Grieving Voices
Victoria Volk, The Unleashed Heart, LLC
Grieving Voices is a podcast started by a lifelong griever for grievers. The mission of Grieving Voices is to change the conversation around grief, and how we address our own and that of others and give grievers a platform for sharing what grief has taught them. Through education and personal story, listeners will learn more effective ways to help themselves and others. The Grieving Voices podcast is part of The Unleashed Heart, LLC. Grief resources and additional support are available at www.theunleashedheart.com
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Grieving Voices Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Grieving Voices episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Grieving Voices 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 Grieving Voices episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Takeaways and Reflections From 2024
Grieving Voices
12/31/24 • 23 min
In this week's New Year's Eve episode, I reflect on 2024 as a year of laying the groundwork for future growth. As we look forward to 2025, I want to emphasize themes like introspection and personal development that can help us all prepare for a more balanced and fulfilling year ahead.
Reflecting on the past year often brings up negatives, but it's crucial to focus on lessons learned. Inspired by Mel Robbins' podcast episode about conducting yearly audits, I plan to engage with her seven-question exercise myself. This process encourages thinking about what we want to feel in 2025—like inspiration and fulfillment—and how to make those feelings a reality.
This year, I've discovered new passions. Lifting weights at the gym has given me incredible fitness results without relying heavily on cardio. Faith played an important role, too. Additionally, I've found creativity beyond traditional art forms and realized that solutions often hide within our challenges if approached thoughtfully.
Key takeaways from this journey include mastering time management, resisting impulse shopping, and ensuring there's always room for fun amidst hard work. Trusting my intuition has been vital—it never leads me astray—and I'll rely even more on it in 2025 and more that I share in this episode.
Give yourself some time and space to reflect back upon where you've been. We can glean so much gold from the past if we are not afraid to look at it.
RESOURCES:
- The Unleashed Letters Newsletter
- Mel Robbins 7 Questions Year-End Audit
- Energy Healing Membership
- Do Grief Differently (10% off for two individuals for January or February start date)
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
The Grief of Burnout and Not Knowing Yourself
Grieving Voices
07/25/23 • 41 min
In today's episode, I will cover the other two pillars of YouMap®: Skills and Personality. If you listened to last week's episode, I discuss the first two pillars of YouMap®, which are the Strengths and Values.
This week, I'm diving deeper into:
- The difference between Preferred and Least Preferred Skills
- The 6 Personality Interest Types (as they relate to career/life satisfaction)
- The 3 Levels of Coaching
According to Korn Ferry International, 85 percent of skills can be transferred from one job to another.
This means the expertise, knowledge, and abilities gained in a specific role can be applicable and valuable in a different job or industry. However, many individuals might not fully recognize the potential of their transferable skills, often underestimating how their existing competencies can be leveraged in a new position they have not previously experienced.
Understanding and acknowledging these transferable skills are crucial in maximizing career opportunities and navigating job transitions successfully. Emphasizing transferable skills can empower job seekers to present themselves as versatile and adaptable candidates to employers, expanding their possibilities in the ever-changing job market.
Why does this all matter? Considering we spend the majority of our lives in our careers/work life, isn't it more satisfying when you're doing something you enjoy and maximizing everything about you that is expressed through your YouMap®?
RESOURCES:
- YouMap®
- Do Grief DifferentlyTM️
- Free Consultation
- EP. 150 What It's Like Working With Me
- EP. 151 The Grief of Not Knowing Your Strengths and Values
_______
NEED HELP
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Melissa Reilly | A Longing That Never Leaves
Grieving Voices
11/29/22 • 57 min
Melissa's episode embodies several different ways one may experience grief. And as she shares each story, she also provides insight into loss from her perspective as a clinical psychologist.
At age 4, her older sister (age 7) died of leukemia. Melissa's earliest memories are related to her sister battling leukemia for eighteen months and being bounced from house to house while her parents were away with her older sister for her healthcare.
And, once her sister died, life went on as if it had never happened. Many peers didn't even know she had a sister until she was in high school. Her sister's death was something that was not talked about.
Once a young adult, grief was once again a part of her life when her grandfather passed away. It would be the first time she and her sister would begin to talk about their grief from the past and present with each other.
However, grief would knock on Melissa's door not once, not twice, but five more times. When Melissa was 25, her mother died unexpectedly at age 51 of a heart attack. Even more heartbreaking in that loss was that she and her mother had had a falling out eight months before her mother's passing, only adding to her grief.
Seven months later, her younger sister of a pulmonary embolism. She would then experience three miscarriages before welcoming a healthy baby boy after a challenging and trying pregnancy, where she managed to carry her son to 36 weeks gestation.
Melissa goes on to share how not all grief requires medication. She provides insight into her belief around this (a belief we both share) and the four women personality types that women (moms without moms, in particular) would benefit from having in their lives.
This is an episode that moms without moms (due to a myriad of circumstances) would benefit from hearing, and anyone who has experienced devastating loss or trauma as a child.
