210. Losing Her Dad at 24: Anticipatory Grief, Anger, and Learning to Choose Joy with Nicole Scimone

If you've ever watched someone you love slowly slip away—or wondered if your grief response was "normal"—this one's for you.

I'm sitting down with Grief Coach Nicole Scimone, who lost her father Donny at just 24 years old after a nearly decade-long battle with leukemia. 

But this isn't just a story about loss. It's about the messy, non-linear, deeply human journey of learning to carry grief... and still choose joy.

In this episode, we talk about:
✨ Watching her dad Donny fight leukemia for nine years and surviving a stem cell transplant, only to later face a lung infection that took him at just 55 years old
✨ What anticipatory grief actually feels like from the inside
✨ Why anger became her go-to grief response for years, and how avoidance and drinking crept in as ways to survive triggering moments
✨ The rock-bottom moment that led her to a 13-week grief support group and how that changed everything
✨ Finding unexpected outlets like kickboxing that helped her move grief through her body
✨ How motherhood added a whole new layer of grief, including the complicated feelings of jealousy around grandparents
✨ Keeping her dad's memory alive for her kids
✨ Her journey from grief blogger to grief coach, and why she felt called to walk alongside others in their loss

Whether you're in the thick of anticipatory grief, years out from a loss and still trying to find your footing, or somewhere in between, Nicole's story is a reminder that grief doesn't have an expiration date, and healing doesn't have to look perfect.

Connect with Nicole:

• www.nicolescimone.com
• @nicolescimone_ 
• nicolescimone.grief@gmail.com 

Learn more about Letters of Light 💌✨ https://lossesbecomegains.com/letters