summary In this heartfelt conversation, Jen and Lindsey Henke discuss the profound journey of grief and healing following the loss of Lindsey's daughter, Nora. Lindsey shares her experiences of writing her book, 'When Skies Are Gray,' as a means of processing her grief and maintaining a connection with her daughter. They explore the importance of storytelling, the concept of continued bonds with lost loved ones, and the therapeutic power of writing. Lindsey emphasizes the validation of grief ...
Summary Jessi Michel shares her heartbreaking story of stillbirth and her advocacy work to prevent stillbirths. She recounts the day her daughter Freya was born still and the emotional journey that followed. Jessi emphasizes the need for better education and awareness about stillbirth, as well as improved data collection and research. She discusses two bills in Congress, the Maternal and Child Health and Stillbirth Prevention Act and the Shine for Autumn Act, which aim to address these issues...
Childbirth is more than just that precious moment when a baby takes its first breath; it’s also about being fully prepared for everything that comes before. In today’s episode, we are thrilled to be joined by the Childbirth Advocate and Author of A Parent's Guide to a Safer Childbirth, Gina Mundy. In over 21 years as an attorney who specializes in childbirth cases, Gina has spent countless hours meticulously scrutinizing childbirth cases, conducting interviews with delivery teams, and thoroug...
Being resilient in the face of unimaginable loss and choosing to heal and carry on is an unimaginably difficult task. Today’s guest has suffered incredible loss but she made the remarkable choice to take those hardships in her stride and create a platform to help other people through their grief. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Barbara’s life, the loss of her infant son and 21-year-old son, and how she found purpose in creating support groups, as well as learn about her books, how she starte...
For all of us – not just those who are dealing with loss – the holidays can be a troublesome period filled with overwhelming emotions and events. But navigating holiday landmines is as simple as always putting yourself first. Today, we welcome Hannah Stonehouse Hudson back to the show for the third time, as she shares some advice on how to get through the most emotionally-intimidating time of the year. We begin by learning how to properly plan for holiday gatherings, how to harness healthy ho...
In the tough journey of grief, getting to a place where we can accept our loss or a traumatic experience isn't easy, it takes time and real effort. Today, we have Heather Gilbert with us, sharing her raw and emotional story of navigating loss and grappling with depression afterward. She is 18 years into her life journey with loss, and presently a mother of four children with one in heaven. Join us as Heather takes us through the heart-wrenching details of losing her unborn child, planning a f...
Hope is one of the first casualties of loss, closely followed by a breakdown in faith. And while it’s necessary to experience grief to its furthest point, it’s just as important to recover your hope to begin living life to the fullest once again. We are thrilled to be joined by Rachel Lohman for today’s episode as she gives us behind-the-scenes access to her latest book, Miscarried Hope, a guide to help women who want to recover their faith after experiencing a loss. Rachel is also the Founde...
Our internal dialogue is shaped as we journey through life, but by the time we reach adulthood, that inner voice often becomes negatively biased as a survival mechanism. Can we change this internal narrative to focus more on self-compassion? Leading a life guided by self-compassion can bring about remarkable transformations, but it requires practice. In today's episode, we delve into the concept of self-compassion with our special guest, Melissa Dahl. Melissa specializes in women's mental hea...
As parents of loss and parents of earth-side children, some of us often wonder and worry if we are doing right by the ones left behind. A question many of us often ponder is, how do we balance honoring our child that is no longer here, while we still care for our emotions, our partners, and our living children? Our guest today is here to share some insightful and encouraging expert advice. Annie Pelletier is a Sudbury-based psychotherapist who specializes in assisting families who have experi...
There’s a saying that bad things often happen in threes. But what happens when the worst version of that is the loss of three loved ones in the span of 3 years? How would you possibly navigate a world you barely even recognize anymore? Our guest today is Angie Hanson and she shares with us her story about navigating three rounds of loss and grieving, how she survived it, and how focusing on her daughter Gracie helped her move forward. She talks about the difference between slow hospice deaths...
