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
Accepting She Died by Suicide; Erin's Yoga is Healing Grief & Trauma
In this episode, hear Erin share about how for a long time she could not even say that her daughter died, let alone ‘ended her own life. Now she is brave and not only talks about it, but she teaches yoga to help others heal their trauma and grief
Erin Burden is Canadian-born but her family moved to Botswana, Africa at 2 and she mostly was schooled in Bulawayo Rhodesia. For college, she went to South Africa. Having lost both parents by the time she was only 11, Erin’s sister became her guardian and she was brought up mostly in an all-girls boarding school.
She became an entrepreneur in Transport Broking in 1989 and met her husband Charles through work. They worked together and soon got married and had 3 daughters. Dakota was the youngest, born in 1994. As a family, they left South Africa for the 1st time in 1997 and moved to Canada - only to return to South Africa by 2002. But Canada called to them and in 2008 they moved to Vancouver Island and have been there ever since.
In 2018 Dakota died by suicide and after a month of barely surviving Erin chose to ‘get up and decided to continue the yoga studies they had begun together. She now teaches in person and has even started online as well. Erin considers herself both a teacher and student of yoga and loves to share with other grievers, trauma survivors, and beginners.
To this day, Erin credits yoga and prayer for getting her through the loss of Dakota. She knows her daughter is with Jesus and is grateful for that.
ERINS IG Profile HERE - find lots of links in her daily posts!
HERE is her BIO LINK to all other things she offers!!
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My website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and that means my different SUPPORT SPACE Options are available and much more will be coming in 2022
Go DIRECTLY to my SUPPORT page here where yo9u will find ALL of the ways to connect and find support
My first two books (tools I am creating for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on Amazon
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 at The Leftover Pieces