Jenna DeNapoli - Held Together By Family

This week on Ghosted, Jenna (@itsme.JennaD) joins me to talk about losing her dad, Dominic DeNapoli, to stomach cancer eight years ago. If you've ever looked around and wondered why everyone else still gets to call their parent, this conversation is for you. Jenna shares what it's been like navigating adulthood without her dad from relationships and shifting family dynamics to planning a wedding knowing he won't be there. We talk about jealousy, comparison, mental health, and the complicated feelings that come with watching other people experience milestones with parents who are still alive. As a nurse, Jenna also opens up about the fact that she has yet to work on the floor where her dad died, and what it means to carry grief into the profession that now defines her life. Most of all, this is a conversation about family, love, and finding ways to honor the people we miss while continuing to move forward. Jenna has built a powerful online community by sharing her grief journey, and her honesty makes this episode feel like sitting down with a friend who truly gets it. Because sometimes grief isn't about letting go, it's about learning how to carry someone with you into every chapter that follows.