Soulful Storytelling Episode 13 - The ‘Grief’ Series

The Leah Sian Davies Podcast

This month our theme for Soulful Storytelling is ‘grief’ and as we are still in lockdown and unable to have our event we have brought the voices of lots of storytellers to this series.

The topic of grief is something that will universally affect us all and yet it is deeply personal and unique. So I wanted to get some different stories and perspectives on grief as a way for us to hear ourselves in other people’s stories. We also grieve in so many ways, so in this podcast I wanted to open up the topic of grief into a wider context beyond bereavement.

In this series we have people sharing their stories and perspectives on grief through death, miscarriage, divorce, loss of health and how we talk to children about grief. As much as this is a heavy subject, I believe that by sharing our stories and shining some light on the darkness we can feel more connected and less lonely.

In our final episode of the grief series, we hear from two storytellers Lianne and her husband Tom. We talk about the loss of parents, how grief changes depending on how the person dies, experiencing joy alongside the pain, and how can men talk and process their grief with other men.

Lianne shares her experience of losing her mother-in-law to cancer and then her dad to a sudden heart attack. She talks about the things that helped her process her grief, and giving herself permission to laugh and be silly despite the pain.

Tom shares his perspective on grief and his experience of losing his Mum. He talks about how his grief led him to talk more openly to men about his feelings and created a more open and safe culture for men to talk at work.

If you can relate to anything in this episode and find it useful, I would love your feedback. You can get in touch with me on Instagram @leahsiandavies, or email me [email protected]

Some useful places that help with the kinda grief we discussed in this episode…

The Griefcast – Podcast where comedians share their experiences of grief

Grieftips – An Instagram account offering support and tips around grief

Calmzone Leading mental health and suicide prevention charity for men

Follow Poorna Bell – Ambassador for Calmzone, speaker, writer on mental health and suicide

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider contributing a donation. This will help me to continue editing, producing and publishing the podcast for your ears to enjoy. You can donate here: paypal.me/leahsiandaviesuk

This podcast is edited and produced by Meghan Hutchins at Making Space VA