The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. This show is about life after suicide—real talk and practical support for grief after suicide: parents, partners, siblings, and friends finding their footing again. Each week, we explore what helps in suicide bereavement so you can keep going with honesty and hope.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son, Alex, died by suicide in 2016, the podcast blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health experts with short solo “Daily Nugget” episodes you can actually use. We cover child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that make life livable again. You’ll hear grounded tools, language that honors your person, and the reminder that you are not broken—you are grieving.
For supporters and educators, these episodes offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support looks like. If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest via my website. 💜
Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about difficult experiences and may feel activating. We avoid method details and graphic description. Please care for yourself as needed. I’m not a doctor or licensed therapist; nothing here is medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
When You are in Such Very Different Places; Marriage After Loss of a Child to Suicide
Today I have a warm and comforting conversation with Kellie Woolf - author, suicide loss survivor, mom, wife, and former educator.
Her Biography: "Kellie Woolf’s debut novel, Mount Hope, is set in Topeka, Kansas, where she was born and raised. While she now lives in Colorado With her husband, Steve, and her cat Figgy, Topeka will always be home. She graduated from Seaman High School, and all other children were born at Stormont Vail Hospital. Mount Hope Cemetery is the resting place for precious family members, and as a young adult, her first employment experiences crisscrossed the city.
Kellie has been a fierce supporter and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Multiple family members on every side, dear friends and herself belong. In this human experience, she believes three things are designed innately for everyone: faith, hope, and love. In this work, she presents all three, with the greatest of these being love.
While she is serious about her family, faith, and social justice, you can usually find her laughing with friends and exploring nature. Her adventures include marrying Steve, raising three children, and adopting two teenagers—to say nothing of evading London’s subway bombs in 2005, competing in Irish hard shoe dancing, and being a contestant on Ellen’s Game of Games. She is currently acting as co-director of a non-profit organization that offers healing and inspiration to today’s weary teachers and is working on her second novel."
You can find Kellie. her BLOG and her BOOK HERE on her WEBSITE
In our conversation you will hear us discuss:
- The suicide loss of her son Chris (24) on July 11, 2020 - and how she leaned into the pain to find hope (and just how Ellen's game show had a role in that)
- How she and her husband found themselves in very different places- and amid complex grief and trying circumstances they chose to battle back from the brink
- Why writing her new fiction novel ( out June 21, 2022) was important and how Chris shows up on pg. 367
- How she is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and her hope for the novel's effect on the hate in the world
- Why she believes that Christianity is often wielded as a weapon against marginalized communities and why she believes there is a seat for everyone at the table - because love wins.
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My website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and tha
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💜 The Leftover Pieces is support central for grieving hearts.
🔗 Stay connected: Join my free email community for weekly check-ins, resources, and encouragement.
🌟 For moms: Explore the $9 Lighthouse Community — safe connection, tools, and hope.
🛠 Resources for all grievers: Start here.
🤝 One-on-one grief coaching for moms after child loss to suicide: Learn more here.
📞 Need help now? If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, dial 988 in the U.S. & Canada, or text HOME to 741741.