What Bob Saget Taught His Wife About Facing Death and Living Fully

Past Lives, Soul Contracts & the Afterlife: What Grievers Need to Know with Ainslie MacLeod

What if the people we love don't disappear when they die? What if the bond continues, even after death? And what if some of the people who have shaped our lives most deeply, including our children, were connected to us long before this lifetime began? In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with psychic, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author Ainslie MacLeod for a conversation that challenged the way I think about grief, loss, and the soul's journey. For more than 25 years, Ainslie has helped people understand the deeper purpose behind their struggles, relationships, fears, and life experiences through the lens of past lives and soul evolution. But this conversation is not just theoretical. Two years ago, Ainslie and his wife Christine experienced every parent's worst nightmare when their daughter India died by suicide. Together, we talk about what helped them survive the unimaginable, why grief affects each of us so differently, and what Ainslie's work has taught him about what happens after we die. We explore the possibility that our souls travel together across lifetimes, that our deepest fears may have roots beyond this life, and that the people we miss most may still be far closer than we realize. Ainslie also shares why he believes the universe holds no judgment for those who die by suicide, how he and Christine stayed connected through their grief, and what he has learned from thousands of readings about the enduring nature of love. Along the way, I share a story about Sammy that still takes my breath away and reminds me why I believe our loved ones continue to find ways to reach us. Whether you are curious about past lives or simply longing for reassurance that your connection to your loved one has not ended, this conversation offers hope, perspective, and a different way of understanding loss. In this episode, you'll discover: • Why two people can experience the same loss and grieve in completely different ways • What Ainslie believes happens to us after death • Why the universe holds no judgment for those who die by suicide • How he and his wife survived the loss of their daughter without losing each other • The surprising stories children sometimes tell about choosing their parents before birth • How soul agreements may shape our closest relationships • Why certain fears, phobias, and emotional wounds may not begin in this lifetime • What karma really is and why it has nothing to do with punishment • Why talking to your loved one after they die may be more healing than you realize • What thousands of readings have taught Ainslie about the connection between souls • How meaning can emerge from devastating loss without minimizing the pain • Why love may be the one thing death cannot touch If you've ever found yourself wondering where your loved one is, whether they can still hear you, or whether you'll see them again, this episode is for you.

I’m Not a Mourning Person: The Long Goodbye No One Talks About

Kris Carr has spent more than two decades helping millions of people navigate illness, fear, healing, and uncertainty. As a bestselling author and one of the most recognizable voices in wellness, she has inspired people around the world while living with Stage 4 cancer herself. But when her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Kris found herself facing something entirely different: the long, slow heartbreak of anticipatory grief. In this deeply honest episode of Crying Out Loud, Kris opens up about the years between diagnosis and goodbye, the emotional exhaustion of loving someone while knowing you are losing them, and the conversations so many families are terrified to have until it’s too late. Together, we talk about what happens when grief begins long before death, why caregiving can stir up old wounds and unexpected rage, and how loss changes not only your heart, but your body, memory, identity, and nervous system too. Kris shares the moment she realized that real love sometimes means being willing to sit beside someone and talk openly about dying. We also explore the loneliness many dying people quietly carry, even when surrounded by people who love them deeply. I also share my own experience after losing Sammy, including the moment on the beach that shifted how I understood presence, grief, and continued connection forever. This conversation is ultimately about what it means to truly show up for the people we love, how grief reshapes us long before and long after death, and why love does not disappear when someone leaves this physical world. In this episode, we explore:• What anticipatory grief really feels like when you are living beside illness every day• Why caregiving and grief can awaken old trauma, rage, and emotional exhaustion• The conversations about death most families avoid and why they matter so much• How grief impacts the nervous system, memory, body, and sense of identity• What it means to continue a relationship with someone after they die• Why grief changes form over time, but love never truly leaves If this episode moves you, check out Kris's book I'm Not a Mourning Person [https://www.amazon.com/Im-Not-Mourning-Person-Emotions/dp/1401970060]. You can find her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/crazysexykris/] and listen to her speaking online. As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com [cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com]. And if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective [https://drlauraberman.com/griefhealing] is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.