Every woman’s experience of pregnancy is different. And while the news that you are expecting is often a cause for celebration, it can also be fraught with difficult challenges. These issues can be especially painful when you have a medical team that is dismissive of your concerns and doesn’t take your input seriously. That was the experience of today’s guest, Kendra Alexander, whose first pregnancy resulted in a painful miscarriage. Her experiences and the lack of support she felt from her m...
Almost everyone who has experienced loss has wondered whether their loved one is happy and in a good place and they long to connect with them just one more time. In this (off-the-wall) episode of Landscape of Loss, we are welcoming a psychic medium to the show to tell us all more about his craft and how that can help parents suffering the loss of a child. Tuning in, you’ll hear about how Dean went from military service to psychic medium readings, who he works with, what his role is, how peopl...
Recovering from pregnancy loss takes time and patience. Here on Haven the Podcast, we tell tender stories of loss and share our experiences of surviving grief, hoping that they will assist grieving families in their recovery. Often, these stories offer perspective on years of grief gone by, but today, we hear from a mom who is in the thick of it. At just four months since the loss of her sweet girl, Magnolia, June Stilley joins us to speak candidly about what she believes everyone should know...
Grieving the loss of a child is every parent’s worst nightmare and the pain of what-ifs can be crippling. Our guest today courageously joins us to share her potentially triggering and emotional journey of unexpected infant loss, when her beautiful baby girl, Reese, was stillborn mere hours before her scheduled delivery. Amanda Duffy opens up about the red flags throughout her pregnancy and the missed opportunities to intervene. Her devastating experience propelled her to do everything in her ...
Grief takes many forms, and being surrounded by a community can help you learn how to re-enter the world and begin the lifelong mourning process. Joining us today on Haven the Podcast is Michael Liben, husband, father of three, and podcast host, to discuss the loss of his 15-year-old daughter, Liel. In this episode, you will hear about Michael and his wife’s difficulty having children, their two surviving children, and the health issues Liel experienced before her death. Michael had a slightl...
Pregnancy after loss feels like a journey too difficult to navigate but thanks to today’s guest, Lindsey Henke, it is possible and your desire for another child can outweigh your fear of loss. In this episode of Landscape of Loss, we take a look at our guest’s stillbirth experience and her second pregnancy as she explains what helped her, what didn’t help her, and what she wished she had done differently. Lindsey also tells us what made her decide to have another baby, how you can navigate ma...
What if, instead of expecting ourselves and those around us to move on from the loss of a loved one, we made space for loss to become part of the new life being created? This is a very exciting episode as it is our very first live episode recorded at our annual gala! We are joined by the incredible grief educator and motivational speaker, Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, to discuss how she navigated the loss of an infant and her husband in the light of publicity that followed a viral photograph she ...
This episode carries a trigger warning for infant loss and miscarriage with very graphic accounts of each. Please listen with care. Burying a baby you have carried for nine months is unfathomable and to lose another seems like a cruel twist of fate. Today’s guest has experienced a world of unimaginable grief as she has lost three children in the past decade. Sarah Smith Warren and her husband were settling down to start a family when they lost their first child at 12 weeks and you can imagine...
We know that grief and joy can coexist after loss, but sometimes, we are forced into that space far quicker than anyone would have expected. Today’s guest, Megan Hillukka, was 36 weeks pregnant with her fourth child when her third passed away at just 15 months old. She is joining us to share her story of loss and finding peace after processing grief. During this episode, you will hear how Megan navigated never finding the answers to why her child passed away, how her first-hand experience of ...
First-time mothers are rarely prepared for the full spectrum of biological changes that happen during pregnancy, and as a society, we have created an endless list of assumptions around what motherhood and pregnancy should look like. But there are countless pregnancies that don’t adhere to these textbook expectations. And too often when women struggle with issues like postnatal depression, they are left feeling isolated, alone, and abnormal. Such was the case for today’s guest, Lo Nigrosh when...