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This week on Dead on Earth, we sit down with Savannah Hill. Savannah grew up in Detroit, raised by her dad — a single father raising his daughter in a trailer park, without much money, but with so much love and devotion that Savannah calls her childhood "lovely." The two of them were as close as a father and daughter can be. What shaped her most, she says, was that her dad could say he was sorry. He was approachable. When he got it wrong, he admitted it — and that taught her how to move through the world, and how to love people well. When her dad was diagnosed with cancer, Savannah became his caregiver, tending to him at home on hospice until the very end. Her story is about everything a parent can give a child that has nothing to do with money — and what it means to give that care back.

Some losses come with time to prepare. Sammy Hunter's didn't. When her mother was caught in a flash flood while driving, Sammy's world changed in a single afternoon — no goodbye, no warning, just the sudden, disorienting reality of living in a world without her mom. In this episode, Sammy talks honestly about what grief looks like after a sudden loss: the shock that doesn't wear off on schedule and the slow work of learning to carry both sorrow and joy at the same time. She shares the moments that blindsided her in the early days of grieving a parent, the things people said that actually helped (and the well-meaning things that didn't), and how her relationship with her mother — that singular mother-daughter bond — has kept evolving long after the funeral. If you've lost a mother, suddenly or otherwise, or if you're walking beside someone who has, this conversation is for you. Sammy doesn't offer tidy answers. She offers something better: the truth of what sudden grief actually feels like, and proof that you can learn to dance in the rain again. Sammy Hunter is an everyday person sharing her lived experience of grief and loss. Dead on Earth is a weekly podcast about grief and loss, hosted by Kerrith McDowell and Sarah Lipscomb, both hospice nurse practitioners. Every episode features an everyday person — never experts, never celebrities — talking honestly about what it means to lose someone and keep living. If this episode spoke to you, subscribe and leave a review — it helps other grieving people find us.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, we sit down with Nik Paul Fox for a deeply personal conversation about losing their father, Paul, to suicide. Paul was a lover of the ocean who always believed that salt water healed everything. This loss hits incredibly close to home, as Paul was also the uncle and godfather of our co-host, Kerrith McDowell. Nick shares a raw, intimate look at the unique complexities of suicide loss and the ripples it sends through a family dynamic. They open up about navigating the heavy aftermath, finding moments of light in the darkness, and learning how to wade through an ocean of grief.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, we sit down with Hunter Beattie, owner of Ends Well Funeral Home, for a deeply personal conversation about the death of his father.Hunter’s father was the primary inspiration behind many of his accomplishments, including his path to sobriety. Following a diagnosis of a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, Hunter's father made the decision to reclaim control over his final chapter, choosing to end his life on his own terms.Hunter joins the podcast to openly share the complex grief journey that followed, exploring what it means to honor a loved one's autonomy while navigating the heavy reality of their absence. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of end-of-life choices and assisted dying. Listener discretion is advised

In this episode of Dead on Earth, Denis McDowell shares the deeply moving story of his late wife, Christine, her struggle with drug addiction, and her tragic death by suicide. Left to pick up the pieces with young children, Denis reveals the difficult reality of grieving out loud while parenting through trauma. Now remarried, Denis reflects on the healing power of time, resilience, and the joy of watching his children thrive in their blended family.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, we sit down with Charles Morris to explore the profound, layered grief of losing his mother, Phyllis. Charles shares the agonizing reality of watching his mother’s cancer accelerate her dementia, creating a dual mourning process long before her physical passing.Compounding this heartbreak was the timing: Phyllis’s final days took place during COVID-19, a time when the healthcare system was stretched to its brink and crucial hospice support was virtually non-existent. Charles opens up about the raw, exhausting experience of navigating caregiving in isolation, the anger of systemic failure, and how he honors the enduring imprint his mother left behind.

