In this episode of Grief on Purpose, Laura sits down with Brendan Shaw, whose life was irrevocably changed after the murder of his younger brother, Philip. Brendan opens up about the shock and trauma of his death, the surreal aftermath, and the unexpected way sharing his grief on TikTok became both a form of healing and a source of community. What began as private video journaling evolved into a platform where thousands find solace, connection, and validation through his raw honesty about loss, love, and survival.

Brendan reflects on the disorienting nature of grief - how it reshapes priorities, dulls the pursuit of worldly success, and reveals what truly matters. He speaks about the foundation created in Philip’s name, Phil With Love, which channels heartbreak into meaningful action through scholarships and charitable giving. Through their conversation, Laura and Brendan explore the transformative power of expressing grief (whether through words, art, or service) and the courage it takes to stay open, curious, and compassionate in the face of unbearable pain.Since the 2022 murder of his brother, Philip, Brendan has been using storytelling, social media, and community work to process his own grief and help others feel less alone in theirs. He’s the founder of The Phil With Love Foundation, a nonprofit created in Philip’s memory, and creates content as “BrendanShawGrief” on social media that speaks to the often invisible, long-term impact of loss. Through honest conversation and a willingness to share what many people shy away from, Brendan attempts to brings comfort, validation, and connection to anyone walking through life with grief.

His TikTok and Instagram handles are both @BrendanShawGrief and he has a free newsletter at www.BrendanShawGrief.com

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after watching this episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube. You can find the full video of this episode when you subscribe to the Grief on Purpose Substack.

In this episode of Grief on Purpose, Laura sits down with longtime friend and performer Billy Brandes to explore how grief has shaped his life from adolescence into adulthood. Billy opens up about his father’s death at just sixteen. He reflects on the confusion and emotional shutdown that followed, the impact it had on his relationship with his mother, and how skateboarding and the party-fueled subculture of his youth became both refuge and distraction.

As the conversation unfolds, Billy shares the profound effects of other deaths (friends and figures from the skate scene whose deaths rippled through their tight-knit community) and how those experiences compounded his understanding of mortality. He speaks candidly about his mother’s recent death, the disconnection of losing her from afar, and the strange peace he briefly felt afterward. Through these reflections, Billy reveals how grief has shaped not only his relationships but his creative path as an improv and sketch comedian.

Together, Laura and Billy explore what it means to live with cumulative grief, the way early trauma can “freeze” parts of us in time, and how, even decades later, we carry our grief forward.

Billy Brandes is an improviser/actor and musician from Phoenix, AZ. Trained in longform improvisation, he has been performing for over a decade and is a regular at Second Beat Improv Theater. He also owns the Buckaroo Lodge, a sketch comedy theater in Phoenix which writes and produces its own material along with educational opportunities. You can catch him most weekends on stage in some capacity.

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after listening to Jen & Moshé’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

In this deeply moving episode, Laura sits down with Gila Shire (a yoga instructor, doula, and former nurse) to explore how grief, spirituality, and embodied practice intertwine.

Gila opens up about the death of her brother to suicide and her father’s recent death, sharing how both experiences transformed her understanding of the afterlife. Through stories of connection, synchronicity, and divine timing, she reflects on how love and presence continue beyond physical loss. Together, Laura and Gila discuss how yoga and mindfulness can open the heart, release stored emotion, and create sacred space for healing. The conversation invites listeners to see grief not as an ending, but as a profound teacher in how to live more fully.

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after watching Christina’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.

In this honest episode, host Laura Walton sits down with Kristy Lavinsky to explore what it really means to carry unspoken grief in the body. Twenty-six years after the death of her mother, Kristy realizes she never truly grieved...she just stayed busy, strong, and “fine”.

Together, they unpack the generational silence around grief, the myth of “polite grieving”, and the moment Kristy finally lets her body feel what her mind had buried for so long. Through yoga, breathwork, and embodiment, she learned that grief isn’t something to conquer but something to move through. Kristy also shares what it was like to watch her son navigate the suicide of a close friend and how music, movement, and connection became his way back to life.

This is a conversation about breath, body, and the wild, uncontainable power of grief (and what happens when we finally stop fighting it).

More Listening Options:

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after listening to Kristy’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

Additional organizations and resources:

* Option B – resources for navigating grief

* My Grief Angels – online community and resources for grieving

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.

In this moving conversation, Laura sits down with Harmony Crawford - a death midwife, data consultant, and yogi - whose life’s path has led her to the threshold between life and death more than once.

Together, they explore what it means to sit with dying, to witness the labor of letting go, and to find grace in the hardest goodbyes. Harmony shares the story of her brother’s unexpected death, her stepfather’s final wish to die in a remote Mexican village, and how yoga became a sacred space for her grief. A place to breathe, surrender, and begin again.

This episode is a beautiful meditation on control, surrender, and the mysterious energy that connects us all. It’s about how death can be both devastating and holy (and how showing up for it, with courage and curiosity, can change the way we live).

You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, or our website.

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after listening to Ali’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

Additional organizations and resources:

* Option B – resources for navigating grief

* My Grief Angels – online community and resources for grieving

In this warm and evocative episode, Laura sits down with Jen Miles-Williams and Moshé Williams as they share their intimate experiences with grief and how mindfulness and yoga have played pivotal roles in their journey.

Moshé discusses the profound impact of the death of his first wife and how practices such as meditation and yoga have helped him grieve, heal, and grow. Jen shares her story of her mother’s death, her struggles with ulcerative colitis, and her practice of finding solace and strength through yoga and meditation. Together, they explore the uncharted terrain of grief and transformation, offering insights into the importance of presence, mindfulness, and compassionate connection.

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after listening to Jen & Moshé’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

Additional organizations and resources:

* Option B – resources for navigating grief

* My Grief Angels – online community and resources for grieving

In this unforgettable conversation, host Laura Walton sits down with legendary skateboarder Ali Boulala, whose life was forever changed by tragedy, addiction, and the long road of grief.

At the height of his fame, a motorcycle crash left Ali in a coma and took the life of his friend, fellow skater Shane Cross. What followed was not a story of easy redemption, but of reckoning with guilt, with survival, and with the knowledge of the permanence of grief.

Ali shares what it means to live with a loss you can never undo, how sobriety reshaped his understanding of pain, and how his relationship to Shane has only grown closer over time. Together, Laura and Ali explore what happens when grief becomes a lifelong companion, and how, in the ruins, a person changes.

This conversation is an unflinching invitation to witness the way grief reshapes us and how choosing to reflect can bring us right back to where we once were but with a new perspective.

Ali Boulala is a Swedish professional skateboarder and musician whose fearless creativity and rebellious spirit made him one of skateboarding’s most iconic figures. Rising to fame in the late 1990s through legendary video parts with Flip Skateboards and Baker, Boulala became known for his wild personality, technical innovation, and the now-mythic attempt to ollie Lyon’s 25-stair set.

The journey of his life is captured in the award-winning 2021 documentary The Scars of Ali Boulala.

Resources & SupportIf you’re looking for more support after listening to Ali’s episode, here are some resources that may help:

* The Light After: Grief Support Group

* The Light Within: Healing After Trauma

* Downloadable Grief Journal

* Grief & Trauma Resource Bundle

* Grief on Purpose Blog

Additional organizations and resources:

* Option B – resources for navigating grief

* My Grief Angels – online community and resources for grieving

* samhsa.gov - substance abuse and mental health services administration

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube. For the full episode video subscribe.