RESOURCES:
CONNECT:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Karla Helbert | My Son, Theo, Is Always With Me
Grieving Voices
11/28/23 • 64 min
Society will often say to bereaved parents (or guardians), "I cannot imagine your loss..." when expressing their sympathy. However, these words can feel like a thousand paper cuts to the bereaved because, if they're anything like my guest, Karla, they want you to imagine, even briefly. As Karla shares in this week's episode, we are all capable of using our imagination; however, when it comes to child loss, no one wants to imagine it. Karla herself never imagined she would experience such a loss in her life. And today, her beloved Theo would be 18 and off to college.
Theo means "God," and Karla never imagined how much her spiritual life would suffer when Theo was diagnosed at three months old with a brain tumor and died six months later. She needed God and her spiritual practice more than ever during that time, and yet all of the tools and teachings in her toolbox through her therapy practice, yoga, aromatherapy, and more were of no interest to her; she wanted nothing to do with any of it. That is until she was ready to face the one unimaginable loss she could not change.
Through this episode and Karla's story, you'll learn two important lessons her grief taught her, as well as her insights around balancing the fear of the world and something bad happening with living, and in particular, the challenges parents with other living children face after already burying one child.
We also talk about how her practice evolved with her grief and how it's also enabled her to sit with other grievers, including other bereaved parents and guardians, in their pain.
When unimaginable loss happens, every aspect of our lives takes a hit. But when our spiritual life is bruised, finding meaning, which Karla explains is very personal, can be the fuel needed to get up in the morning and keep moving.
Karla lives her life with one thought: to live a life that would make Theo proud.
May we all strive to live our lives to honor our departed loved ones - in even the smallest of ways. 💛
RESOURCES:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Kristjana Hillberg | A Mother's Heartache & Sacrifice
Grieving Voices
09/14/21 • 71 min
As a parent, if you had to choose between your child's best interest or what you personally wanted, you would likely choose what’s best for your child. However, what if that decision meant your child wouldn't be with you full-time?
Kristjana was faced with a gut-wrenching decision that hung over her head for weeks on end until a moment of clarity struck her like a lightning bolt. But, it came with a whole lot of heartache and guilt. Not to mention one that made a lot of eyebrows go up and whispers swirl around her.
There is no manual for motherhood. And, there’s definitely no manual for divorce with shared custody. On top of that, there’s no manual for being a military spouse either.
There are often many layers to the decisions we must make in our lives that others know little about. However, that doesn’t stop the advice from coming.
Listen and learn from Kristjana’s story. We talk about making difficult decisions via your own guidance system, outward validation, boundaries, tips for communicating with children about tough issues, giving/taking advice, and there’s even a bit about being an empath towards the end of the episode.
I really enjoyed this conversation. I hope you enjoy it, too! And, if you do like what you hear, please offer your support by sharing it with someone you know who would love it, leave a review, or rate it! I'd so appreciate it! 💛
RESOURCES:
- Book | Untamed
- Book | Boundaries
- Grief Recovery
- YouMap®
CONNECT:
- Podcast | The Red Door
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
10/05/21 • 65 min
What does the wizard behind the one invention that has transformed society around the globe have to say about optimism, failure, and learning?
Marty Cooper has been coined the name the "Father of the Cell Phone" but, there's more to him than being an inventor of one of the most societal-altering devices.
It took ten years to see his dream come to fruition, and it nearly didn't happen. In our conversation, we explore optimism, failure, the importance of learning, and so much more.
We get a peek behind the curtain in this episode where Marty shares his thoughts about technological advances, his prediction for the future of how we will power our lives, advice for all of us regarding privacy (in terms of how we use our cell phones), and what he believes is the threat to our civilization.
What does Marty have to say about kids and cell phone safety, the body being a complete system (at 92 years old, he's learned a thing or two), learning from others, thoughts about grief, what breaks his heart and what gives him hope for the future? You'll just have to listen!
This is a lighthearted conversation, filled with optimism and wisdom from someone who had a dream and never gave up. Perhaps how he lives his life today is an indicator of why Marty Cooper became the "Father of the Cell Phone?"
RESOURCES:
CONNECT:
______NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you or anyone you know is struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, there are fr
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Grieving Voices Trailer
Grieving Voices
06/11/20 • 1 min
Preparing to Launch!
This podcast has been 30+ years in the making. I went from being a child griever to an adult griever. During this time, I've learned a lot about how grief can negatively impact a person's life, create chaos and hardship, and ruin relationships.
It is my hope, that through sharing the tools and language I've learned in addressing grief, that culturally, we can take the conversation up a few notches.
Growing up, our parents relied on what they were taught, and it's through this generational learning and lack of formal education around grief, that we have become a society so afraid to talk about it. Therefore, we don't know how to address our grief, much less the grief of others. As a result, we resort to unhelpful and often hurtful phrases a vast majority of us have been taught.
Please join me in starting a conversation around grief where we begin to talk about grief like we talk about the weather.
______If you or anyone you know is struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, there are free resources available HERE.
