The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations
This podcast focuses on surviving life after a suicide loss, an experience that can be devastating and leave you feeling lost as you try to pick up the pieces of your shattered heart. The host, Melissa Bottorff-Arey, lost her 21-year-old son, Alex, to suicide on August 7, 2016, and brings (& often shares) her insights from her personal journey.
In each episode, Melissa engages in honest and challenging conversations with other survivors of loss, healers, and mental health experts. She also produces shorter solo episodes where she reflects on her own thoughts and experiences thus far. The podcast covers a wide range of relevant topics and addresses difficult questions. Melissa explores all aspects of grief, including trauma, hope, healing, self-care, legacy, and stigma. She believes that we learn to live alongside our grief rather than get ing over it. Actual change comes through authentic, meaningful connections and mindful choices.
For supporters or educators, these conversations provide valuable insights and shine a light on suicide and grief genuinely and unapologetically. Listeners who are grieving a suicide loss can find comfort in the community and hope for a better tomorrow. Melissa aims to help others, like herself, transition from merely surviving to discovering a life filled with meaning and, potentially, even happiness amid the leftover pieces around you.
[Please NOTE: This podcast is for only relational, informational, and entertainment purposes. It candidly and openly discusses sensitive and sometimes activating topics. There will be no in-depth or graphic descriptions of the method, but merely the possible mention of suicide, murder, rape, and the like. Be guided and care for yourself accordingly. Also, Melissa is not a doctor or licensed therapist, and nothing on this podcast should be taken in place of, or as, medical/mental health advice or recommendations.]
The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations
"Are They Really Gone?; Alchemy of Science and Spirit"
Today I am sharing my conversation with Lenore Matthew PhD, MSW. She is a researcher/practitioner from the field of social work, as well as a young widow and a survivor of suicide loss of her husband. Prior to her loss, Dr. Matthew worked as an expert of advocacy and program evaluation for organizations across the globe, including the United Nations. She has presented her research and advocacy widely at institutions such as Harvard Medical School.
Since losing her husband, her interests have shifted to trauma and traumatic loss, and healing through a mind, body, and spirit connection. She recently established the Alchemy of Science and Spirit, a project that melds science and empirical data with the exploration of intuition and the afterlife, to heal trauma and grief. Upon losing her husband, Dr. Matthew's own intuitive gifts of psychic intuition and mediumship awoke, as she immediately began receiving messages from her husband from the afterlife.
She is currently training with leading mediums in the US and the UK, and aims to bring her mediumship into her healing practice as well as her advocacy, normalizing the less-talked about aspects of loss, including communicating with our loved ones in spirit.
AND Again ---> FIND HER HERE AT Alchemy of Science and Spirit
Some Links to things mentioned in our conversation:
The Forever Family Foundation Where science and spirituality work hand in hand to bring comfort to the bereaved
Laura Lynne Jackson - Author/Psychic Medium
Somatic Experiencing International
Dr Brian Weiss MD Author & Scientist
All things John Edward Psychic Medium
The Windbridge Research Center Studying Dying, death & what comes next
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AND ALWAYS ... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! It means the WORLD to me ... we are in this together!
As with everything you hear on my podcasts, please take that which serves you & leave the rest. I hope you will find something of value & I am so sorry that you need to be here, but so honored you are here.
Please reach out to me if you know of someone that I should talk to or if you yourself would like to have a conversation around the suicide loss and grief space. Instagram is probably still the best way to contact me or directly through email. I am already scheduling people into this Spring so it's not too soon to reach out!
Let's have a conversation Let's keep talking Let's be there for each other. Let's make a change. TALK SOON!
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out & talk to someone
The National Suicide Lifeline is there for you
IN a crisis you can also TEXT--->
TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA
in Canada TEXT 686868
in the UK TEXT 85258
And Grievers, I am always here. You can find me on Instagram at The Leftover Pieces