Meaning

In this powerful episode, Harvard-educated author Bracha Goetz shares her lifelong search for purpose—from early grief and food addiction to the spiritual awakening that transformed her life. Together, Chris and Bracha explore how unhealed grief creates inner emptiness, why addictions form, and how gratitude becomes a path back to joy, fulfillment, and connection. If you're navigating grief, seeking meaning, or struggling with emotional cravings, this conversation offers wisdom, hope, and practical tools to nourish your soul.

When a Parent Loses a Child to Suicide: A Journey Through Grief With Tracy Oeser

In this powerful episode, Chris Mamone sits down with grief advocate, author, and founder of Journey Thru Grief, Tracy Oeser, who lost her daughter Chelsie to suicide in 2006. Tracy shares the raw truth of what suicide loss actually looks like—far beyond the stigmas, silence, and misconceptions that surround it.
Together, Chris and Tracy explore:– The hidden signs of suicide and why prevention isn’t always straightforward– What survivors really need from friends, therapists, and society– The urgent training gaps in the mental health system– How to hold space for yourself when grief comes in waves– Tracy’s groundbreaking Four Phases of Suicide Loss that go beyond the outdated five stages of grief
If you’ve experienced suicide loss, support someone who has, or want to better understand this complex form of grief, this episode offers compassion, clarity, and a path toward meaningful healing and post-traumatic growth.