E9: Mother’s Day, Grief, and the Healing Power of Poetry with William Bortz

Written By Shelby Forsythia

Poet William Bortz joins me to talk about grief, poetry, and finding appreciation after loss.

We explore how poetry can companion us through devastating experiences—and how William has begun reshaping Mother's Day into something gentler after decades of isolation and anger.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Why poetry is uniquely helpful for grieving minds

  • How to grieve intangible losses like hope, stability, and certainty

  • The connection between grief and developing appreciation

  • Relearning how to engage with Mother's Day after loss

  • Poems and poets that help us feel seen, held, and understood in grief

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Check out William's poetry books including The Grief We're Given and Many Small Hungerings:

https://williambortz.wordpress.com/

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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
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E8: Grief Makes You "Weird": 5 Coping Strategies That Actually Work