What Happens When You Lose a Parent as a Kid? An Artist’s Story

Katrina Labate joins Heather to share what it means to lose your only sibling when the loss is sudden, disorienting, and far too soon. Her sister, Maria, was just 30 when she died after a rapid and devastating cancer diagnosis, leaving behind not only a close-knit family, but a future Katrina assumed they would share. In this conversation, Katrina reflects on their childhood together, the adult friendship they were just beginning to step into, and the particular heartbreak of sibling grief, a loss that is often deeply felt and far too rarely named.Heather and Katrina talk about the milestones that keep grief moving, the emptiness of becoming the only one left to hold certain memories, and the quiet ways loss resurfaces years later. They also explore what it means to keep living fully after profound loss, how joy and grief can sit side by side, and why Maria’s presence is still part of the biggest moments in Katrina’s life. It’s a tender, thoughtful conversation about sisterhood, memory, and carrying love forward after loss.Resources & Ways to ConnectOur Sweet Maria: A Father’s Story of Love, Loss, and Hope: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Sweet-Maria-Story-Loss/dp/1667878390A Place of Yes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast/Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter/Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: https://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp/Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheavenA Place of Yes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcastListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-place-of-yes-a-grief-podcast/id1725899363Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aYEz4dvQXkux0x320eVFX

Chad Griffin was just 20 years old when his brother was diagnosed with cancer and died within months. Years later, he would lose his sister to alcoholism and his mother as well — a succession of losses that reshaped his understanding of family, faith, anxiety, and what it means to live with grief over decades, not days.In this conversation, Chad reflects on early numbness and escapism, the anxiety that followed his sister’s death, and the long road back through therapy, meditation, and deep introspection. He and Heather talk about compound grief, anticipatory grief, and the way loss evolves over a lifetime — shifting from raw pain to longing, from fear to acceptance. Chad shares how saved voicemails, AI-generated images, and simply saying their names have become acts of remembrance, and why honoring the full relationship — including the suffering — is part of healing. It’s a conversation about feeling the feels, facing what hurts, and discovering that on the other side of pain can be unexpected beauty.Resources & Ways to ConnectJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Heidi Dunstan is a certified grief educator, author, and speaker — and she became that after losing her husband, Mike, suddenly from a massive heart attack just two days after Christmas and the day before her 40th birthday. In a single hour, her life shifted from planning a surprise birthday party to learning how to survive a loss that rewrote everything, including the holidays that followed.In this conversation, Heidi and Heather talk about why “grief is love” is more than a comforting phrase, and how judgment can quietly shut grieving people down. Heidi shares why common lines like “I’m sorry for your loss,” “you’re so strong,” and “at least…” can miss the mark, and what matters more instead: presence, specifics, and the courage to simply show up. They also explore the overlooked secondary losses that come with grief — shifting friendships, silence from people who don’t know what to say, and the complicated pressure to grieve “the right way” — along with practical language that helps people feel seen, safe, and supported.Resources & Ways to ConnectJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcastHeidi Dunstan Website: https://heididunstan.ca/

Libby Adams is a radio host in Albany, New York—one half of the Fly Morning Rush on Fly 92.3—and she knows what it means to grieve in public while trying to keep life moving. After losing her mom to cancer in 2022, Libby began navigating adulthood with a new lens on everything: the milestones her mom won’t see, the joy that still shows up anyway, and the guilt that can come with feeling okay again.In this conversation, Libby shares what it was like to live with anticipatory grief as her mom’s health changed, how the smallest moments—like getting a haircut—can hit harder than the “big” days, and what it takes to show up for work when the grief is still raw. Heather and Libby talk about the strange mix of denial and survival, the way loss reshapes identity, and the quiet places love keeps showing up—sometimes as a voice in the back of your mind, sometimes as sunlight that feels like a reminder.Resources & Ways to ConnectFly 92.3: https://fly92.com/Fly Morning Rush: https://fly92.com/show/the-fly-morning-rush/Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Season 4 of A Place of Yes premiers on March 11, 2026. This season continues the honest conversations about grief that so many people are afraid to have — the messy parts, the unexpected moments, and the ways we begin to heal.This season features powerful stories from people who have lived through profound loss, along with experts who offer practical, compassionate insight into what grief really looks like. From sudden tragedy to long-term illness, from navigating friendships to redefining faith and identity, these conversations create space for both pain and hope.If you’ve ever felt alone in your grief, this season is for you.Subscribe and join us for Season 4 of A Place of Yes.

