Episode Player

Grief, AI, And A Way Forward

Living A Full Life

Chapters
1:07
Welcoming John And His Story
1:49
Loss, Numbing, And The Search For Healing
3:00
The First Idea: Messages From The Departed
3:32
Legal Hurdles And Authenticity
4:41
Prototyping With A Best Friend’s Memory
6:23
Release Through Response And Self‑Forgiveness
7:25
Ethics, Faith, And Responsible Design
8:45
From Necromancy Fears To Therapeutic Guardrails
9:33
Warden’s Tasks And Structured Prompts
10:37
How The Persona Is Built
11:51
What AI Really Does And Doesn’t
13:15
Choosing Chat Over Voice Or Avatars
14:05
Complementing Therapy, Not Replacing It
15:25
Under The Hood: Forms, Context, And Tone
17:01
Why Questions Heal More Than Answers
17:56
Redefining The Bond And Moving Forward
18:57
Launch Timeline And Product Evolution
19:38
Onboarding, Pace, And Emotional Load
20:28
Interactive Journaling In Practice
21:27
Grief Beyond Death: Wider Use Cases
22:42
A Mission Over Ego
23:38
Knowledge Reduces Fear Of AI
25:07
Closing Thanks And What’s Next
Living A Full Life
Grief, AI, And A Way Forward
Dec 30, 2025 Season 4 Episode 7
Full Life Chiropractic

Grief doesn’t wait for office hours, and it rarely plays by rules. We sit down with John Cammer, founder of Guardian Angels, to unpack an AI-guided journaling tool that helps people navigate loss with structure, compassion, and strong clinical guardrails. What began as a personal reckoning—after losing close friends and carrying years of silence—became a mission to give others a safe, interactive space to process pain, name feelings, and redefine the bonds that endure.

John walks us through the evolution from a risky idea (spoofed texts from a loved one) to a responsible design rooted in Warden’s four tasks of mourning. Listeners will hear how the tool builds a persona from your own memories—relationship details, humor, shared moments—so prompts arrive in familiar language without pretending to be a voice from beyond. Instead of answers, it offers better questions and immediate, dialog-style feedback, turning journaling into an active practice that fits between therapy sessions and those 3 a.m. spikes when grief surges.

We dig into the ethics: why the product avoids voice cloning and avatars, how licensed therapists helped shape the framework, and where guardrails prevent invention or harmful suggestions. We also widen the lens beyond bereavement to ambiguous and anticipatory grief, divorce, estrangement, job loss, and more—spaces where interactive prompts and steady reflection can restore momentum. If you’ve ever wished for a map through the fog, this conversation lays out a practical path: accept the reality of the loss, process the pain, adjust to a changed life, and carry your person forward with intention.

Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of mental health, technology, and everyday courage. If this helped you, share it with someone who’s grieving, leave a review to support the show, and tell us: what would a kinder journaling prompt ask you today?

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