Shows / Good Grief: Life After Loss
Good Grief: Life After Loss
Hosted by Skylar Jackenthal, Good Grief is a podcast for young people navigating life after the loss of someone they love. Through honest conversations, personal stories, and shared experiences, we explore what grief really looks like—messy, confusing, heartbreaking, and sometimes even hopeful. Whether you’re grieving a sibling, parent, friend, or someone else close to you, this podcast is here to remind you that you’re not alone.
Episodes
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
I Ditched My Sad Speech and We Still Raised One Million Dollars!
For years, Skylar’s speech at the Live Like Sam Gala had one job: make the room cry right before the paddle raise. This year, three days before the event, she…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Meet My Brother, Sam
On the 11th anniversary of her brother Sam’s death, Skylar is doing something a little different on Good Grief. Instead of talking about grief, loss, or how…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Everyone remembers October 1. Skylar remembers September. October 1st is the date Skylar’s brother, Sam, died. It’s the date people remember, the date the…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
I Didn't Want to Talk About My Dead Brother Today, But Since You Asked...
In this episode of Good Grief, Life After Loss, Skylar dives into the special kind of awkward that comes with grieving out loud — the questions nobody warns…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
How Much Grief Can One Community Hold?
What happens when a small community experiences another devastating loss? This week, I’m reflecting on grief from a perspective I’ve never had before: not as…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
From the Archives: Linh’s Story: Living Again After Loss and Seeking Justice
Note: This is a republished archive episode from 2025. We're bringing back some of our most impactful conversations for new listeners while we prepare new…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Jason’s Story: On Choosing to Go Through Grief, Not Around It
In this episode of Good Grief, Skylar sits down with Jason, who takes us back to his late twenties, when he lost his mom, Connie, after her four-year battle…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Grief Got Lost in My Google Calendar
Sam would have turned 27 on June 12th. Instead of spending the day grieving her brother, Skylar spent it buried in work, preparing for a company-wide…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Who Takes Care of the Griever?
Grief doesn't just affect your heart—it affects your brain, your body, your routines, and your mental health. In this episode, Skylar talks about something we…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
One Year In: What I've Learned from Hosting a Grief Podcast
One year ago, Skylar hit publish on the very first episode of Good Grief: Life After Loss — and today, one year and 41 episodes later, she's reflecting on…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
For Anyone Struggling This Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day can be beautiful, but for a lot of people, it’s also incredibly complicated. In this episode, Skylar talks about the uncomfortable reality of…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
When Grief Meets School
When grief meets school, the impact goes far beyond sadness. This week, Skylar shares what returning to 9th grade after losing her brother Sam really looked…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Sorry If Talking About My Dead Brother Makes You Uncomfortable
In this week’s episode, Skylar opens up about the complicated reality of grieving in a world that often feels uncomfortable with loss. Inspired by a quote from…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Ron Jackenthal: Turning Loss Into Legacy
In this deeply personal episode, Skylar sits down with her dad, Ron Jackenthal, for an honest conversation about grief, purpose, and what it means to rebuild a…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
How to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Heart
In this episode, Skylar explores the powerful shift that can happen when we move out of our heads and into our hearts. After losing her brother, Sam, Skylar…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Reality of Being a Young Griever
Young grief isn’t as rare as it sometimes seems — but it’s still something most people your age haven’t lived through. By age 18, only about 1 in 14 children…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Life After Life: A Peek Into the Afterlife with Maureen Hancock
In this episode of Good Grief, Skylar sits down with Maureen Hancock—one of New England’s most well-known spirit mediums and lovingly known as the “Comedian…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Can We Laugh About This? Dark Humor & Grief
Grief doesn’t always look like tears and silence — sometimes it looks like dark humor. In this episode, Skylar explores why joking after loss feels healing for…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Being a Griever in a Grieving Nation
In this episode of Good Grief: Life After Loss, Skylar explores what it means to live with personal grief in a moment of collective national pain. As political…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Holding Both: Grief and Joy This Christmas
In this special Christmas episode, Skylar reflects on holding both grief and joy during the holidays. She shares a heartwarming moment when she and her mom…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
When Traditions Don’t Survive the Holidays
In this episode, Skylar reflects on how the holidays change after a loved one is gone. She shares personal memories of Christmas with her brother Sam, from…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Scrolling Through December: Social Media & Grief
This week, we’re talking about why social media hits so much harder during the holiday season. From the matching pajamas and “best Christmas ever!” captions……
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Holiday Gifts for Someone Who Is Grieving
Not sure what to get someone who’s grieving this holiday season? This episode walks through meaningful and gentle gift ideas for anyone missing someone —…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Thanksgiving with an Empty Chair
In this episode, Skylar talks about what Thanksgiving feels like when someone you love is missing. The pressure to be “grateful,” the empty-chair moments, and…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Night a Medium Said, “Your Brother Is Here.”