Elizabeth Klug is a mother, wife, and realtor whose story is shaped by the unimaginable—and the love that remains. She and her husband are both BRCA2 gene carriers, and they lost two of their four children to Fanconi anemia, a rare and fatal genetic condition. In this raw and powerful conversation, Elizabeth shares what it’s like to parent through grief, how she and her husband survived the strain of repeated loss, and why she still proudly says she’s a mom of four.Heather and Elizabeth talk about marriage, advocacy, and the pressure to stay strong when your world has been shattered. They explore the complex emotions of guilt and anger, the burden of genetic knowledge, and how Elizabeth’s living children continue to bring meaning, connection, and light into her life. This conversation is deeply honest, heartbreaking, and full of hard-earned wisdom from a woman learning to live alongside grief.Resources & Ways to ConnectLearn more about Fanconi anemia:https://www.fanconi.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Chelsea Ohlemiller lost her mother in 2017, but the legacy of love, resilience, and truth she left behind continues to shape Chelsea’s life today. In this honest and heart-opening conversation, Chelsea reflects on the complicated emotions of grieving a parent while raising children of your own, the unexpected ways grief shows up years later, and the power of embracing imperfection — especially during the holidays. She shares how her blog, Happiness, Hope, and Harsh Realities, grew into a community of over 150,000 hearts, and why her new book, Now That She’s Gone, is meant to be a companion for grief — a gift to hold onto long after the flowers fade.Heather and Chelsea talk about the loneliness of grief, what it means to carry a mother’s wisdom into motherhood, and why sometimes a simple family recipe like monkey bread can hold generations of meaning. They discuss the harshness of early grief, how we evolve into people we never expected to become, and the surprising moments when signs from loved ones appear — even if only for a moment. This conversation is full of tenderness, laughter, and deeply earned wisdom, and is a beautiful reminder that grief and love always live side by side.Resources & Ways to ConnectHappiness, Hope & Harsh Realities Website: https://hopeandharshrealities.com/Chelsea Ohlemiller on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeandharshrealitiesAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

After losing both her mother and her son within two years, Marie Crews found herself shattered—and searching for meaning in the wreckage. What began as journaling to survive became the foundation for a new purpose: helping others navigate the darkness of grief through writing, connection, and community.In this episode, Marie shares how her own experience with sudden, traumatic loss reshaped her understanding of healing. She opens up about the complexity of compound grief, the doubts that haunt many bereaved parents, and how her spiritual connection with her son continues to guide her. Marie also reflects on building her journaling-based grief retreats, the importance of giving yourself permission to feel joy again, and why sharing stories helps us move forward without leaving our loved ones behind.Resources & Ways to ConnectMarie’s Website: https://www.mariecrews.comAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Carrie Pill is a Vermont-based oil painter, mountain athlete, and writer who experienced profound loss in a short span of time—losing both her mother and her stepmother within about a year. In this episode, Carrie reflects on what it means to grieve when relationships are layered and complicated, and how loss reshapes not just who we miss, but how we move through the world.Carrie shares how trail running, skiing, and time in the mountains became essential outlets during her grief, offering moments of relief, grounding, and connection. She also talks about how writing has helped her process emotions she couldn’t always name, and how creativity—rather than fixing grief—creates space to live alongside it. Together, Heather and Carrie explore anticipatory grief, self‑compassion, and the quiet ways grief continues to influence identity, relationships, and joy.Resources & Ways to ConnectCarrie’s Website: https://carriepill.comCarrie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriepillartAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheavenOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief doesn’t disappear—it changes, evolves, and becomes part of how we move through the world. In this episode, grief counselor and thanatologist Kelly Daugherty shares what she’s learned from two decades of walking alongside people in mourning. Drawing on both professional expertise and her own personal losses, Kelly offers a compassionate, practical look at how grief lives in us over time—and how we can begin to support ourselves and each other through it.Kelly and Heather explore the impact of early grief, the importance of community, and why schools and workplaces need to become more grief-informed. They also discuss trauma, brain-based therapies like brainspotting, and how Kelly helps clients reconnect to the lives and love behind the loss. Whether you're in the depths of it or walking beside someone who is, this conversation is honest, insightful, and deeply human.Resources & Ways to ConnectKelly’s Website: https://www.glgrief.comAPOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcastHeather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughterJake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelpJake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast