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© 2026 Don't Forget To Breathe: Where grieving parents find voice, hope, and connection.
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Don’t Forget To Breathe is a podcast for parents who have lost a child.
Hosted by bereaved parents Bruce Barker and Kristin Glenn, this show offers honest, compassionate conversations about life after child loss, long-term grief, healing, and learning how to keep living while carrying profound loss. Together, Bruce and Kristin create a space where grief does not need to be explained, and where parents can feel understood, supported, and less alone.
Originally launched in 2020, the podcast began as a form of soul-cleansing and healing, as Bruce shared his journey as a father who suddenly lost his 20-year-old daughter in 2006, a tragedy no parent should ever have to endure. After a three-year hiatus marked by deep personal transformation, including divorce, closing a business, intensive therapy, and continued healing, the podcast returns with a renewed heart and a deeper, more expansive perspective.
With Kristin joining as co-host in Season 4, the conversation widens. Drawing from decades of lived experience, Bruce and Kristin are joined by other parents who bravely share their stories of grief, resilience, and life after loss. Together, they explore how grief evolves over time, and how sorrow, hope, love, and even laughter can coexist.
You’ll hear the shift in voice, perspective, and presence—from surviving to living. Wherever you are on your grief journey, this podcast offers connection, understanding, and the quiet reassurance that you are not alone.
28 Episodes
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Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Natalie shares the story of her daughter Brooklyn, a joyful, imaginative little girl who filled every space with life. Through heartfelt memories and honest reflection, we talk about sudden loss, the early days of shock and numbness, and what it means to keep living while grieving a child. This conversation explores how joy and sorrow can exist together, and how love continues to show up in everyday moments. If you’re walking this road, this is a reminder, th...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Bruce and Kristin reflect on the Academy Award winning documentary All the Empty Rooms, a film that quietly and honestly invites viewers into the sacred spaces left behind after the loss of a child. Rather than offering answers or silver linings, the film simply bears witness, to bedrooms untouched, to memories preserved, and to the deep, ongoing connection between parents and their children. Bruce and Kristin explore why the film’s simplicity is what makes i...
Send us Fan Mail In Part 2, Bruce and Kristin continue their conversation about the shattered future that follows child loss. Together, they talk about the milestones that can hit without warning, birthdays, New Year’s, graduations, weddings, and the quiet moments that remind grieving parents of all that was lost. They also speak candidly about resentment, remembrance, and the deep longing to have their children’s lives acknowledged by others. This episode is a gentle but honest conversation ...
Send us Fan Mail When a child dies, parents don’t just grieve the life that was lived, they grieve the life that was supposed to be. In this episode, Bruce and Kristin talk about the invisible loss many bereaved parents carry: the future that shattered. From missed milestones and imagined grandchildren to the identities we thought we would grow into as parents, this conversation explores the quiet grief of the “what ifs” that often follow child loss. Together they reflect on how memories, mil...
Send us Fan Mail In Part 3, Bruce and Kristin talk about what grieving parents often need most: to be seen, not fixed. They explore why it matters when others say our child’s name, ask how they lived instead of how they died, and allow grief to be spoken out loud without trying to make it better. This conversation touches on forever parenthood, the loneliness that can come from society’s invisible grief timeline, and the permission to grieve for life, while still holding joy. Because love did...
Send us Fan Mail In Part 2, we explore one of the quieter things time actually does: it distances us from support. As the calls become fewer and the check-ins fade, it may begin to look from the outside like we’re coping… or even moving on. But grief is patient. And when it’s avoided, it waits. Bruce and Kristin talk about the shift that happens after the early shock, from focusing on how our child died to the fear of forgetting how they lived. The sound of their voice. Their smell. Their qui...
Send us Fan Mail “Time heals all wounds.” Most grieving parents have heard that phrase. Many of us have been hurt by it. In part 1 of this 3-part series, Bruce and Kristin challenge the myth that time alone heals the loss of a child. This isn’t a scraped knee. It’s an amputation. Time doesn’t replace what was taken. Grief evolves; it softens, shifts, and integrates, but it doesn’t expire. The love hasn’t diminished, so why would the grief? Bruce shares about the landmines that still feel shar...
Send us Fan Mail This conversation opens with a promise: we will talk about child loss with honesty, tenderness, and practical care. Bruce Barker and Kristin Glenn outline the intention for Season 4 of Don’t Forget To Breathe: honest, compassionate discussions about child loss that replace clichés with clarity and care. They outline episodes designed for parents in the earliest, raw weeks of grief, for those years down the road still carrying love and pain together, and for friends and family...
