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The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. This show is about life after suicide—real talk and practical support for grief after suicide: parents, partners, siblings, and friends finding their footing again. Each week, we explore what helps in suicide bereavement so you can keep going with honesty and hope.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son, Alex, died by suicide in 2016, the podcast blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health experts with short solo “Daily Nugget” episodes you can actually use. We cover child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that make life livable again. You’ll hear grounded tools, language that honors your person, and the reminder that you are not broken—you are grieving.
For supporters and educators, these episodes offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support looks like. If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest via my website. 💜
Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about difficult experiences and may feel activating. We avoid method details and graphic description. Please care for yourself as needed. I’m not a doctor or licensed therapist; nothing here is medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Getting Real About Grief ‘Coaching’; Why I Do This & Why I Do it Differently
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Welcome today fellow griever. I appreciate you, I see you and thank you so much for listening and if you can, please ---Support the show
Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes — not just of the podcast, but of why I do all of this.
Spoiler alert: it’s not about making six figures. Not even close to what it's about!
It started with a mic, a grieving heart, and the hope that I could create the kind of podcast I couldn’t find after losing my son Alex to suicide. And in many ways, most ways that matter, it still is about that same 'seed' that was planted when the podcast started... the desire to create the space i couldn't find and to walk alongside others on this journey.
In this episode, I share how The Leftover Pieces was born — and how everything that’s followed (coaching, community, books, retreats…) has grown out of real conversations with other survivors like you. We talk about how I approach grief support differently, why I resist cookie-cutter coaching models, and how I’ve built this space with heart, not hustle.
Yes, I left a full-time job to do this.
No, I don’t have sponsors or ads.
Yes, this work is sacred.
And yes — if the podcast has helped you, you can support it (there’s a button on the website) — but this episode? It’s just me, being real, with no pitch. Just truth. The link is also here in the show notes (top and bottom) BUT I would love you to check out all of the new and newly "spruced up" things on the website! I have been working hard and am so proud of what you will find there.
Take what serves you, leave the rest. And thank you — truly — for being here.
💜
Melissa
Sending love, peace and enough hope for us both! (See, that's just one way community helps -- we need others to be our strength and motivators and accountability partners when we can't get there alone!) "This is so lonely, but you do not have to be alone." - XO Melissa
Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central. GET ON MY EMAIL LIST THERE (Blue buttons on home page)
Have you seen the NEW Anthology Book "Becasue They Are Loved" -- submit your poems and letters TODAY!! Be an author-- tell their story! Because legacy matters
And what about Legacy? Let's remember your child together!! I start the ONE & ONLY Legacy Project this year (2025) --- and NOW is the time to get on the list for Jan 2026
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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.