The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations
You have found a podcast about surviving life after a suicide loss, which is nothing short of devastating, leaving you not knowing how to begin picking up the leftover pieces of your shattered heart. The host, Melissa Bottorff-Arey, who lost her 21-year-old son Alex to suicide on August 7, 2016, speaks to this from her own experiences. You will hear her have honest, hard conversations with other loss survivors, healers, and mental health experts on the podcast. She also produces shorter, solo episodes where she shares her own thoughts & experiences in this journey (thus far). She explores relevant topics and asks the hard questions. Nothing is 'off limit' as she delves into all areas of this grief, such as trauma, hope, healing, self-care, legacy & stigma. Melissa believes we learn to live alongside our grief, not get over it. We can make a difference only through authentic, meaningful connections and mindful choices. For a supporter or educator, these conversations hold nuggets of awareness and shine a spotlight on suicide and grief honestly and unapologetically. As a suicide loss griever, one can find the comfort of a community and hope for a little brighter tomorrow. Melissa wants to help others, like herself, go from surviving to finding a life with meaning, maybe even happiness, amid their own leftover pieces.
[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
Kelli Nielson is The Grief Guru; Moving Forward & Embracing Healing
Today I have a meaningful, needle-moving conversation with Kelli Nielson of The Grief Guru. Kelli and I have a lot of the same beliefs about grief, mourning and healing so this was a very affirming conversation for me. She is also candid and funny and no-nonsense...traits i find easy to engage with and warm up to. Here is a bit about her. You can find Kelli at her website THE GRIEF GURU
"Kelli didn’t grow up with visions of becoming The Grief Guru, but life had other plans. After losing her mother to suicide in 2017 she found herself swept out in a sea of grief. Barely able to get through the days she looked for help and was discouraged when she didn’t find the support or tools to recover.
Thankfully an encounter with an inspiring speaker showed her that healing was available to her. She decided then and there to dedicate herself to recovering from grief. She studied, prayed, documented her process, and began to recover. Her recovery came not a moment too soon as just a year later her 20 year old son Quintin died of an accidental drug overdose.
Kelli has since become a speaker, author, and coach. Her book, You’re Not Crazy, You’re Grieving, shares the process she used to heal from her tremendous losses. She also founded The Grief Guru, a company focused on helping others learn to move forward on purpose, in purpose and love their lives after loss. "
Some of the things we talk about are:
- Healing is a choice - it will take time, and isn't easy - but it can be done
- Healing does NOT mean that you will 'move past' your loved one
- How important our brain is in the healing journey because our feelings are actually the LAST thing to catch up when we choose to start a transformative journey - thoughts and words (or actions) come first/
- What we need to be radical and intentional about
- How her Christian faith was challenged and where she is now with God
You can find Kelli at her website THE GRIEF GURU and she is under the same name on social media.
Her book You're Not Crazy, You're Grieving can be found HERE or on MY WEBSITE Resource Page
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My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" support central - MY HUB - and that means my different SUPPORT GROUP Options are available. Go DIRECTLY to my SUPPORT page here where you 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:
CALL 988
OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA
in Canada TEXT 686868
in the UK TEXT 85258