In this episode, I chat with one of my best friends in the entire world about all the loss she has suffered. She shares a little bit about each one and then how she copes with it all, as well as what you can do for and say to someone that has lost a loved one.*

When Katie was in middle school, her oldest brother committed suicide. That night, she was planning to have a sleepover with some friends, but as they walked passed a church, she had a feeling that she just needed to go home. The next morning, Katie’s mom woke her up and told her what she’d found.

A couple years later, Katie’s other brother passed away. He had been sick, but didn’t have insurance, so he never went to the doctor. He was in bed sleeping one day and had aspirated. After a week in the ICU, they realized he just wasn’t getting better and made the decision to take him off life support.

Then after that, Katie and her husband lost his uncle in a car crash. Then his grandpa to a heart attack. Then Katie’s uncle from a heart attack. And then her husband’s other grandpa – this one they were expecting because he hadn’t been doing too well for a while. Then one of her mother-in-laws passed away in her sleep. And then the most recent one was her husband’s dad from liver failure which led to a heart attack. If you count, that is seven people within the last five years. Seven.

After Katie’s second brother died, her and her mom made an appointment with a medium. They scheduled it under different names so the medium couldn’t look them up and didn’t take anything identifying with them so they could know whether or not she was real. And sure enough, she was the real deal.

Listen to the episode to hear all the details.

*Please note: this is the guest’s story. Their story is how they perceive it. It is not my judgement or responsibility to determine whether or not this story and the things said are true. Please be open minded when listening to/reading these stories.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
-Every death has its own hard.
-Despite it all, you can’t live in fear. You still have to live your life. As Katie put it, the people that have passed on are not going to want you to just sit there and cry all the time.
-With that, it is okay (and good) to cry it out.
-Time does ease the pain.
-The week after the funeral is when the pain is the worst. When everything has settled down and things have to go back to “normal.”

LINKS TO THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
–JoAnne Smith medium
–Shailee’s episode on grief
-Katie’s song recommendation: Love Ain’t by Eli Young Band (listen on the Hard Knocks guest list on Spotify)
-Ending song: Dozen Roses & A Six Pack by Cole Swindell (listen on the Hard Knocks playlist on Spotify)
–Katie’s Instagram

The fact that our heart yearns for something that Earth can’t supply is proof that Heaven must be our home. – C.S. Lewis

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