When Falling Apart Leads to True Healing

Why does it feel like the more healing work you do, the harder life hits back? You've done the therapy. You've meditated. You've read the books. You've "done the work." And then life hits you with a pandemic, a friend's suicide, a divorce, and a toddler, all in the same week. So now what? In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Devi Brown, a meditation teacher, podcaster, author of Living in Wisdom, and a self described wounded healer. Devi has spent over a decade studying healing traditions from around the world, but nothing could fully prepare her for the cascade of loss she experienced during the pandemic. What she discovered, in her own words, is that when you stop trying to tape the pieces back together and instead let yourself shatter completely, something miraculous happens: you meet God in the rubble. Devi is warm, radically honest, and refreshingly un precious about pain. She doesn't promise that meditation will make it all go away. Instead, she offers a guide for staying present, feeling the feelings society tells you to hide, and finding tiny, daily moments of joy even when your heart is at the bottom of the ocean. In this episode, I also share my own journey of losing my son Sammy and then navigating my eldest child's suicidal crisis, and how that "assignment" forced me to finally build a relationship with God. Devi and I explore why the original wound is always the root, why awareness is only the first step, and how mudras  can unlock energetic channels you didn't even know were closed. In this episode, we explore: * What it's like to lose a friend to suicide and a marriage in the same week while parenting a toddler during a pandemic * Why the more healing work you do, the harder life sometimes seems to hit back * The difference between self esteem and self worth, and why worth cannot be earned * How to outsource your emotional safety from people to God even if you weren't raised with faith * The tiny joys practice and how a leaf, a copper dish, and sunlight through smoke can save your life * Why your original wound is the queen bee and how healing it dissolves everything else * The trap of intellectualizing your feelings instead of actually feeling them in your body * What mudras are and how simple hand positions open energetic channels you didn't know were closed * Why meditation often makes you angry or restless at first and why that's actually a good sign * The difference between chasing happiness and recognizing enoughness * How bearing witness to deep sorrow creates more capacity for real joy * What it means to be a wounded healer and why God sometimes commands you to be on your knees * The guilt and surrender of watching a child struggle with suicidal thoughts after already losing another child * Why you don't need to know what God looks like to start a real relationship with the divine * What it feels like when advanced meditation becomes deeply pleasurable and even euphoric Devi Brown is someone who has done the work  not the performative kind, but the real, on-your-knees, let-it-all-shatter kind. You can find Devi Brown on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/devibrown/], tune into her Deeply Well Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deeply-well-with-devi-brown/id1458578448], or join the Presence app for her daily meditations. Her new book, Living in Wisdom [https://www.amazon.com/Living-Wisdom-Embodying-Developing-Self-Mastery/dp/1538768224], is available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Living-Wisdom-Embodying-Developing-Self-Mastery/dp/1538768224]. If you are seeking community, don’t forget the Grief Healing Collective [https://drlauraberman.com/griefhealing] is there for support, connection, and hope. If this episode moves you, share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com [cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com]. None of us are meant to walk these roads alone—let’s feel, heal, and awaken together.

