Sibling Loss and Disenfranchised Grief with Dr. Angela Dean

GRIEF AND LIGHT

GRIEF AND LIGHT
Sibling Loss and Disenfranchised Grief with Dr. Angela Dean
Nov 12, 2025 Season 4 Episode 93
Nina Rodriguez

How does life shift when you lose the only person who shared your beginnings — your earliest memories, your inside jokes, your sense of home?

In this tender and illuminating conversation, host Nina Rodriguez sits down with Dr. Angela Dean, a licensed psychologist, thanatologist, and founder of The Broken Pack—an organization and podcast created to validate and support adults grieving the loss of a sibling.

***

Video is available here.

***

After the unexpected death of her brother, Tony, Dr. Dean channeled her grief into advocacy, research, and community-building for those whose pain is often unseen. Together, Nina and Angela explore the unique nature of sibling loss, including how it impacts family dynamics, identity, and belonging, and why it remains one of the most overlooked forms of grief.

Angela shares the story behind The Broken Pack™, drawing parallels between the way wolves mourn a lost member and how humans experience the reorganization of their “pack” after a sibling’s death. The conversation moves through topics like grief expression, communication styles within families, the evolution of grief theory, and the power of enfranchising what has long been disenfranchised.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on the bonds that continue after loss, the healing potential of language and connection, and the importance of community in tending to sibling grief.

Key Takeaways

  • Sibling loss is one of the most underrecognized yet identity-shaping forms of grief.
  • After a sibling dies, family systems shift; roles, dynamics, and unspoken bonds all reorganize.
  • Grieving styles differ, even within the same family; compassion and communication can help bridge those differences.
  • The metaphor of The Broken Pack™ reminds us that when one member of the “pack” dies, the structure changes forever, but connection endures.
  • Disenfranchised grief (grief that society doesn’t fully acknowledge) can deepen isolation; naming it helps restore dignity and belonging.
  • Theories of grief are evolving, from linear “stages” to models that honor ongoing bonds, meaning-making, and the coexistence of love and loss.
  • Community and conversation are vital to healing; grief needs witnesses, not fixes.
  • The conversation closes with a reminder that even when our “pack” is broken, love continues to ripple outward through story, memory, and connection.

Guest: Angela Dean, PsyD, FT

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

Grief Support Resources for the Road:

Support the show

Thank you for listening! Please share with someone who may need to hear this.

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

Episode Artwork Sibling Loss and Disenfranchised Grief with Dr. Angela Dean 54:45 Episode Artwork Healing in the Himalayas: Motorcycles and Making Meaning After Sibling Loss with Ben Forman 49:26 Episode Artwork No Man Walks Alone: A Journey Across America for Men’s Mental Health with Robb Pollard 1:04:31 Episode Artwork Turning Pain Into Poetry: Sara Rian on Grieving and Healing After Loss to Suicide 53:50 Episode Artwork When Love Asks You to Let Go: Parenting, Grief, and Surrender with Dr. Tasha Faruqui 1:06:50 Episode Artwork Grieving While Parenting: Mindfulness, Mental Health, and Motherhood with Reshma Kearney 55:55 Episode Artwork Honoring Your Grief: a mini meditation for grievers by Hannah Castillo 7:46 Episode Artwork Permission to Pause: 7 Types of Rest for Your Own "Pause Week" 15:39 Episode Artwork Grief and Light: A Podcast About Life After Loss + Living in the 'and' 1:41 Episode Artwork What if Death Wasn’t the End? Healing Through Mediumship with Karen Docherty 49:36 Episode Artwork Award-Winning and Grieving: A Conversation with Women Who Podcast Magazine's founder 22:03 Episode Artwork Healing Through Journaling: Grief & Joy After Addiction Loss with Shawn Dinneen 45:06 Episode Artwork Kids' Grief & Healing: Michelle Cove on Grief-Smart Culture, Intuition and Community 48:10 Episode Artwork Filmmaker Michael Flores: Grief and Healing in 'Dogs on the Sendero' 1:01:16 Episode Artwork Healing the Father Wound and Sacred Lessons with Mike de la Rocha 47:06 Episode Artwork The Gift of Life: Organ Donation, Food Allergy Awareness, Child Loss & Legacy with Maryam De Groef 1:09:34 Episode Artwork Why Everyone Over 18 Needs a Will: End-of-Life Planning with Death Doula Marni Blank 47:21 Episode Artwork Grief at Work: From Self-Advocacy to Compassionate Leadership with Bloomwell Partners 50:59 Episode Artwork The Grief of Uncertainty in Unprecedented Times 19:11 Episode Artwork Jody Gelb on Navigating Life and Loss with a Medically Fragile Child 56:28 Episode Artwork Grieving One Child, Racing to Save Another: The Docobo Family’s Mission of Hope 1:10:25 Episode Artwork Soul Pets and Sacred Goodbyes: Grant Hazell on the Grief of Pet Loss 56:50 Episode Artwork Navigating Motherhood after Loss with Liz Quinn 50:46 Episode Artwork Grief vs. Grieving: Why the Difference Matters 15:12 Episode Artwork Brothers, Grief, and Identity: Nico Slate on navigating sibling loss, love, and race dynamics 54:52