For Those Who Care
Welcome to “For Those Who Care”. Hosted by RuthAnn, who spent 25 years caring for her husband, Lance, a disabled U.S. Navy Veteran living with two rare blood cancers and early onset dementia, this podcast was created for caregivers and those who support them. Gain valuable insights and a deeper understanding of the caregiver’s life through honest conversations, personal stories, and interviews with caregivers and experts. RuthAnn and her guests explore the challenges, joys, and often overlooked moments of caregiving.
Whether you are a caregiver yourself or someone who wants to better understand and support the caregivers in your life, this podcast offers insight, encouragement, and community. Join us to connect, listen, and find strength in the caregiving experience.
For Those Who Care
70 - Not to Fix, But to Stay: A Conversation with Jenna on Supporting Someone Through Grief (Part 1)
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When someone you love is grieving, knowing how to support them can feel complicated and even uncomfortable. This episode feels less like an interview and more like a window into a deeply personal conversation. My dear friend and former co-host, Jenna, joins me to talk honestly about what it looks like to walk through grief with someone you care about. Together, we reflect on our shared experience of grief — from moments of silence and discomfort to presence and honesty — and what we’ve learned about showing up for one another when things feel heavy.
As we talk, we touch on the fact that grief isn’t linear, why you don’t need to be everything for someone who’s grieving, how to be honest about your capacity without creating another loss, and why support isn’t about fixing. It's about staying. We also revisit our unexpected “grief trip” to Ireland, and how that experience revealed how differently grief can unfold for each of us.
Whether you’re grieving or walking beside someone who is, this episode is a reminder that love doesn’t fix grief — it simply stays present through it. This is a vulnerable, unfiltered conversation, one you’re invited to quietly sit in on. If you’ve ever wondered what true support through loss sounds like in real life, this episode is for you.