The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. The Leftover Pieces® Podcast explores life after suicide through honest conversations with survivors, experts, and grieving parents learning to live forward after unimaginable loss. Parents, partners, siblings, and friends share what it means to keep living when the world has been forever changed.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son Alex died by suicide in 2016, the show blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health professionals with short solo reflections you can actually use. Together we explore child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that help make life livable again.
At its heart, this podcast is about learning to live forward after loss. We never move on from the people we love, but we can learn to carry the grief differently. This road can feel incredibly lonely—but you are not alone here.
For supporters, educators, and professionals, these conversations also offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support can look like.
If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest through Melissa’s website.
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Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about grief and suicide loss and may feel activating for some listeners. We avoid graphic descriptions and discussion of suicide methods. Please care for yourself as needed. Melissa is not a doctor or licensed therapist, and nothing shared here should be considered medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Dr. Lenore Matthew; Melding Science & Spirit in Healing after Suicide Loss
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Life after the suicide loss of a loved one- there is so much we could say about the SCIENCE of it. There is so much that we could say about the SPIRIT side of it all. BUT... can they overlap? Do they? Today I have a conversation with someone who feels like an old friend. She definitely is a friend (she is NOT old) but we are indeed new friends in the sense that we have only known each other a few years yet, the 'old friend' feeling comes from the deep connection we share where our souls have collided. Trust me - she is phenomenal! Dr. Lenore (Lenny to most) shares with us how she became a young widow with the loss of her beloved husband Bruno by suicide and how this has transformed her, her beliefs, and her life's purpose.
Today, you will hear Lenore and I talk about
- Her story as a young widow and the past few years
- Post-Traumatic Growth (over PTSD)
- Melding Science & Spirit
- What are medium vs psychic readings
- How often can/should we have readings?
- How to find a medium … and SO. MUCH. MORE.
You can find her and ALL of the wonderful work she is doing in the world at -->
Dr. Lenore Matthew - Melding Science and Spirit to Heal through Trauma and Grief
Her FIRST visit to my podcast (Season 1 Ep 30) - CLICK to LISTEN HERE
Other places or people we discussed---->
Forever Family Foundation
Journey Within
Arthur Findlay College (UK)
Angel the Medium (the medium I have a great connection with - besides Lenore!)
A bit more about Dr. Lenore Matthew in her own words --
Lenore Matthew, Ph.D., MSW is a Doctor of Social Work and a trauma and grief specialist, as well as a psychic medium and intuitive healer. Her intuitive gifts suddenly opened up when her husband, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, unexpectedly took his own life. Today, she blends her scientific background with her intuitive abilities, to help others heal through trauma and grief.
Her writing has been featured by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and The Mighty: Community for Mental Health Awareness, among others. Learn more about Dr. Matth
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💜 The Leftover Pieces is support for life after suicide loss. Click links below
🎙 Leave me a message: Share a question, your story, or your person’s name for a future episode → theleftoverpieces.com/voicemail
🔗 Stay connected: Join my email community for weekly support, resources, and honest conversations.
🛠 Start here: Explore website for suicide loss resources for early grief, family support, and next steps.
🤝 For moms: One-on-one grief coaching for mothers navigating life after child loss.
📞 Need support right now? If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 (U.S. & Canada), or text HOME to 741741.