This week on Dead on Earth, hosts Sarah Lipscomb and Kerrith McDowell sit down with William English for a deeply personal and vital conversation about family, systemic barriers, and profound loss. William opens up about his journey through grief following his aunt’s battle with breast cancer. Living next door to him his entire life in rural Alabama, she was a constant, nurturing presence who helped raise him. William shares what it was like to step into the role of her fierce advocate as she navigated treatment as an African American woman in the Southern healthcare system. He candidly explores the devastating reality of losing a part of himself when she passed, and the unique weight of mourning a lifelong anchor

In this episode, Sarah and Kerrith sit down with Ramona, a dedicated social worker, to talk about the passing of her mother. Ramona’s mother was her absolute rock and, as a hospice nurse, a pillar of strength for countless families.Ramona opens up about the devastating reality of watching her mother battle lung cancer and reflects on the profound, heavy grief of sitting at her mother's bedside at the end of her life. It is a powerful conversation about love, legacy, and learning to live with a shattering loss.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, we sit down with Taylor Ortiz-Hershman for a deeply moving conversation about her brother, Ben's battle with, and ultimate passing from, an Adderall addiction.Taylor opens up about the unique pain of watching someone you love fade away, the devastating reality of prescription stimulant abuse, and how she navigates the complex landscape of loss. "I'm Still Here" is a powerful testament to survival, the enduring bond between siblings, and finding your footing when your world is shattered.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, we sit down with Patrick Nagle, a registered nurse who served with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Sudan. Patrick shares the heavy, haunting reality of medical work in a conflict zone. He walks us through the chaotic aftermath of an unexploded bomb that devastated a local community. With raw honesty, Patrick recounts the death of 12 children, the agonizing weight of medical limitations, and the complex grief that follows when you try to do everything you can, but the outcome cannot be changed. This is a profound conversation about human vulnerability, the scars carried by frontline healers, and how we carry grief when the world moves on.

In this episode, Staten Island native Gabriella joins us to share the profound loss of her father to a drug overdose. Gabriella opens up about growing up alongside her father's lifelong battle with substance use disorder. Despite the chaos of addiction, their bond remained deep. From a young age, Gabriella stepped into the role of emotional caretaker, fiercely looking out for him until the very end. This is a raw, moving conversation about unconditional love, the heavy burden of parentification, and navigating the unique grief of an overdose loss.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, host Kerrith McDowell sits down with Shane Kiel to explore the devastating memory of attempting to rescue a young girl from drowning in the ocean—an act of humanity that tragically ended in loss. He opens up about the heavy weight of that day, and how the water remains his greatest sanctuary despite forcing him to learn some of life's hardest lessons.

In this powerful episode of Dead on Earth, hosts Kerrith McDowell and Sarah Lipscomb sit down with Nicole Archiello, a mortgage broker from the Jersey Shore, for a deeply moving conversation about grief, addiction, and unwavering faith. Nicole opens up about the devastating pain of losing her beloved brother to Opioid Use Disorder and the raw reality of navigating grief alongside her faith.

This week on Dead on Earth, hosts Sarah Lipscomb and Kerrith McDowell sit down with a fellow hospice colleague, Caroline Wilson, to explore the profound personal impact of loss. They discuss the death of Caroline's close friend and hospice chaplain, Jodi. While Caroline had initially prepared herself to lose Jodi to cancer, she was caught completely off guard by her sudden death following a tragic fall. This episode beautifully highlights that even for professionals working daily in the palliative care space, nothing truly prepares you for the reality of your own grief.

In this episode of Dead on Earth, host Sarah Lipscomb talks with Kyle Kirby as he opens up about the heartbreaking experience of losing his close friends, Kai and Brian, to substance use disorder. Bonded by their shared love for raves, anime conventions, and working together in the restaurant industry, they partied and grew up as a tight-knit group. Through raw and honest storytelling, Kyle shares the pain of saying goodbye too soon, the complex emotions that follow a loss to substance use, and how he navigates grief in the aftermath.