Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

Lisa Keefauver, MSW

About Show

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch creator and host Lisa Keefauver is on a mission to reimagine grief, one conversation at a time.

Yes this is a podcast all about grief. She and her guests explore the expansiveness and pervasiveness of grief in our lives, because let’s face it, 100% of us experience grief, multiple times in our lives. Lisa witnessed it time and time again in her career as a social worker and in her personal life too with the most significant loss being her husband in 2011. More recently, she experienced ambiguous grief as she navigated breast cancer in 2024. And yet, individually, and collectively, we’re so grief-illiterate and that is causing us all harm. So, she's on a mission to reimagine grief, one conversation at a time. So glad you’re joining us.

She brings her deep curiosity, love of conversation, and knowledge of how language and culture shapes our experiences of ourselves and our world (including our grief) to each unscripted conversation. From thought leaders, CEO's and social workers to authors, educators, researchers, filmmakers and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own.

About Host

ORDER her book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss
WATCH her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less
WATCH her Media Maker Profile to learn about her WHY
Learn more about working with Lisa Keefauver by visiting www.lisakeefauver.com and follow on social media @lisakeefauvermsw

If you like this series, please make sure to leave a rating and write a review TODAY on Apple Podcasts.

If you've found the show helpful, consider becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#10 in the Top 100 cancer All time chart

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Top 10 Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Grief is a Sneaky Bitch episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Grief is a Sneaky Bitch for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Grief is a Sneaky Bitch episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Leslie Gray Streeter | Black Widow Wisdom

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

09/29/20 • 73 min

If humor is the best medicine, then my guest today is going to make you feel so much better!

When you find someone who just gets it, you want to hold on to them forever. That’s how I felt as I laughed and cried my way through today’s conversation with my guest, Leslie Gray Streeter.

Leslie is the absolute queen of pop-culture references and she found a way to weave in more than a dozen as we explored her love and loss of her late husband Scott, the heartbreak of knowing her son will grow up without him, and the lessons life hands you when you become a widow.

Leslie’s memoir, Black Widow - A Sad-Funny Journey THrough Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like “Journey” in the Title hooked me from the front cover. I could not put down this book until I had devoured it all. She speaks so much truth about the thoughts, feelings and experiences of widhowhood that I practically got whiplash from nodding so vigorously as I read.

If you’re a fellow widow, I’m sorry you’re in this club, but I know you’ll find solace in her insights and her humor. If you’re someone who is grieving a different loss, or trying to show up for someone in your life who is grieving, she offers wisdom there too.

About the show

If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. Host Lisa Keefauver, is a grief and empathy activist who holds an extensive grief resume herself, as a social worker, narrative therapist, grief guide, and widow. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter, follow on Instagram and Twitter or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!

If you like this series, please make sure to leave a rating and write a review TODAY on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Listener

Krissy Teegerstrom | I Was Already Everything

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

12/06/22 • 58 min

In today’s episode, I explore the creative response to loss and trauma with my dear friend, artist, and former GSB podcast guest Krissy Teegerstrom.

In A Grief Journey Delayed in Season 1, Krissy explored the delayed and disenfranchised grief over the death of her father. Not long after that conversation, Krissy came to recognize the unnamed neglect and emotional abuse by her mother in the wake of her father’s death. In this episode, she speaks openly and vulnerably about coming to grips with the resulting grief and trauma she endured, and the difficult, oftentimes painful, but profoundly healing journey she’s been on ever since. All of that led to her following her intuition to create one of the most exquisite and deeply profound one-of-a-kind experiential art exhibitions, entitled I Was Already Everything

EPISODE RESOURCES

Krissy Teegerstrom is a self-taught artist who lives in Austin. In 2017, she returned to her native state of Texas after living in New York City and the Bay Area.

Drawing inspiration through her intuition, faith in the unseen, and a connection to the natural world, Krissy creates by hand with pencil, paper, paint, thread and fabric, sewing on her 1948 Singer Featherweight sewing machine. She is dedicated to sustainability, utilizing secondhand materials in the majority of her work. Her artwork includes murals, collage, drawings and sculpture. Her design work, under the name Featherweight Studio, focuses primarily on clothing. Clients and collaborators include Eddie Vedder, Phoebe Bridgers, X, Heritage Boot, Tellason Denim and Wrong Marfa.

