Eliza Kiefer - The Rockford Project

What happens when the love someone leaves behind becomes the reason you show up for others?This week on Ghosted, I’m sitting down with Eliza Kiefer, host of the Letters Beyond Grief podcast and founder of The Rockford Project, a nonprofit she launched in honor of her dad, Jim, who died from Lewy body dementia.We talk about the kind of person Jim was, how his kindness and love for others never wavered, and how he always found ways to show up for the people around him. It’s that same spirit that inspired Eliza to create The Rockford Project, which supports children and the adults in their lives as they navigate some of life’s hardest moments.We get into Eliza’s own grief journey, what it took for her to find the confidence to start talking about her dad and her loss, and how turning that grief into something bigger has allowed her to carry his legacy forward.This conversation is full of laughs, love, stories about Jim, and a reminder that the people we lose can continue to make an impact through the way we choose to show up in the world.Because at the heart of both of our missions is the same belief: the more we talk about grief, the less alone people have to feel in it.

In this episode of Ghosted, we sit down with Jasmine Menachery, founder of Culture of Grief, to talk about losing a parent as the child of immigrants, navigating cultural expectations, and what happens when your grief gets put on the back burner.Jasmine lost her father unexpectedly on a flight the day before Thanksgiving in 2022. Her family never got answers about why he died. Instead, they were left figuring out how to bring his body home, plan a funeral, track down his coworkers, and somehow keep moving while processing a life-altering loss. After losing her grandmother, Jasmine also experienced firsthand how little space there can be for cultural traditions and understanding when it comes to mourning.We get into the invisible responsibilities adult children of immigrants carry, why so many of us put our own grief aside to take care of everyone else, and how culture shapes the way we say goodbye. Jasmine shares how her own experiences led her to create Culture of Grief (formerly Brown Girl Grief), a space dedicated to coaching, workshops, and advocacy for families navigating loss.We also talk about the conversations nobody wants to have but everyone needs to: wills, end-of-life plans, and how to support someone who is grieving without making it weird or trying to fix it.And, of course, the biggest question we always ask: what’s the loudest lesson the people you’ve lost left behind? For Jasmine, it’s simple: be passionate about what you do, and never lose your faith.

Emily lost her dad, Tommy, when she was just 10 years old. He died from an aortic dissection, a loss that would shape so much of who she became. Years later, Emily was diagnosed with the same condition that took her dad’s life.In this episode of Ghosted, Emily opens up about the complicated emotions of knowing that the condition that took her dad is now part of her own story. She grieves the fact that he never got the medical advancements and preventative care available today, while also recognizing that his death ultimately led to her diagnosis and may have saved her life. Living with that knowledge brings its own anxieties, especially when facing the unknown, but Emily refuses to let fear stop her from living life to the fullest.We also share stories about Tommy, Emily’s parents, and the kind of Yankees fan who loved his team so much that his ashes were spread at Yankee Stadium. Because some people leave behind more than memories. They leave behind a part of themselves that stays with us, shapes us, and reminds us to keep living.This is an episode about childhood grief, inherited health risks, the strange ways loss can protect us, and learning to hold fear and joy at the same time.

Grief gets softer when you stop hiding it. Lo shares the raw, darkly funny story of losing both parents young, from the complicated loss of a mother changed by a brain aneurysm and alcoholism to the devastating day she found her dad, Fred, at home alone.This conversation is for anyone carrying loss that never quite got the language it deserved. Lo and host Emma get into the kind of grief that starts in childhood, lingers for years, and resurfaces in unexpected ways - anger, guilt, anxiety, PTSD, and the loneliness of being an only child with no parents by 32.You’ll hear Lo unpack the messy truth of grieving a parent who was physically present but never really there, why her dad’s death hit like losing both parents at once, and how dark humor became part of her survival. She opens up about the moment she realized she had to stop pretending everything was fine, the trauma of finding him, and the difficult work of learning to live with an image she can never unsee.Emma and Lo also talk candidly about the relationship between grief and identity, what it means to build community online, and why speaking openly about loss can make other people feel a little less alone.At its core, this episode is about what grief changes, what it reveals, and why the people we lose should still be spoken about out loud. If you’ve ever loved and lost, or if you’re trying to understand how someone keeps going after unimaginable loss, this one will stay with you.

This week on Ghosted, we’re joined by Ashley Spivey for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had yet.Ashley opens up about losing her dad, suddenly becoming his executor, and then discovering that her boyfriend had cheated on her just months later. That heartbreak eventually led her to The Bachelor and, years later, to a life she never could have imagined for herself.But Ashley’s story didn’t stop there. She gets incredibly candid about fertility struggles, miscarriages, pregnancy loss, and ultimately losing her son, CJ, who she carried and gave birth to stillborn.We talk about what it means to grieve a child, the complicated realities of pregnancy and fertility loss, and the ways the healthcare system can make already devastating experiences even harder to navigate. Ashley also shares why she continues to use her platform to talk openly about the things people are often expected to suffer through quietly.This is a conversation about grief, motherhood, loss, advocacy, healthcare, and finding a way to keep living when your life looks completely different than you imagined.Ashley is honest, vulnerable, funny, and incredibly open about the parts of her story that so many people are afraid to talk about.Because sometimes grief doesn’t just change your life. It changes the way you see the world.

