Episode 227: Restorative Grief with Mandy Capeheart Artwork

Beyond the Loss: Life and Identity After a Child Dies

Over time, the conversations we choose to have begin to reflect what matters most.

If you’ve been part of this podcast, you’ve heard me speak about human development, systems thinking, and the ways we make meaning of our lives and work. That work continues—and remains at the core of my coaching and professional practice.

What has changed is the space where I am choosing to have a different kind of conversation.

After the death of my son, Michael, I felt called to create a more personal place—one that speaks directly to the experience of loss, and to the questions that emerge when life no longer looks the way it once did.

That space is now Beyond the Loss.

This podcast is for parents who have lost a child, and for those who support them. It is not about fixing grief or finding closure, but about understanding how we continue to live, to make meaning, and to become—after loss.

If you are looking for my current podcast,
you will now find me there.

I invite you to join me on Beyond the Loss.

You are welcome.

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Beyond the Loss: Life and Identity After a Child Dies

Episode 227: Restorative Grief with Mandy Capeheart

February 01, 2023 • Sharon Spano • Episode 227

0:00 | 59:31

Mandy Capeheart is a trauma-informed grief coach, author, and podcast host. She specializes in the intersection of grief and faith to serve grievers and grief supporters toward growth and self-awareness. Her focus is on facilitating meaningful value-centered conversations and guiding faith-based communities to create helpful healing environments and avoid spiritual bypassing and platitudes.

Mandy’s work is rooted in personal experience, having lost more loved ones than she can list, and during today’s episode, she shares how she distilled the wisdom she learned along the way into her book, Restorative Grief. Along with sharing her story here today, Mandy offers her insights on being a grief supporter, responding to platitudes, and navigating the discomfort so many of us feel when we relate to those in our lives who have recently lost someone.

We touch on sharing stories about lost loved ones and why secondary losses are so painful. This conversation also explores the pivotal role of a grief supporter, along with the three categories of supportive people to prioritize having in your life while you grieve. Tune in today for some unmissable insights from today’s amazing guest.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Mandy Capeheart started a career in supporting grievers in their healing journey.
How her own experience informed her contribution to the book.
Mandy’s changing relationship with platitudes and what she recommends to grievers.
Why it is so uncomfortable for most people to be around someone who has experienced a loss.
How Mandy’s coaching work shifts when she is working with or without the context of faith.
What the role of value work is in Mandy’s counseling practice.
How denial can work as a built-in safety mechanism.
Recognizing numbness without shame.
Distinguishing between grief and mourning.
The difference between moving on and moving forward.
Transitioning from acute grief to subtle grief.
Value alignment and the false binary of negative and positive experiences.
The need to share stories about people you have lost.

Transcript: Here

Additional Resources:

Joan Halifax: https://www.joanhalifax.org/

Brene Brown: https://brenebrown.com/

Mandy Capeheart:

Website: https://www.mandycapehart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandycapehart/

Podcast: Restorative Grief with Mandy Capeheart

Book: Restorative Grief

Sharon Spano:

Website: sharonspano.com

Facebook: facebook.com/SharonSpanoPHD