You can learn about her work at: www.featherweightstudio.com

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO

(04:03) - Krissy’s ideal way of dealing with sadness and loss.

(09:52) - Grief and trauma as a form of revelation of other Krissy's loss

(16:13) - The moment Krissy realized it was the time to heal

(20:22) - Krissy reclaims her artistic side and creativity as instruments for healing and self-awareness.

(28:33) - Important symbolism that Krissy uses in her artwork to convey feelings

(36:16) - Krissy's work as a safe space for us to be vulnerable

STAY CONNECTED

1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don’t miss an episode. If you love the show, I’d love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.

2) STAY UP TO DATE on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.

3) IF YOU’RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.

@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Listener

Barbara Jones | Reimagining Care

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

12/02/21 • 76 min

About this Episode:

In this episode, my guest Barbara Jones and I explore a wide range of topics from grief in the adolescent oncology population, the innovations she is seeing in cancer care to help address the WHOLE person (not just the disease), the very real and frightening moral distress and empathetic strain our health care professionals are under today and so much more. I can’t wait for you to meet her!

Dr. Barbara Jones is Associate Dean for Health Affairs at UT Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. At Dell Medical School, she is Chair of the Department of Health Social Work, Associate Director of Social Sciences and Community-Based Research in the Livestrong Cancer Institutes, and Distinguished professor of social work, oncology, population health, and psychiatry. She was a Founding Board Member of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network and served as Secretary. She is past president of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers. Dr. Jones is a Founding Steering Committee Member of UT Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education.

Episode Resources:

If you’d like to dig in The CaLm Model, you can download it here: Cancer Life reiMagined: The CaLM Model of Whole-Person

Cancer Care

Jump straight into:

(05:43) - Barbara’s early vision of hospice and social work as her life project

(11:28) - CaLM model: Growing empathy and compassion to reimagine cancer treatment

(18:20) - Addressing the structural issues within young adults facing complex medical diagnosis

(25:54) - Channeling self-compassion to young cancer patients and their parents

(33:34) - How are adolescents grieving?

(43:38) - Grief, loss, and moral injury that's happening among health providers

(55:20) - Dignifying the social workers’ labor at healthcare centers

Episode Sponsor:

Thanks to Mir Care Consultants, whose licensed clinicians and social workers help navigate and provide solutions for care management and provide support during what can be a difficult and challenging time. You can learn more at www.mircareconsultants.com.

About The Show:

If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. Host Lisa Keefauver, the founder of Reimagining Grief, holds an extensive grief resume herself, as a social worker, narrative therapist, grief guide, and widow. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more sign up for her newsletter or follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BJ Miller | Unnecessary Suffering

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

03/17/22 • 60 min

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

I’ve been a fan of today’s guest for a long time so I’m thrilled to share my conversation with Dr. BJ Miller with you today. BJ is a longtime hospice and palliative medicine physician and educator. He has worked in all settings of care: hospital, clinic, residential facility, and home. Led by his own experiences as a patient, BJ advocates for the roles of our senses, community, and presence in designing a better ending.

We began our conversation with the story of how he came to be a patient after a catastrophic injury in his 20’s. Together we explored the challenges of acknowledging grief and humanity in traditional systems of care and why it’s important to grapple with the truth that suffering, illness, and dying are fundamental and intrinsic aspects of life. His warmth and wisdom and insight taught me so much throughout our conversation and I know you’re going to learn so much too.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Mettle Health

BJ's Ted Talk

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(03:52) - BJ’s earliest memory of loss

(11:07) - BJ’s injury and loss: How it lead him into palliative medicine

(17:46) - What did palliative care look like when BJ entered that field (and how is it different from hospice)

(25:44) - Notions of enthusiasm and resistance among patient population and fellow doctors

(36:26) - Primary palliative care: How is the pandemic changing the perception around the palliative field?

(40:06) - How BJ explores suffering to his patients

(49:23) - How did Mettle Health come into existence and how is it helping people?

EPISODE SPONSOR:

Thanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit Vida.com/bcbsil to learn more.

ABOUT THE SHOW:

To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Rusch | Improv Lessons

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

04/14/22 • 62 min

About this episode:

My friends, what can I say about today’s guest. The minute we were introduced last year, we fell into deep and ongoing discussions about the importance of narrative and storytelling in healing spaces. Rachel Rusch is a social worker, educator and researcher specializing in pediatric palliative care in Los Angeles, California. Her work centers on the intersection of narrative and storytelling in healthcare the relationship between patient, family and clinician perseverance. We explore all of these subjects in today’s episode including her personal experiences of loss and the insights she’s gleaned from some of the incredible narrative medicine and improv projects she’s involved in today.

