Ep 58. Moving Through Grief One Small Step at a Time With Lisa Espinoza
Free Resource for Moms Feeling overwhelmed and like you’ve lost yourself in the chaos of motherhood? You’re not alone. And you don’t have to keep feeling this way. I created this FREE guide for you: 🎁 The Overwhelmed Mom’s Guide: 10 Small Changes to Start Feeling Like You Again Simple, realistic shifts you can start making today without adding more to your plate. 👉 https://jenaburris.kit.com/ecc29b3801 Episode 58: Moving Through Grief One Small Step at a Time With Lisa Espinoza Grief has a way of freezing time. The world keeps moving. The calendar keeps turning. Holidays still come. But the person grieving can feel stuck, suspended between what was and what will never be again. In this episode, I sit down with Lisa Espinoza, author of First Brush Your Teeth: Grief and Hope in Real Time, to talk about what it actually looks like to move through devastating loss, not years later, but day by day. On January 1, 2019, Lisa lost her youngest son, Chandler, after 18 days in the hospital following a traumatic brain injury. What began as cautious hope during those hospital days ultimately became unimaginable loss. And in the middle of it all, she wrote. Grief in Real Time Just days after Chandler was hit, Lisa began journaling daily updates on CaringBridge. What started as a way to keep family and friends informed became something deeper, a way to process the unthinkable. After losing Chandler, Lisa committed to writing every single day for an entire year. Not polished reflections from a distance. Not tidy lessons learned. But real-time grief. She wrote through: The first Mother’s Day The first birthday The first holidays The ordinary Tuesdays that felt impossible Her book is a collection of those entries, raw, honest, and unfiltered. Because when you’re grieving, you don’t want a bow on top. You don’t want clichés. You want someone who understands what the first “everything” feels like. As Lisa shares, sometimes the most helpful words aren’t explanations. They’re simply: “God, this hurts. I hate this for you.” Grief, Identity & the Possibility of Joy Loss reshapes identity in ways we don’t anticipate. Lisa describes the moment someone asked her how many children she had — and realizing she would always be a mother of four, even though one of her sons now lives in heaven. Grief doesn’t erase identity. It reshapes it. And yet, in the middle of heartbreak, Lisa discovered something surprising: Joy can coexist with grief. Not in a forced, “everything happens for a reason” way. But in small, honest steps. She offers this gentle starting point: “I’m willing to become willing to be open to the idea of joy.” Not today’s big breakthrough. Not pretending you’re fine. Just a crack in the door. Grief isn’t something we fix. It’s something we move through, one breath, one page, one small step at a time. If you are grieving, or walking alongside someone who is, this conversation will remind you that you are not crazy, not weak, and not alone. And if you’ve ever wondered what to say to someone in deep loss, Lisa offers simple wisdom: don’t minimize. Don’t compare. Just be present. Connect with Lisa You can connect with Lisa at lisaspinoza.com and find her free resource, A Gentle Guide for Getting Through the Day When You’re Grieving the Loss of Your Child. P.S. If this episode resonates with you, please reach out. I truly want to hear your story. You can DM me on Instagram @jenaburris or email me at [email protected]. Your voice matters — and I’m here for you.

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