Beyond the Loss

Community, Healing, and Finding Your Way Forward

Content note: This episode contains discussion of miscarriage, stillbirth, and pregnancy loss. Jamie Khory shares her personal journey through multiple pregnancy losses and how those experiences reshaped her understanding of grief, healing, and community. After first connecting with the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre as a volunteer, Jamie discovered the depth of support and belonging available to families navigating loss. In this conversation, Jamie reflects on learning to give herself permission to grieve, the importance of community support, and how she now channels her experience into advocacy and fundraising to help ensure other families have access to the same care.

Ritual, Remembrance, and Saying Goodbye

Content note: This episode includes discussion of pregnancy loss, cremation, infant death, and memorial practices. Michael Pierson, president of Pierson’s Funeral Service and a founder of the Silent Hopes Memorial, shares his decades of experience supporting families through pregnancy and infant loss. Michael explains why rituals and memorials can be so important in helping families process grief, particularly when losses happen early in pregnancy and may go unacknowledged by others. He also shares the story behind the Silent Hopes Memorial program, which provides a respectful cremation and memorial space for babies lost early in pregnancy — ensuring families have a place to grieve and remember their children.

The Quiet Ways Loss Shapes a Family

Content note: This episode contains discussion of termination for medical reasons (TFMR), pregnancy loss, and grief. Soraya Lakhani shares the story of her son Amaanat, who was delivered at 22 weeks after a devastating diagnosis led to a termination for medical reasons. In this conversation, Soraya reflects on the complex realities of grieving a baby that others may not see or recognize, and the importance of being acknowledged as a parent. She speaks about the support she found through community, the ways grief evolves over time, and how she continues to honour Amanat while raising her living son. This episode explores the quiet ways loss shapes a family, the rituals that keep memories alive, and how love and grief can exist side by side in everyday life.

Scott’s Legacy: How One Loss Built a Community

Content note: This episode contains discussion of stillbirth, infant loss, and the experience of delivering a baby who has died. In this episode, Candace speaks with Peter Smed about the stillbirth of his son Scott more than two decades ago and the profound impact that loss had on his family’s life. Peter shares how grief transformed his perspective on community, connection, and helping others. What began as a way to honour Scott grew into a powerful legacy — from the Scott Smed Golf Tournament to the creation of specialized hospital rooms designed to support families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. Peter reflects on the early days of grief, the role community played in helping his family survive the unimaginable, and why creating meaning from loss can help families find a path forward.