Episode Resources

Follow Rachel on Twitter to learn more about her incredible work with support of the Cambia Health Foundation

Harnessing the Power of Improv During Uncertain Times

Episode Sponsor

Thanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Vida – healthcare designed for the body and mind! Visit www.vida.com to learn more.

Jump straight into:

(03:36) - Rachel’s earliest memory of grief

(10:21) - Rachel’s time as an artist performing in New York City

(18:04) - Becoming a social worker: Rachel’s experience as a volunteer for the 52nd street project

(24:46) - The Perseverance Project: Behind Rachel’s awarded storytelling project

(34:25) - The relationship between palliative care and storytelling

(39:05) - ‘Lift of personhood’: The art of addressing vulnerability in the medical field

(48:43) - How are we walking into forever shifted unprecedented times after experiencing so much loss?

About the show:

If you love deep, honest, authentic conversations, get ready to love Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. From CEOs and social workers to best-selling authors, educators, filmmakers, and stay-at-home moms, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they have gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. To learn more about the show and how host Lisa Keefauver is reimagining grief, sign up for her not-so-regular newsletter follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.lisakeefauver.com today!

Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cecilie Surasky|Discovering Aliveness

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

04/28/22 • 71 min

Cecilie Surasky is my guest in this special episode of GSB. Her stories of love and loss and ritual and divine connections with her 18 year old son Teo, who passed accidentally by unknowingly ingesting a lethal substance, will move you, sometimes make you laugh, and honestly might just inspire you to think differently about we can stay connected with our loved ones even after they’re physically gone from this earth.

Cecilie is a longtime movement-builder who is currently the Director of Communications at the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, and she reached out to me last year to share a sweet note of praise after her colleague john a powell was a guest on my show. We soon entered a beautiful back and forth series of emails about the nature of grief and how Immediately following the sudden loss of their 18 year old son Teo, Cecilie and her spouse Carolyn Hunt reached out to their son's friends and their extended family and friend network so they could all grieve and heal together. The result, still in progress, is an entire community that has been forever changed through storytelling, ritual, and deep listening...and also regular Zoom calls.

Episode Resources

A recent article Cecilie wrote about Teo in the Berkleyside

Episode Sponsor

Thanks to our sponsor Vida Health. Visit www.vida.com to learn more.

Jump straight into

(06:04) - Cecilie’s earliest memories of grief (and how her family addressed it)

(18:18) - A blended family: Cecilie shares stories about the life and personality of her son Teo

(26:55) - Teo’s passing event: Why is anxiety among adolescents so normalized?

(30:30) – Cecilie’s observations about the fact that this loss happened in an uncertain moment in history?

(35:07) - The lack of farewell rituals due to the pandemic and Teo’s garden ceremony

(47:59) - The magic of building a supporting community of humans around grief

(55”42) - The afterlife: Recent spiritual experiences that have connected Cecilie and Teo

About the show

Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph Jagger | Everything Left to Remember

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

07/11/23 • 68 min

Steph Jagger explores one of the most common ways we experience ambiguous loss - when someone we love is in the grips of Alzheimer’s Disease. In our conversation, just like in her exquisitely written memoir, Everything Left to Remember, Steph reveals what she learned when she took her mom, who was diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s, on an adventure into big nature under the big Montana sky. While what she learned on this trip wasn’t what she expected, she gained more than she bargained for including insights on childhood, motherhood, personhood, the lessons of Mother Nature, and what it means to love someone who doesn’t quite remember the person she spent her lifetime becoming.

EPISODE RESOURCES

Steph Jagger is a sought-after mentor and coach whose offerings guide people toward a deeper understanding of themselves and their stories. Her work, including speaking and facilitating, lies at the intersection of loss, the nature of deep remembrance, and the personal journey of re-creation. Steph grew up in Vancouver, Canada and now lives and works on Bainbridge Island, WA. Everything Left to Remember is Steph’s second book. Her first, Unbound, was published in 2017.

Pick up a copy of Everything Left to Remember at your favorite local bookstore or online here

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO

(30:00) Steph explores what she had hoped to discover on this trip through big nature with her mother versus the gifts she received along the way.