If you'd like to share your grieving voice on the show or want to share your thoughts about an episode, please send an email to [email protected].
Are you enjoying the podcast? Check out my bi-weekly newsletter, The Unleashed Letters.
______
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SHOW:
- Tell Your Friends & Share Online!
- Subscribe, Rate & Review: Apple Podcasts
- Follow & Listen Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Pandora
- Share on Social
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
09/05/23 • 23 min
In today's episode, I share an a-ha realization with you: a question I've wondered about myself for the past eighteen years.
I answer my own question in today's episode regarding relationships with friends, my kids, and myself.
An important aspect of growth is self-awareness. Sometimes, we need to hear the right thing at the right time, unlocking an a-ha moment we've been waiting to receive. Those a-ha moments can shift our perspective or even possibly change the trajectory of our entire lives.
The best way to put ourselves in the way of a-ha moments is by diving into self-awareness, utilizing tools, and seeking out connections with others who can reflect what we can't see for ourselves.
As you listen to this episode, maybe you can relate, and if you do, I hope it's the encouragement you need to explore the inner workings of your mind and heart, too.
RESOURCES:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
Are you enjoying the podcast? Check out my bi-weekly newsletter, The Unleashed Letters.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Kasey Carmona | 6 Days of Dying and a Masterpiece of Life
Grieving Voices
06/14/22 • 53 min
Warning: This episode contains a mother's account of her son, CJ's, final days of life. This may be difficult for some listeners to hear, particularly those who have lost a child.
99 Days. How much life can you squeeze out of 99 precious newborn days? Especially when 84 of those are spent in the hospital?
Kabuki, a major theatrical form in Japan for four centuries, became less of a theatrical experience and more of a grieving one.
Kabuki Syndrome (a rare genetic syndrome), named in part after facial art depicted in Kabuki theatre, expresses itself with distinct facial features including large eyes and long lashes.
CJ would not only fight to stay alive with Kabuki, but due to Kabuki, he was also born with half a heart (hypoplastic left heart syndrome), 3 kidneys, and a cleft palate. The odds were stacked against CJ and his family.
Kasey and her husband did whatever they could for their son. However, when it became clear that they were going to have to have procedures done to CJ, that was their sign that they weren't honoring CJ's spirit or his life. They came to accept the truth of their son's young life and decided to take him home with oxygen support only.
Kasey could have never anticipated that the day they took CJ home on hospice care would be the first day he would truly be living. For six days, they loved as they had never loved. And, they found peace in their sorrow; believing that the gift of CJ's life was to highlight the abundance in the present moment.
We often torture ourselves with questions we will never know the answer to. And, with odds of .032% of this diagnosis, "Why?" is a question with no answer. Scientifically, it comes down to one tiny missing gene. In the contrast, we can recognize the fragility of life and its magnificence, too.
"Part of living the abundance of life is experiencing loss."
- Kasey Carmona in a Valentine's letter to CJ
RESOURCES:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
09/15/20 • 70 min
Patsy is my first guest interview on the podcast. She is also the first online, 1-on-1 participant to go through the newly developed online version of The Grief Recovery Method® program. The online, GRM program is a 7-week action-based proven method for helping grievers navigate and process a loss of any kind.
In this episode, Patsy shares her grieving voice around her divorce, being a caregiver to her dying father, and closing a business. And, how resiliency found her during those two years of deep grief.
Patsy also shares her voice about her search for alignment and discovery of the gifts grief brought into her life. Through her story, she shares what was helpful to her as she was knee-deep in the grief experiences and experiencing a lot of change and transition at one time.
We also scratch the surface of how we live is how we die and the resistance grievers, as well as those dying, have around death (or the very thought of it).
Be a fly on the wall of our very deep conversation and, if Patsy's story resonates with you or, you wish to follow her journey of creation, self-discovery, and alignment, you can find her at the following:
@andcelebrate on Instagram or her website at www.andcelebrate.com
RESOURCES:
One-on-One, Online Grief Recovery Support
______If you or anyone you know is struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, there are free resources available HERE.
If you'd like to share your grieving voice on the show or want to share your thoughts about an episode, please send an email to [email protected].
Are you enjoying the podcast? Check out my bi-weekly newsletter, The Unleashed Letters.
______
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SHOW:
_______
NEED HELP?
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor
If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA:
This episode is sponsored by Do Grief DifferentlyTM️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.
Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Grieving Voices have?
Grieving Voices currently has 239 episodes available.
What topics does Grieving Voices cover?
The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Personal Growth, Grief, Divorce, Mental Health, Miscarriage, Podcasts, Self-Improvement, Education, Trauma, Loss and Death.
What is the most popular episode on Grieving Voices?
The episode title 'Melissa Reilly | A Longing That Never Leaves' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Grieving Voices?
The average episode length on Grieving Voices is 46 minutes.
How often are episodes of Grieving Voices released?
Episodes of Grieving Voices are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Grieving Voices?
The first episode of Grieving Voices was released on Jun 11, 2020.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