If you've ever wondered what it would feel like to stay present at a loved one's death, or how to keep them close after they've passed, episode 348 is for you. Nancy MacMillan, psychotherapist, spiritual care provider, and author of The Call to the Far Shore, joins Emily for a tender and profound conversation about how reclaiming traditional practices around dying can bring peace, healing, and lifelong connection. Together, they explore how small rituals, presence, and storytelling can open a doorway to a more soulful grief experience.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(1:10) Why Nancy wrote The Call to the Far Shore despite not planning to write a book

(2:30) What we've lost by distancing ourselves from death in modern society

(5:10) Nancy's spiritual experience at her father's bedside

(7:30) How she kept connection with her father alive through weekly "coffee chats"

(9:40) Why death is not an emergency, and how staying present can shift your grief

(11:00) The powerful ritual of tending to her mother's body for three days

(14:20) How personal and ancestral rituals can ease the fear of death

(17:00) The value of writing letters to loved ones who have passed

(20:30) Simple ways to invite a felt sense of presence from someone who has died

(25:00) How signs and synchronicities can affirm that love continues

(29:10) The importance of including ancestors in our family stories and gatherings

In today's episode, Emily is joined by Nancy MacMillan, a Canadian psychotherapist, spiritual care provider, and the author of "The Call to the Far Shore: Carrying Our Loved Ones Through Dying, Death, and Beyond." Drawing from decades of professional and personal experience, Nancy invites listeners to reimagine death as something sacred, present, and transformative. Her approach blends emotional insight with spiritual awareness, offering a path to connection and healing.

Nancy shares stories of witnessing her father's final breath, caring for her mother's body at home, and finding ways to stay close to loved ones who have passed. She and Emily explore how gentle rituals, creative expression, and quiet presence can help us navigate grief while staying connected to the people we miss most. At its heart, this episode reminds us that love continues, and we can learn to feel its presence in new ways.

Connect with Nancy MacMillan:

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Book: The Call to the Far Shore: Carrying Our Loved Ones through Dying, Death, and Beyond

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

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What can you do to live your best life?

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

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If you've ever wondered how to find yourself again after years of caregiving, silence, or loss, episode 346 of Grief and Happiness is for you. Brenda Coffee, author, blogger, and survivor, joins Emily for a deeply personal conversation about grief, trauma, and the long path back to yourself. Through stories of profound heartbreak and quiet resilience, Brenda shares how she went from being the strong one for everyone else to finally listening to her own voice.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(1:22) Brenda's first experience with profound grief: losing her father

(4:00) Living with and caring for a mother with mental illness

(5:30) Why trauma made Brenda grow up fast—and stay quiet for decades

(8:10) Her first marriage, emotional abuse, and the moment she said, "No more"

(12:30) Meeting her second husband and building a new life

(14:50) The first experience of anticipatory grief during her husband's illness

(17:40) Losing her second husband suddenly on Christmas Day

(20:10) The complexity of grief: relief, heartbreak, and isolation

(25:40) Why Brenda finally started writing—and what it healed

(28:10) The silent cost of being "the strong one"

(31:00) How writing and blogging became a path back to herself

(33:10) A friend's phone call that helped her shift her perspective

(36:50) What survivors really need—and the courage to be vulnerable

(39:30) The importance of not comparing trauma or grief

(42:10) How happiness can coexist with sorrow

In today's episode, I’m joined by Brenda Coffee, author of Maya Blue: A Memoir of Survival. Brenda is a former caregiver, writer, and speaker whose life has been shaped by loss, emotional abuse, and deep resilience. Her memoir offers a raw and honest look at surviving two marriages filled with illness, addiction, and tragedy. For decades, she put others first, but eventually, she found the strength to reclaim her own identity. Now, she uses her voice to support others in grief and guide them toward new beginnings.

Throughout this episode, Brenda opens up about losing her father as a child, navigating her mother’s mental illness, and surviving an emotionally abusive first marriage. She shares how caregiving for a husband with cancer became both a burden and a purpose, and how losing her second husband suddenly on Christmas Day unraveled everything she had rebuilt.

Connect with Brenda Coffee:

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Facebook

Maya Blue: A Memoir of Survival

Read Brenda’s blog - 1010 ParkPlace

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

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What do you cry about now? What can you do about that?

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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If you’ve ever avoided talking about death with a loved one because it felt too uncomfortable or culturally off-limits, episode 344 is for you. Dr. Cynthia X. Pan, a leading expert in end-of-life care, shares practical strategies for navigating these sensitive conversations with empathy and clarity. Learn how to approach topics like advanced directives and final wishes—especially across cultural lines—so you can honor your loved ones’ values and find peace in knowing you did right by them.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(1:25) The evolution of palliative care

(2:55) Ethics and cultural diversity in end-of-life conversations

(4:30) Reframing death with dignity and celebration

(5:51) The power of showing up

(6:47) Family dynamics and grief during COVID

(10:05) Why advanced directives matter

(14:30) When systems ignore patient wishes

(15:44) Navigating cultural resistance to end-of-life talk

(21:56) Breaking death taboos and redefining goodbye

In today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Cynthia X. Pan, a board-certified physician in internal medicine, geriatrics, and hospice and palliative medicine. She holds a BA in Biology from Harvard and an MD from Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Dr. Pan completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Rochester and a geriatrics fellowship at Harvard Medical School’s Division on Aging. She now serves as Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care Medicine and Designated Institutional Official for Graduate Medical Education at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. A Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, she educates future healthcare providers on palliative care, cultural humility, and communication. Fluent in Mandarin and Spanish, she brings a multicultural lens to patient-centered care.

Throughout this episode, Dr. Pan uses her medical background and personal experiences to share both clinical insight and emotional depth. She reflects on working in one of the most culturally diverse regions in the U.S., where sensitive end-of-life conversations require compassion and cultural awareness. Through stories of caring for her father and mother-in-law, she highlights the importance of honoring patients’ wishes. She also discusses how to approach taboo topics like death with respect and indirect communication—especially in communities where such discussions are avoided. Her guidance helps us embrace these moments with courage, clarity, and connection.

Connect with Dr. Cynthia X. Pan:

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LinkedIn

Book: Exit Strategies: Living Lessons from Dying People

Connect with Emily Thiroux Threatt:

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

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Can you recognize all the emotions you are dealing with while grieving? When you do, the is a way that will help you with each emotion. Give It a try. It works!

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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If you’ve ever wondered what hides behind even the most loving relationships, this episode reveals how a psychologist faced love, betrayal, and loss—and found healing by writing the truth no one talks about.

In today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Bonnie Comfort, a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with individuals and couples. Her therapeutic focus has long centered on the emotional intricacies of marriage, intimacy, and identity. In her candid memoir, Staying Married is the Hardest Part, she shares the deeply personal story of her own marriage—one marked by love, painful conflict, and profound transformation. Through her writing and speaking, Dr. Comfort strives to challenge the assumption that therapists have it all figured out, using her voice to normalize conversations around sexual shame, grief, and the complexities of long-term relationships.

Throughout this episode, Bonnie opens up about the 33-year journey she shared with her late husband, reflecting on how their struggles often paralleled those of her clients. She speaks with disarming honesty about topics rarely discussed openly—like body image, emotional disconnect, and the shame surrounding sexual incompatibility. Writing became a powerful tool in her healing process, allowing her to explore grief, process loss, and rediscover who she was outside the identity of a wife. Her insights highlight the ongoing connection we can maintain with lost loved ones and the importance of creative expression, vulnerability, and community as pathways to healing.

Tune in as Dr. Bonnie Comfort shares how love, loss, and personal struggle led her to write a bold memoir—offering a heartfelt path to healing and self-discovery after grief.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Love, conflict, and loss (1:40)

Why therapists write (3:12)

Breaking the silence on sexual shame (4:45)

The illusion of therapist perfection (6:30)

Conversations with the dead (7:40)

Loving more than one person (9:05)

Rituals for grief and rediscovery (13:50)

Saying yes to life again (18:40)

Final reflections and resources (27:00)

Connect with Dr. Bonnie Comfort:

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Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

Book: Dr. Bonnie Comfort - Staying Married is the Hardest Part

Let's Connect:

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

The Grief and Happiness Alliance

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When the times comes to handle money at the time of someone’s death, you will be grateful to be prepared.

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.