In last week’s episode, we talked all about signs from the other side — and this week, Skylar finally had the chance to experience one up close. She went to…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Signs from the Other Side
Everyone talks about signs, but no one talks about how personal, confusing, comforting, and sometimes painful they can be. This week, Skylar shares the signs…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
I Don’t Have the Energy to Grieve Right Now
In this quick episode, Skylar gets honest about what it’s like to love her podcast, and still feel exhausted by the constant weight of grief. She talks about…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Why I Think Everyone I Love Is Going to Die
Skylar opens up about how losing someone suddenly changed the way she sees safety and love. In this episode, she talks about the quiet fear grief leaves behind…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Weird Ways We Cope
Ten years after losing her brother Sam, Skylar can finally see how her grief showed up in ways she never recognized at the time. From shopping sprees and…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Emma’s Story: Turning the Loss of Her Dad into Connection and Community
Emma lost her dad to suicide at just 13. In this episode, she shares her personal grief journey and how she was able to help young grievers heal through her…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Blue Carpet to Blue Balloons: Celebrating Sam
In this episode, Skylar recaps an emotional week back home — from walking the blue carpet at the Live Like Sam Gala, the foundation’s most successful event…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
What I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago
In this episode, host Skylar Jackenthal speaks directly to her 14-year-old self, the girl who had just lost her brother, Sam. Ten years later, Skylar shares…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Day I Lost My Brother: Finally Sharing My Story
In this episode, host Skylar Jackenthal shares, for the first time, the full story of losing her brother, Sam. From her family’s time in Australia to the…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Ten Years Later: What Still Hurts Most
In this episode, host Skylar Jackenthal reflects on the parts of grief that haven’t softened, even ten years after losing her brother, Sam. From everyday…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
10 Lessons in 10 Years Without Sam
In this episode, Skylar reflects on the ten lessons she has learned in the ten years since losing her brother, Sam. From the weight of anniversaries to the…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
What to Do With What’s Left, Part 3: The Memory Box
In the third episode of the 3-part series, What to Do With What’s Left, Skylar opens up her memory box for her brother Sam. From cologne and baby blankets to…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
What to Do With What’s Left, Part 2: Clothes, Rooms, and Phones
In the second episode of this 3-part series, Skylar dives into the everyday belongings our loved ones leave behind, from clothes hanging in the closet…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Linh’s Story: Living Again After Loss and Seeking Justice
In this deeply moving episode, Skylar sits down with Linh Luu, who survived a tragic and preventable car accident that took the lives of her boyfriend, Misha…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
What to Do With What’s Left, Part 1: Ashes
In the first episode of this 3-part series, What to Do With What’s Left, Skylar explores one of the most surreal and emotional parts of early grief: ashes. She…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Coming Home, Again: Where Grief Still Lives and Love Still Grows
What happens when you return - year after year - to the place where your person lived, and where their presence still lingers? In this episode, Skylar shares…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
I’m Not Going to Break: The Assumptions People Make About Grievers
In this episode, Skylar opens up about the quiet assumptions people make about grievers, and why those assumptions often miss the mark. After losing her…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
When Fireworks Ruin the Party: The Loneliness of Grief in Happy Moments
What happens when your grief ruins a good time? Skylar shares the story of how a backyard Fourth of July party - and one unexpected Katy Perry song - triggered…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Audrey’s Story: Early Grief After Losing Her Mom to Suicide
Audrey shares her experience of losing her mom unexpectedly to suicide. She discusses the shock of sudden loss, the guilt and “what ifs” that followed, and the…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
What Not to Say to Someone Who Is Grieving
People mean well, but sometimes the things they say after a loss hurt more than they help. In this episode, Skylar shares the most common phrases not to say to…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Guilt of Growth: When Good Things Come from Loss
Skylar opens up about the guilt of growing after loss - wondering if the best things in her life, like her TEDx Talk, getting into her dream college, and this…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Finding Your Ritual: Honoring the Ones We Lost
In this episode, Skylar reflects on what would’ve been her brother Sam’s 26th birthday and the upcoming Father’s Day—two reminders of love and loss. She shares…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Sam Walsh on the Inspiration Behind Grief Group
In this heartfelt episode, Skylar sits down with Sam Walsh, the founder of the Grief Group at Park City High School and a key figure in her own grief journey…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
After Year One: The Firsts Hurt, But the Seconds Might Be Worst
The first year after loss is full of heartbreak, but it’s also full of support. People check in. They remember. They hold space for your pain. But what happens…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
The Art of Grief Deflection
What do you say when someone asks if you have any siblings, or what your parents do for work, and the truth is, they’ve died? In this episode, we explore the…
- Good Grief: Life After Loss
Welcome to the Club
In this first episode of Good Grief: Life After Loss, I’m introducing myself, Skylar, and sharing the story behind this podcast. I talk about losing my brother…