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
Linzi Meaden; What Suicide Left Behind
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Today I share my conversation with Linzi Meaden around the loss of her brother Stuart. "Stu" died by suicide in the height of a global pandemic in June of 2020, just over a year ago. Linzi and I have a conversation, of sorts, every week for an hour. We co-moderate a Clubhouse room (along with Sue Egan) called "Life After Suicide" but this conversation goes deeper and is much more personal as it's just here and I sharing our personal experiences. As mom, I always gain insight (to help me be there for my kids) when speaking with siblings of suicide loss.
Linzi wrote her book "What Suicide Left Behind, in the first 6 months of her grief. It is a story of her survival, but even more importantly, it is a big part of how she survived! Reading writing and sharing our stories have great power - for both sides!
Linzi Meaden – Author of the Book “What Suicide Left Behind – Written in the first 6 months of grief”
Founder of Paradisium – The Suicide Loss Survivor Community
Mind Coach, Hypnotherapist & Havening Techniques Practitioner.
HERE ARE ALL EAYS TO FIND & CONNECT WITH LINZI (you will be better for it, she is an amazing soul!)
www.paradisium.co.uk – my grief journey videos and interviews with others
www.paradisium.mn.co – the community
https://www.instagram.com/linzi_meaden_suicide_grief/ - IG
https://www.facebook.com/whatsuicideleftbehind/ - FB page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsuicideleftbehind - private FB group
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IN THE COMING WEEKS my (in progress) website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" will be LIVE and that means my first coaching options will be available. The first (3 month) group is planned to begin Oct 1, so stay tuned and then there will be a new group start every 3 months. There will be limited spots in each group so let me know if you want on the notify list! These groups will be one part community, one part discovery/growth. I believe these two things are intertwined for us in the earlier stages of grief especially.
Interested? Please DM me on Instagram or email me at anytime melissa@theleftoverpieces.com
The website will be at www.theleftoverpieces.com (naturally, right?)
Keep an eye out - even book mark it &
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Get THE Leftover Pieces APP & don't miss anything! CLICK HERE
💜 The Leftover Pieces is support central for grieving hearts.
🔗 Stay connected: Join my free email community for weekly check-ins, resources, and encouragement.
🌟 For moms: Explore the $9 Lighthouse Community — safe connection, tools, and hope.
🛠 Resources for all grievers: Start here.
🤝 One-on-one grief coaching for moms after child loss to suicide: Learn more here.
📞 Need help now? If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, dial 988 in the U.S. & Canada, or text HOME to 741741.