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Best Overall Podcast - 2024 Ear Worthy
True stories of healing, grief, and starting over.
A grief and healing podcast. Host Matt Gilhooly has honest conversations with real people about sudden loss, trauma, and the moment their lives split into before and after. New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.
Start Here
New here? These six are a good place to begin.
11
May 24, 2022
The Dichotomy of Grief - My Story | Matt Gilhooly
In this episode, we flipped the script so I could tell my story. Throughout the first batch of episodes, the guests (and listeners) asked when I would tell my story. So, in this episode, my first guest, Christin Lindley, leads the conversation as I share the pivotal moments that shaped my life and eventually led to The Life Shift podcast.
259
June 24, 2026
Adoption: The Chapter You Thought Was Finished
Adoption, Identity, and Finding Home
207
Oct. 7, 2025
Sally McQuillen on Carrying Her Son’s Light Forward After His Death
Psychotherapist and author Sally McQuillen shares her journey of sobriety, child loss, and finding gratitude while carrying her son’s light forward.
234
Feb. 17, 2026
Grief: Making Something Beautiful From What Broke
A quiet conversation about learning to stay open and find meaning when life moves you through loss and change.
245
May 6, 2026
Part of Me Died That Day: Learning to Live After the Worst Day of Your Life
Stephen Panus lost his 16-year-old son Jake in a sudden accident. This conversation explores grief, forgiveness, guilt, and what it means to keep walking when part of you didn’t survive.
275
Aug. 19, 2026
147 Days: Raising and Losing My Sister
A woman who became a parent at twenty two learns that loving someone completely, and losing them, means grieving out loud and finding your center again.
Recent Episodes
293
Oct. 21, 2026
Undercover Cop with a Deathwish, and the Man With Grief Behind Him
Former Queensland detective Todd Maguire spent years undercover as "Donny" trying to outrun grief. Here's how a memoir and his own family finally brought him back.
292
Oct. 18, 2026
Forty Seizures in Six Weeks: Learning to Stop Hiding
Travis White hid his seizures and depression for fifteen years. A 2024 crisis and a call to 988 finally pushed him toward the help that changed everything.
291
Oct. 14, 2026
Stranded at Sea When the World Shut Down
After surviving an assault in her first months in Los Angeles, Angela Harger Thompson said yes to sailing the Pacific with no experience, got stranded at sea when COVID shut the world down, and came home knowing she no longer had to wait to be chosen.
290
Oct. 11, 2026
Just Call Him: Estrangement, Grief, and the Father I'll Never Fully Know
Poet Brittany Perham stopped talking to her alcoholic father for almost 15 years. After he died, she learned he'd named her executor of a deeply indebted estate.
289
Oct. 7, 2026
Coming Out as a Trans Woman at 45: The Filter That Changed Everything
Chloe Kelly spent 45 years suppressing her true identity. One lunch break and a face filter changed everything. This is her story of transition, joy, and becoming real.
288
Oct. 4, 2026
First Responder Mental Health: What a Helicopter Crash Opened Up
Flight paramedic Jeff Abbott spent 25 years not cracking. Then a helicopter crash took his friend and everything changed. A raw story about grief, anger, and healing.
287
Sept. 30, 2026
Grief: The Year I Edited My Dear Friend Back to Life
A filmmaker loses his best friend in a plane crash weeks after they finish shooting, and spends a year in the edit learning how to grieve.
286
Sept. 27, 2026
Not That Weird: When the Thing You Hid Becomes the Thing You Give
Kate Saint Clair spent decades fighting her intuition before accepting her gift as a psychic medium. This episode explores shame, sensitivity, and finding your voice.
285
Sept. 23, 2026
Grief: The Last Kiss on an Ordinary Tuesday
Ryan finally felt settled at 24, until a phone call at lunch changed everything. A story of sudden loss, addiction, and the long road back.
Recent Blog Posts
Oct. 21, 2026
When Grief Becomes a Death Wish: Understanding First Responder Adrenaline Seeking
First responders frequently experience critical incident stress, but when personal trauma compounds operational dangers, the psychological fallout can manifest as high-risk adrenaline-seeking behavior. By examining how unresolved grief drives indivi…
Oct. 18, 2026
What Are Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES)? Understanding Stress-Induced Seizures
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are physical episodes that closely resemble epileptic seizures—causing involuntary movements, loss of awareness, or convulsions—but are triggered by psychological stress and neurological processing of trauma…
Oct. 14, 2026
How to Survive Being Stranded at Sea During a Global Lockdown
Learning how to survive being stranded at sea during a global lockdown requires a masterclass in radical adaptability, mental endurance, and letting go of control. When unexpected border closures turn a standard six-week Pacific sailing passage into…