Ep.9: The Power of Being Understood: From Addiction to Recovery with Jason Schwartz

In this episode, Lynda and Jon continue their conversation about why sameness, predictability and familiarity can feel so comforting after childhood loss. For both of them, routine is a choice. Knowing what to expect creates a sense of security and control when they learned far too young that life can change without warning. Their conversation turns to goodbyes and reveals something fascinating: the same kind of loss can leave people with completely different responses. For Jon, saying goodby...

In this episode, Lynda and Jon explore the powerful need to belong, to be in places where we feel known, recognized, comfortable and embraced. As they talk, they realize just how deeply this need may be connected to what they each experienced as children. Both had the rug pulled out from underneath them by profound loss, and neither had people around them who openly talked about what had happened or helped them make sense of it. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that throughout their lives they...

In this episode, Lynda and Jon explore one of the most powerful things we have control over: the choices we make about how we respond to what happens to us. Life will bring challenges, disappointments and losses we never would have chosen. But we can choose whether those experiences help us grow or leave us stuck. We can become better, or we can become bitter. Lynda shares how she tried to help her father become more present after the devastating loss of his wife and two daughters, but withou...

We often hear that kids are resilient. That after loss, they’ll “bounce back.” But what does resilience really mean, and does anyone ever simply get over losing someone they love? In this episode, Lynda and Jon challenge the idea that grief follows a timeline, or that a year is somehow the magic amount of time after which life should return to normal. Often, in an effort to make grief less uncomfortable, people stop mentioning the person who died. Pictures come down. Conversations move on. Ye...

In this special episode of Still Here: Blessed and Bruised, Lynda and Jon welcome Andrea Warnick for a captivating and deeply meaningful conversation about grief, children, honesty, and the importance of keeping our relationships with those who have died alive through stories and memories. Andrea explains that while people are usually well-intentioned when responding to grief, they are often misguided. Despite growing research, awareness, and resources, she believes we are still living in a “...