Advertise on podcast: Restorative Grief with Mandy Capehart

Have you ever found yourself in a season that feels like “the low” — where everything familiar slips away, and you’re unsure whether to climb out or simply sit still for a while? This month, we're exploring that tender space with authors Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson, co-creators of In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons. Together, we talk about how prayer, art, and intention can bring us back to a sense of safety even when we’re still surrounded by darkness. Justin (an author, coach, speaker, songwriter, and host of The At Sea Podcast) and Scott (an artist, author, and performance speaker) have spent years collaborating on projects that stir up hope and creative connection. In the Low invites us to slow down, sit with our grief, and rediscover laughter, beauty, and presence in the midst of pain. Links + Resources from this episode: Order In The Low: Honest Prayers for Dark SeasonsLearn more about Justin's workLearn more about Scott's workConnect with MandyBecome a Patron!

This work is not about resignation. It is about presence. Deconstructing faith brings losses that go far beyond belief changes. In this episode, we explore the grief of losing certainty, community, roles, and a sense of belonging, and how these losses live not just in our thoughts, but in our bodies. This conversation names faith deconstruction as embodied and identity grief, and invites listeners to move beyond intellectualizing toward restoring trust in their bodies, values, and authentic voice. Faith may change, expand, or rest. This is not failure. It is a refusal to live on illusion, and an invitation to rebuild from what is real. Links + Resources from this episode: Read the first chapter of Restorative Grief on AmazonLearn more about coachingBecome a Patron!

"In silence, I can unmatch from all of the noise that isn't mine." After starting a dream career as a touring musician in her teens, Greta Morgan faced a threat she never saw coming - the loss of her voice. In 2020, Greta's high fever from Covid caused a diagnosis of spasmodic dysphonia - limiting her ability to use her voice at all. Over the last five years, she has learned how to strengthen her vocal chords, but there is no cure. So instead of song lyrics, now she's telling her story in a new way through her memoir on loss and rediscovery. Links + Resources from this episode: Buy a copy of The Lost Voice by Greta MorganJoin Greta's mailing listFollow Greta or Mandy on InstagramBecome a Patron of the show!

We become more ourselves by allowing who we are becoming to arrive—and trusting that the parts we let go were never wasted. In this episode, we explore defensiveness not as a flaw, but as a grief-informed response designed to protect former versions of ourselves who carried us through pain. Links + Resources from this episode: Become a PatronConnect with MandyLearn more about Restorative Grief

What if personal growth doesn’t mean becoming someone new, but learning to stay steady in who you already are? This week, Mandy sits down with Jackie Contessa, certified Enneagram coach and founder of Table for 9 Coaching, to talk about how the Enneagram offers stability through the ever-changing landscape of life and relationships. Jackie shares her story of discovering the Enneagram after years of loss and transformation, and how it’s helped her make sense of the patterns that surface in seasons of estrangement — where connection and distance coexist. Together, they explore what it means to change and stay the same, how self-awareness supports healing when relationships shift, and how compassion becomes the anchor when understanding feels out of reach. Links + Resources from this episode: Connect with Jackie!Connect with Mandy!Become a Patron!Learn more about Restorative Grief Coaching

Crossing into the new year isn’t about escape. It’s about emergence. When everyone else wants you to add new hobbies or build new dreams because it's the rolling over of the calendar year, I just want to see you feel whole again. This week, we're talking about how to make space for our whole selves to settle down this season instead of ramping up toward all the new things. It's winter, after all. Time to soften. Links + Resources from this episode: Become a Patron & get the workbookConnect with MandyLearn more about Restorative Grief

Where do you begin to recover when your whole world crumbles and takes your sense of self with it? Jennifer Otsuki knows that before you can begin, you must slow down and be nourished. After losing her restaurant in 2020 and shortly after, her partner and sous-chef Andrew, Chef Jennifer recognized her body's deep need for nourishment. Her new cookbook, Soul Nourished, is a testament to the recipes and the stories of all the people along the way who taught her to become mindful in the kitchen and in turn, through all the tensions and losses in life. Links + Resources from this episode: Pre-order your copy of Soul NourishedLearn more about Jennifer's retreatsConnect with MandyBecome a Patron!