Two years after losing her mom to alcoholism, COVID, and a trauma no one talks about, Jackie Clark opens up about the kind of grief that never arrives all at once - it builds, it lingers, and it changes every milestone that comes after. If you have ever loved someone complicated, lost a parent young, or wondered how people keep living when the story ends badly, this conversation will hit hard.Emma welcomes Jackie to Ghosted for a raw, honest, and surprisingly hopeful conversation about losing her mother, Dorothea, at 22, and learning how to hold anger, love, guilt, and gratitude in the same breath. Jackie shares what it was like to watch addiction unfold over years, navigate a COVID-era hospital death, and process the surreal reality of saying goodbye while wearing protective gear in an ICU.You’ll hear how grief shows up in the details most people never mention - the calls you never want to get, the legal and logistical chaos after someone dies, the delayed crash of emotions, and the strange loneliness of having to explain your loss to new people over and over again. Jackie also opens up about the village that carried her through it, including her brother, her aunt, her therapist, and her soon-to-be mother-in-law, Caroline, who has become a beautiful source of support as Jackie plans her wedding without her mom.We also get into the ways she keeps Dorothea close: wearing her necklace, carrying her memorial card while traveling the world, and making choices that let her mom be present in the moments she missed. Jackie talks about moving from New York to Berlin and then Australia, how grief and healing evolved over time, and why she now believes you can be devastated and joyful at the same time.This episode is for anyone navigating loss, supporting a grieving friend, or trying to understand the complicated truth that you can miss someone deeply and still be angry at what they left behind. Jackie’s story is heartbreaking, honest, and full of the kind of love that keeps going.

Grief after suicide can feel isolating, messy, and impossible to name. Madison Rhodes shares the story of losing her younger brother Seth and the hard-won lessons she’s learned about healing, therapy, and talking openly about suicide without shame.Madison opens up about the guilt she carried after Seth died in 2017, why she threw herself into NAMI and suicide-prevention advocacy, and the moment she realized she had skipped over her own grief in the process. She also explains how storytelling became both a lifeline and a purpose, eventually inspiring the novel she’s writing now about a girl navigating sibling loss by suicide.You’ll hear honest, practical guidance for anyone supporting a loved one through mental health struggles or substance misuse—including why it matters to ask direct questions, how to talk without making someone shut down, and why language like “died by suicide” helps reduce stigma. Madison and Emma also dig into the unique burden carried by siblings, the pressure to be “the strong one,” and how community can make impossible grief feel a little less lonely.Emma and Madison cover what it means to keep someone’s memory alive in ordinary, human ways—birthdays, favorite foods, old friends, and the tiny rituals that make a loss feel less abstract. Madison also shares what changed after years of therapy, what grief looks like now, and the loudest lesson Seth left behind: live boldly, be yourself, and don’t be afraid to take up space.

In just a few days, it will mark 25 years since September 11, 2001. For Matt Bocchi, that day is not just a moment in history, it’s the day he lost his dad.Matt was nine years old when his father was killed in the World Trade Center. In this deeply honest conversation, he talks about the immense responsibility he felt to suddenly become “the man of the house,” while still being a kid himself. He shares what it was like to navigate his own grief while watching his mom and family grieve the person they loved.But Matt’s story doesn’t end with 9/11.He opens up about addiction and sobriety, the trauma work he’s done, and the sexual abuse he experienced from his uncle and how those experiences shaped so much of the way he has moved through the world. Now a new father himself, Matt reflects on what he carries with him, what he is working to heal, and what he hopes to do differently.Matt’s willingness to speak openly about grief, trauma, addiction, abuse, fatherhood, and healing is incredibly powerful. This is a heavy conversation, but it is also one about resilience, honesty, and what can happen when we stop carrying things alone.

Andrea Hurley knows that grief doesn’t have an expiration date.More than 20 years after losing her dad to cancer, Andrea opens up about the shift that happens when someone dies, how hard it is to watch someone you love suffer, and why grief can still feel incredibly difficult decades later.But Andrea has also taken what she experienced and turned it into a mission. Through her work with coaches and cancer alongside the UConn men’s basketball program, she helps support and honor families navigating cancer, using her own experience to show up for people going through some of the hardest moments of their lives.And yes, we talk ALL things UConn basketball: the superstitions, the emotions, how grief shows up in sports, and what it’s like being married to head coach Dan Hurley.We also talk about something I found especially beautiful: how Andrea’s dad encouraged her to go to Seton Hall, a decision that ultimately led her to meet Dan and build the life she has today. Even after someone is gone, their influence can continue shaping the life you’re living.This episode is fun, silly, heartfelt, and serious all at once and it’s a reminder that grief can change over time without ever completely disappearing.Whether you’ve been grieving for 20+ years, are supporting someone through cancer, or just really love UConn basketball, this one is for you.

By the age of 18, Morgan Whisnant had lost both of her parents to cancer. Today, she’s the creator of Pickle Girl Runs, where she’s raised more than $18,000 for Comfort Zone Camp while sharing her grief journey with thousands online.In this episode, Morgan opens up about what it was like to lose both parents so young, why she spent years avoiding her grief, and how anxiety became intertwined with her loss. We talk about the pressure to be “okay,” the loneliness of grieving in young adulthood, and what finally gave her permission to start talking about what she’d been carrying for years.Morgan also shares how training for the Australian Marathon and fundraising for Comfort Zone Camp became more than a race—it became a way to reconnect with her parents, build community, and find purpose through grief. This is a conversation about surviving unimaginable loss, learning that healing isn’t linear, and discovering that joy and grief can exist at the same time.