(47:00) As we wrapped up our conversation, Steph and I explored what it means to practice being with our emotions in grief and the suffering we experience when we resist or hang on too tightly.

STAY CONNECTED

1) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST on your favorite platform so you don’t miss an episode. If you love the show, I’d love to invite you to leave a rating and write a review.

2) INVITE ME TO YOUR INBOX to get behind-the-scenes on the podcast and all the grief support offered by our host, Lisa Keefauver, by signing up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter at lisakeefauver.com/newsletter.

3) IF YOU’RE FEELING SOCIAL, you can find her on all your favorite social channels too.

@lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube and TikTok. Check out her tweets @lisakeefauver

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Naomi Edmondson | Safer Grief Spaces

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

06/30/22 • 56 min

Oh my friends, I’m thrilled to bring you this beautiful and rich conversation I had with Naomi Edmonson. Naomi offers so much wisdom and insight as she explores her experiences and lessons learned after losing both a mother figure and her mother. She also shares the journey she’s been on creating safer grief spaces for Black people, something she felt missing in her early grief where she was often the only Black Queer person in the room. We explore the expectations we have about being alongside someone in their dying process and the importance of truly being seen and held in grief.

EPISODE RESOURCES

Follow Naomi at The Glorious Hum on Instagram

EPISODE SPONSOR

Thanks to our sponsor Empathy. GSB listeners get a complimentary phone consultation call with a Care Specialist. Get immediate support and guidance for your particular situation today. Go to www.empathy.com/gsb for more info.

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(03:42) - Naomi’s anticipatory grief experience regarding the passing of her mother figure

(13:14) - Accepting the version of ourselves that comes out when in grief

(17:27) - Caregiving and the endeavors of showing up during a loved one's last

(29:02) - Becoming more present and attentive after experiencing multiple losses

(34:06) - From safe to safer space: How The Glorious Hum and Black Folks Grieve emerged and what it means for Naomi’s own processes

(44:42) - Acknowledging less tangible types of loss, permission-giving and grief gone invalidated

(53:06) - Adulthood and finding space to be: Reflections from Naomi’s birthday trip to Jamaica

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Learn more about becoming a GSB Podcast Supporter here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Domenica Feraud | Exploring Grief On Stage

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

12/10/24 • 75 min

Doménica Feraud joined host Lisa Keefauver for a conversation about her play 'Someone Spectacular' and the experience of creating a play about grief. They discuss the early lessons about grief that Doménica learned from her parents, the losses she experienced as a child, and the impact of those losses on her understanding of grief. Doménica shares how her close relationship with her mother, Nathalie, shaped her identity and how her mother's sudden death led her to write the play. They also touch on the importance of open conversations about grief and the struggles of navigating life after loss. The play 'Someone Spectacular' explores the messy and complex nature of grief through the stories of six characters who come together in a grief support group. Each character represents a different type of loss, including the death of a spouse, the loss of a sibling, and the experience of miscarriage. The play delves into the individual experiences of grief and the ways in which people cope and support each other. It emphasizes the importance of staying connected and working through the pain together, even when it's messy and uncomfortable.

ABOUT GUEST

Doménica Feraud is a first-generation Ecuadorian writer, producer, and actor from New York City. Her groundbreaking play Rinse, Repeat premiered at the Signature Theatre in 2019 (NYT Critic’s Pick). Her sophomore play, someone spectacular, a tribute to her late mother Nathalie, is currently running at Signature Theater until September 7th. After the viral success of The Movie Star and Me and The 26-Year-Old Virgin, Feraud’s debut book, You Are What You See, will be released next summer. Acting credits include: Rinse, Repeat (Signature), The Wild Parrots of Campbell (Cherry Lane). Film/TV: Life After You, “Law & Order: SVU.” BA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Learn more about her and her work at https://www.domenicaferaud.com

ABOUT THE SHOW & HOST

Lisa Keefauver is a social worker, widow, and grief activist on a mission to reimagine the narratives of grief, one conversation at a time.

Learn more at www.lisakeefauver.com.

Follow @lisakeefauvermsw on Instagram.

Listen to Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast - Available on all podcast platforms.

Read Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss. Available in bookstores and on your favorite online booksellers, including Bookshop.Org. Also available as an audiobook.

Watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marisa Renee Lee | Grief is Love

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

01/20/22 • 63 min