What does ‘making room’ look like for you this holiday season? In this episode, we explore how to navigate the holiday season when our hearts are holding absence and how to create intentional emotional space for ourselves in a time of year saturated with expectation. Whether your loss is recent or long-held, whether your grief feels fresh or quiet, the holidays can stir up layers we didn’t even know were still there. Links + Resources from this episode: Become a PatronConnect with MandyLearn more about Restorative Grief

"They do not have capacity to give you that empathy because they cannot tolerate it within themselves." Sterlin Mosley wants you to experience relational repair with others but particularly, with yourself. When we are navigating grief, exploring the characteristics of narcissistic behaviors doesn't seem like a natural progression for learning. However, when we begin to understand how the ego and the nervous system search for safety, the lens of narcissism can help us maintain connection and compassion while we find appropriate outlets for our vulnerability and support. Links + Resources from this episode: Subscribe to Sterlin's substackFollow Sterlin on InstagramBecome a PatronLearn more about Restorative Grief Coaching

Grief can feel like a force demanding an equally intense response. But what if healing asks for something softer? This week, we're tackling the promise of huge transformational change in grief work that all the coaches in the world seem to be offering. You don't need to be overhauled; you're not an abandoned home. You're a human with a brain working at the right pace to make lasting change - in slow, steady, and sustainable ways. Links + Resources from this episode: Join the Restorative Grief Community Become a PatronSubscribe to the Restorative Grief NewsletterWork with Mandy

"Dysregulation puts us into a state of compression, not expansion. This is how we can back to growth." It's time to move beyond survival of burnout and into intentional and integrative living. Michele Oelking is the founder of Souljourn Coaching & Consulting and today, she joins us to explore how neurodivergence intersects with burnout, overwhelm, and the challenges of living fully in our bodies and minds. Together, we discuss strategies to resource yourself, cultivate awareness, and move toward restoration — whether or not grief is part of the conversation. Michele’s mind-body-spirit approach shows how integrating body, mind, and connection can help us break cycles of survival and step into alignment, presence, and resilience. Links + Resources from this episode: Learn more about Michele's coachingMichele's new cohort, Portal, for ADHD ease!Follow Michele on InstagramLearn more about Restorative GriefBecome a Patron!

How are you supposed to respond when someone shouts, "Just be grateful!" across the holiday table? If you're anything like me, you are tired of pretending it doesn't hurt and tired of wondering if it will ever stop hurting. But gratitude doesn't suddenly blossom when grief ends...because what if grief doesn't end? This week, we're talking about practices to engage our gratitude and our grief in the same breath, without sacrificing our griever's integrity along the way. Links + Resources from this episode: Become a PatronConnect with MandyLearn more about Restorative Grief

What if preparing for death could actually help us live more fully? Too often, we avoid end-of-life conversations because they feel overwhelming or sad. But leaning into planning can actually bring clarity, ease, and deeper connection. In this episode, I’m joined by Marni Blank, founder of Begin With The End, who helps individuals and families approach legacy, loss, and after-death logistics with compassion. We talk about how facing death directly can free us to live and grieve with more presence. Together, we’ll explore: How practical planning creates space for emotional connection in times of crisisWhy legacy work can become a meaningful, creative act of loveCommon fears that hold people back from talking about death—and how to move through themHow aligning grief support with whole-person awareness (mind, heart, body, spirit) can restore presence and resilience Links + Resources from this episode: Learn more about Marni’s work at Begin With The EndPurchase Marni’s Plan Well Organizer for just $15 for a limited time!Follow Marni on InstagramFollow @MandyCapehart on InstagramLearn more about Restorative Grief coaching

When you ask how to live through estrangement, the answer may not be in reconciling or forgetting – it may be in noticing where your energy resides, and choosing the frequencies that allow you to keep living fully, even through uncertainty. This week, we're addressing a constant question I hear from listeners and clients - what can one do to navigate being estranged when you don't clearly understand where it all went wrong? Links + resources from this episode: David R. Hawkins’ Map of ConsciousnessRestorative Grief PodcastMandy Capehart – Learn more about coachingBecome a Grief Patron and get the workbook

"Joy is sinewy, fibrous, raw. She shows up in the dark, not instead of it." This week on Restorative Grief, we’re sitting with Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald to explore what she calls the “gritty joy” that grows right alongside our grief. In her newest book, The Joy Reset, she names six “joy thieves” that keep us from accessing healing and explains why our resistance to joy is not a failure—it’s part of how our nervous system protects us. Together, we’ll talk about what it looks like to invite tiny joys back into our days without bypassing pain, how hope is wired into our brains, and why joy is not the opposite of grief but a companion that helps us keep moving forward. Links + Resources from this episode: Connect with MaryCatherine on TT and IGJoin our PatreonLearn more about coaching opportunitiesFollow Mandy on Instagram