Send us Fan Mail As we launch this Season 4 conversation of Don’t Forget To Breathe, host Bruce Barker is joined by Kristin Glenn as they officially begin their journey together as co-hosts. This episode centers on a powerful truth shared by bereaved parents everywhere: “You get it.” In part 1 of our conversation, Bruce and Kristin reflect on decades of life after child loss, exploring why shared understanding matters more than advice, and how grief can feel isolating even in a room full of p...
Send us Fan Mail This episode of Don’t Forget To Breathe reflects on Season 3, a season focused on parents who have lost a child, life after child loss, long-term grief, and healing. Hosted by a grieving father, this recap honors the voices of bereaved parents who shared their stories of love, loss, and learning how to keep living while carrying grief. Season 3 centered on conversations with mothers and fathers navigating parental grief years after losing a child. This recap is both a thank-y...
Send us Fan Mail In this first half of a two-part conversation, host Bruce Barker talks with Kristin—one of the founders and former Executive Director of a Colorado nonprofit that supports grieving parents. Kristin opens up about her child, her loss, and the early days of her grief journey. She reflects on how her pain transformed into compassion and why she dedicated herself to walking with families through unimaginable moments. In this episode: • The story of her child and the grief that fo...
Send us Fan Mail In this first part of a two-episode conversation, host Bruce Barker sits down with Kristin, one of the founders and former Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting families who have experienced child loss. Kristin shares the early chapters of her grief journey and the deeply personal story that led her to create a safe haven for parents in their darkest moments. She reflects on her own loss, the compassion that shaped her work, and the emotiona...
Send us Fan Mail The holidays can be one of the hardest times for grieving parents. Between memories of what once was and the silence of what’s missing, emotions can feel overwhelming. In this heartfelt episode of Don’t Forget To Breathe, host Bruce Barker shares gentle reflections and practical coping strategies for navigating the season after child loss. Discover ways to approach family gatherings, honor your child’s memory through meaningful traditions, and give yourself permission to rest...
Send us Fan Mail My guest, Sheila Johnson Wilson, a writer, musician, and professional coordinator, has endured the loss of more than 20 loved ones, including 17 in just five years. Through deep personal work, she’s found healing and now shares her story to inspire others with courage to heal, support one another, and dream again. Contact information for Sheila and William Wood are: ohohsheilaonline@gmail.com William Wood: william.wood@northernutahhypnosis.com Support the show Help keep the ...
Send us Fan Mail In part three of my conversation with Marnie, she shares life after Joey’s death in 2022; the weight of grief, the struggles, and the ways she continues forward while holding onto her daughter’s memory. Unlike the first two episodes, we recorded this in Marnie’s home, where she invited me into Joey’s room, unchanged since the last time she slept there. Surrounded by Joey’s art and presence, it was a sacred, moving experience. I now invite you to lean in and hear Marnie’s hone...
Send us Fan Mail In the second of three conversations, Marnie continues sharing the story of her daughter, Joey, this time moving into the heartbreaking account of her final days and the moment of her death. Alongside the deep pain, Marnie reflects with tenderness and honesty on the love that carried them through. Recorded in a bustling coffeehouse, this episode invites you to listen past the background sounds and into a mother’s unflinching story of loss, love, and remembrance. Support the ...
Send us Fan Mail In the first of three conversations, Marnie from Colorado opens her heart to share memories of her daughter, Joey and the devastating medical diagnosis, countless hospital visits, and the daily fight to keep her alive, as well as the laughter, adventures, and everyday moments that filled their life with love. Recorded in a cozy coffeehouse, this episode invites you to see Joey through her mother’s eyes, before the tragedy that changed everything. Support the show Help keep t...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I revisit one of the most talked-about topics from Season 2, Episode 9: Did You Really Just Say That? We’ll reflect on some of the surprising, hurtful, or well-meaning-but-wrong things people say to grieving parents. I also share a few new comments I’ve heard recently from others in my grief support groups. If you've ever been on the receiving end of words that missed the mark, or if you want to better support someone in grief, this episode is for you. Suppo...
Send us Fan Mail Nineteen years ago today, Kristen died. In this short episode, I reflect on the weight of this day, what it brings up, how I’ve coped, and the ways I’ve honored her memory through the years. Grief changes, but it never disappears. This is a quiet space to remember, to feel, and to share the journey of healing. Support the show Help keep the Don’t Forget To Breathe podcast going. Become a supporter today and be part of the movement to bring light, connection, and hope to thos...
Send us Fan Mail Where Has Bruce Been? After a three-year pause, Don’t Forget To Breathe returns with a raw and transparent look at the life-changing events that kept Bruce away from the mic. In this powerful relaunch, Bruce shares his journey through divorce, trauma, therapy, self-discovery, healing, and a new direction in life. It's a fresh chapter, honest, heartfelt, and rooted in the hope of moving forward together. Support the show Help keep the Don’t Forget To Breathe podcast going. Be...
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