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
Movement, Signs & the Love of a Dog; A Mom Living Forward after Suicide Loss
Today I speak with suicide loss survivor mom Fronzie Roemer. This is a warm and real conversation that you won't want to miss. Find out more at Paws for Patrick
We talk about:
- Living forward (vs moving on)
- Fitness - or really, movement - and it's role in grief.
- Being Open to Signs from our kids ' - including a funny mouse story, some cardinals & sea glass treasures!!!
- Her families "grieve as YOU grieve" rule
- Her son Patrick and his Cici
- The love of a dog - and the legacy that became.
"Fronzie Roemer and her husband Steve are lifelong Illinoisans and currently live in Lake Forest. They have been married for 24 years and have three children. Ben, a senior at University of Michigan studying business and computer science, Patrick, forever 18, and Magdelene, a senior at Woodlands Academy. A graduate with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Denison University, Fronzie spent many years in the non-profit sector in development, marketing and communications, and program development before returning to the fitness industry. She is currently an ELI (exclusive Lifetime Instructor) at Lifetime Northbrook as a Group Fitness Instructor, small group personal trainer and yoga teacher. She always has loved the connection between physical and mental health and how good exercise can make you feel emotionally as well as physically. They lovingly home 2 cats and 2 dogs that truly are an extension of their family. Fronzie and her husband, along with their children, Ben and Mags, founded Paws for Patrick after Patrick, their son and brother, died by suicide in May of 2020 to honor his memory and his deep connection to animals.
Paws for Patrick is a non-profit 501 c3 organization that connects young people with emotional support animals and therapy dogs to aid them as they live with mental illness.
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Fronzie talks about this poem-
The Uses of Sorrow | Mary Oliver (In my sleep I dreamed this poem)
Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.
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The book she mentioned is "My Search for Christopher on the Other Side" by Joe McQuillen
AGAIN - PAWS FOR PATRICK
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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.