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The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. The Leftover Pieces® Podcast explores life after suicide through honest conversations with survivors, experts, and grieving parents learning to live forward after unimaginable loss. Parents, partners, siblings, and friends share what it means to keep living when the world has been forever changed.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son Alex died by suicide in 2016, the show blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health professionals with short solo reflections you can actually use. Together we explore child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that help make life livable again.
At its heart, this podcast is about learning to live forward after loss. We never move on from the people we love, but we can learn to carry the grief differently. This road can feel incredibly lonely—but you are not alone here.
For supporters, educators, and professionals, these conversations also offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support can look like.
If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest through Melissa’s website.
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Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about grief and suicide loss and may feel activating for some listeners. We avoid graphic descriptions and discussion of suicide methods. Please care for yourself as needed. Melissa is not a doctor or licensed therapist, and nothing shared here should be considered medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Allowing Her Loss to "Count"; How Art Became Laura's Therapy
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Laura lost her ex-boyfriend to suicide - does that "count"? Can she still grieve? Is that "OK"? Well, OF COURSE IT IS! But Laura and I talk about her unique perspective and how the past four years have transformed her. There is a lot to unpack with this spirited English woman who now teaches art to children in Entebbe, Uganda. She talks about stigmas, delayed grief and art as therapy. This is a powerful conversation. I am grateful for Laura being willing to share a part of herself with us.
You can find Laura on Instagram at Laura Avril Dove and also at her new Tambul Arts IG
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My brand NEW website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and that means my 2 x/mo FREE SUPPORT GROUP is available AND my first coaching options are available. The first (3 month) group is planned to begin NOVEMBER 3 and there will be a new group begin every 10 weeks after. There will be limited spots in each group so let me know if you want on the notify list! These groups will be one part community, one part discovery/growth. I believe these two things are intertwined for us in the earlier stages of grief especially.
Interested? Please DM me on Instagram or email me at anytime melissa@theleftoverpieces.com
The website will be at www.theleftoverpieces.com (naturally, right?)
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 FALL so it's not too soon to reach out!
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:
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 at The Leftover Pieces
Click to Send a Text or Voicemail to Melissa
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The Leftover Pieces is Support for Life After Suicide Loss. Click links below
🎙 Leave me a message: Share a question, your story, or your person’s name for a future episode → theleftoverpieces.com/voicemail
Support After Suicide Loss
If you are grieving after suicide loss, you do not have to carry this alone.
Visit The Leftover Pieces for podcast episodes, grief support, resources, and ways to connect with Melissa’s work: https://theleftoverpieces.com
or Join Melissa’s email list: https://theleftoverpieces.com/join
If you someone you love is in immediate crisis or may be in danger, please call or text 988 in the United States. You can also text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line