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The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. This show is about life after suicide—real talk and practical support for grief after suicide: parents, partners, siblings, and friends finding their footing again. Each week, we explore what helps in suicide bereavement so you can keep going with honesty and hope.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son, Alex, died by suicide in 2016, the podcast blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health experts with short solo “Daily Nugget” episodes you can actually use. We cover child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that make life livable again. You’ll hear grounded tools, language that honors your person, and the reminder that you are not broken—you are grieving.
For supporters and educators, these episodes offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support looks like. If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest via my website. 💜
Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about difficult experiences and may feel activating. We avoid method details and graphic description. Please care for yourself as needed. I’m not a doctor or licensed therapist; nothing here is medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Grief After Suicide: Month Wrap-Up & What Comes Next
Get THE Leftover Pieces APP & don't miss anything! CLICK HERE
TODAY -- You’ve spent a month practicing gentler ways to carry what can’t be undone—and that practice is portable.
Journal prompt: “My takeaway from October—the thing I’ll actually use—is…”
Write one flicker sentence you believe today: “I can start small and still be real.” Build a 24-hour rebuild weave on a note you’ll see tomorrow: one light/witnessing anchor, one 7–10 minute brick, one value-aligned step. Then step into November by adding a calendar block titled “Rough Day Plan” and pasting your flicker-brick-step and threshold ritual into the description.
Choose-your-energy menu:
- Hollow (low): Copy your October sentence onto a sticky or lock screen.
- Healing (medium): Set the 24-hour weave for tomorrow (flicker, brick, step).
- Becoming (higher): Add the “Rough Day Plan” block weekly through November.
To end today -- to end the month:
This work was never about being fixed. It’s about being held—by small, repeatable moves that meet you where you actually live. On the hard days ahead, you don’t have to invent courage; you can borrow it from your own practice: speak their name, steady your body, take one step that includes you. That is how the season gets survivable—one honest inch at a time.
Community & App (don’t miss this):
The Leftover Pieces app keeps your support close—calendar, resources, meetups, and one-tap entry to the Lighthouse Community. Anyone can download it to follow along; if you’re a community member or former client, the app makes access effortless. Inside: multiple support groups, a monthly Full Moon ritual, guest LIVE events, an ever-growing resource library, chats, and more. The first month of community is always on me—because I believe that deeply in what it’s becoming. Come in when you’re ready; everything’s easier in the app.
Exhale. Keep what serves you; leave the rest. I’ll be here again tomorrow. 💜
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Get THE Leftover Pieces APP & don't miss anything! CLICK HERE
💜 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.