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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
Grief Truth #7; August Daily Nuggets
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
“Some days are sacred, no matter how much time has passed.”
Welcome, fellow griever.
This is your Daily Nugget from me, Melissa, your host of The Leftover Pieces.
Today we will share a moment of presence, a breath of truth, and a reminder.
Let’s begin.
Take a breath. Or Two - or three. Let yourself arrive.
Sometimes we don’t need answers — just something true to hold.
Here’s today’s grief truth.
Some days are sacred, no matter how much time has passed. For me- today is one of those days.
Nine years ago today, my son Alex died.
And no matter how much time passes… this day still stops me.
The air feels different. The grief shifts — not heavier, but deeper. Like an underground river I’ve learned to navigate.
This isn’t just a date on a calendar. It’s a sacred marker. A heart-shaped scar that reminds me he was here. That he is here.
Some days are like that. For all of us. Days where time folds in on itself, and we’re right back in the moment when the world changed.
Today, I miss Alex. AND today I honor Alex. His laughter. His spunk. His love. The way he changed me, and the way he still guides me. His life & legacy.
If today is sacred for you too — for any reason — know that you’re allowed to feel it fully. And if today isn't one of those days, all of this applies to your days... remember,
You don’t have to explain your grief to anyone.
You just have to keep loving. Keep remembering. Keep breathing.
Some days are sacred. And so is your story.
Let's a take another breath together.
Let the truth settle where it needs to.
You don’t have to carry everything — just what feels true today.
You’re not lost — you’re walking with your truth.
I’ll be here again tomorrow.
Talk soon.
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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.