What Bob Saget Taught His Wife About Facing Death and Living Fully

In 2022, the sudden death of Bob Saget made headlines around the world. As the public mourned a legend, his widow, Kelly Rizzo, was grieving her husband with the whole world watching. How do you mourn so publicly, release someone you love, and eventually find love again when you had lost all hope?  In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Kelly Rizzo, food and travel creator, host of the podcast Comfort Food, and the woman who loved Bob Saget. She is warm, self-aware, and honest about the strange terrain of sudden loss, unexpected joy, and the guilt that seems to follow both. Kelly met Bob the old-fashioned way; he slid into her DMs and fell for him slowly, then all at once. Their marriage was only three years old when he died suddenly in January 2022, after what she describes as the best show of his life. What followed was a grief that was both deeply private and relentlessly public, played out on morning shows with swollen eyes and in quiet moments alone in a kitchen that would never feel the same. In this conversation, Kelly shares what it was like to navigate loss at a level of visibility most of us can't imagine, how she learned everything she knows about grief from Bob himself, and why, four years later, she's finally in therapy and newly, beautifully in love. We also go deep together. I share my own experience of navigating a suicidal child after losing Sammy, and what it taught me about releasing control and trusting my own resilience. And together we talk about what grief does to the people around us, the surprising anchors and the unexpected boats, and why sometimes a hand emoji from John Mayer says everything. In this episode, we explore: * What it’s like to grieve a partner in the public eye while the whole world is watching * The private love story behind Bob Saget and the man most people never saw * Why grief reshapes every relationship and who actually shows up when it matters * The guilt of feeling joy again and how to let yourself love without betrayal * What it really takes to release control after devastating loss * The small moments of connection that can carry you through the darkest time * How to navigate letting go of a shared life while still honoring it * The difference between holding on and staying connected * What it looks like to open your heart again after you thought you never could * How grief, when you move through it, can become a portal into resilience, love, and a more honest life Kelly Rizzo is a force, not because she has it all figured out, but because she shows up honestly for herself and for others, even when it's hard. You can find her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kellyrizzo/], and tune into her podcast Comfort Food [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comfort-food-with-kelly-rizzo/id1716987177]wherever you listen. To join her warm and intimate community, check out Comfort Club [https://www.comfortclubonline.com/]. As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com [cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com]. And make sure to pre-order my new book, Crying Out Loud [http://drlauraberman.com/cryingoutloudbook], to be supported through loss and learn how to use your pain as a portal of transformation. Also, if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective [https://drlauraberman.com/griefhealing] is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.

What the Dying Can Teach Us About How to Live with Alua Arthur

Why are we so uncomfortable talking about death when it’s the one thing every single one of us will face? We plan weddings. We plan careers. We plan retirement.But when it comes to the end of our lives, most of us are completely unprepared… emotionally, practically, and spiritually. And what if that avoidance is actually costing us something much bigger than we realize? In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Alua Arthur, death doula, attorney turned activist, and New York Times bestselling author of Briefly Perfectly Human. Her life’s work is built on a powerful truth: when we are willing to look directly at death, everything about how we live begins to shift. Alua didn’t arrive here in a straight line. After building a life that looked right on paper but felt misaligned inside, she found herself in a deep depression that forced her to stop. During that time, she took a trip to Cuba where a chance conversation on a bus with a woman facing terminal cancer changed everything. Talking about that woman’s death brought her back to her own life. Today, as a death doula, Alua provides non-medical, deeply human support to people at the end of their lives and to those who love them. She helps people face their fears, make meaning, and create a more conscious, intentional relationship with dying. But this conversation is not just about death. It’s about how grief itself is a kind of death.How loss reshapes us. And how, when we stop resisting what ends, we can begin to live more honestly, more fully, and more aligned with what actually matters. We talk about what it means to accompany someone to the edge, and what that process asks of us as the ones still here. This is one of those conversations that stays with you. In this episode, we explore: * What a death doula actually does and why this work matters * The moment on a bus in Cuba that changed the trajectory of Alua’s life * How facing death can bring clarity, meaning, and even freedom * Why grief is its own kind of death and how it can transform you * The difference between dying happening to you and dying as a conscious process * What it really means to have a “good death” * Why witnessing death can be both devastating and deeply clarifying * How to support someone who is in the dying process * Why so many people seem to die when loved ones step out of the room * The emotional and spiritual impact of what is left unsaid * What end-of-life planning actually includes (and why it matters now, not later) * How thinking about death can radically change how you live If this conversation moved you, pick up Alua’s book Briefly Perfectly Human [https://www.amazon.com/Briefly-Perfectly-Human-Authentic-Getting/dp/B0CMYKZGFF], it’s part memoir, part manifesto, and a powerful reflection on what it means to be alive. You can find her death meditation series, Grace in Dying [https://www.goingwithgracecourses.com/courses/grace-in-dying]  at her website, Going with Grace [https://goingwithgrace.com/], where you’ll also discover information on death doula trainings, retreats, and ways to engage more deeply with your own mortality. Connect with her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/going_with_grace/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alua-arthur], and explore her offerings there.  As always, I'd love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com [cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com]. And if you're looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective [https://drlauraberman.com/griefhealing] is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let's cry out loud together.