E49: Grief in the Body: Mourning a Physical Self That Has Changed After Loss with Lisa Keefauver, Author of Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch

Written By Shelby Forsythia

How do you grieve when your body is the site of loss? Lisa Keefauver, author of Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, joins me to talk about something we don’t discuss nearly enough: grief in the body. From cancer treatment to identity shifts to looking in the mirror and not recognizing yourself, we explore what it means to experience embodied grief—and how to cope when your body is the loss you're grieving.

You’ll hear:

  • What “body grief” and “embodied grief” actually mean—and why so many people experience them

  • How illness, trauma, and medical betrayal can change your relationship with your body

  • The hidden identity grief that comes with physical changes

  • Practical tools for coping when your body no longer feels like home

  • How to hold both gratitude and grief at the same time

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Learn more about Lisa, read (or listen to!) Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, and subscribe to her Substack:

https://lisakeefauver.com/

Pre-order my new book, Of Course I’m Here Right Now: Three Actually Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving:

https://www.shelbyforsythia.com/of-course-im-here-right-now

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https://www.shelbyforsythia.com/links

 

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Join my online course + community, Life After Loss Academy:

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Listen to more episodes of Grief Grower and submit a question for the show:

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Download the transcript for this episode here.

Shelby Forsythia

Shelby Forsythia (she/her) is a grief coach, author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions.

Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended questions, she guides her clients to welcome grief as a teacher and create meaningful lives that honor and include the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine.

https://www.shelbyforsythia.com
Next

E48: 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Cry After a Loss—Even If You’re Sad