Children experience grief differently than adults, yet their pain is just as real. As a licensed professional clinical counselor for nearly five decades, I've had the privilege of walking alongside grieving children and their families. In this episode, I share what I've learned about how children process loss, the questions they often carry in their hearts, and how the caring adults in their lives can offer comfort, honesty, and hope.

We'll talk about common misconceptions about children's grief, what to say (and what not to say), and simple ways to help children feel safe expressing their emotions.

I'll also share why I wrote my children's book, Now I Lay Him Down to Rest, a gentle story created to help children find hope and reassurance after the sudden loss of a parent.

Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, counselor, pastor, or simply someone who loves a grieving child, I hope this conversation encourages you and reminds you that healing begins with love, patience, and honest connection.

Thank you for joining me on Hope After Loss. If this episode encouraged you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need it.

Together, let's continue finding hope after loss.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment.

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you. Until next time, be gentle with yourself. Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself.

Can Dreams Bring Hope? My Journey

Can dreams bring comfort after the loss of someone we love?

In this deeply personal episode, I share a dream that forever changed my understanding of grief and loss—and ultimately led me to write the book, Lost No More....A Mother's Spiritual Journey Through Her Son's Addiction. Dreams can become a source of hope, healing, and connection during our darkest times which it clearly did for me. I refer to this as a miracle and believe in miracles ever since.

Whether you believe dreams are spiritual experiences, messages from our subconscious, or simply part of the grieving process, my hope is that this conversation encourages you to remain open to the many ways love continues to reach us.

In this episode, we'll explore:

• Why dreams often become more meaningful after loss.
• My own life-changing dream and what it meant to me.
• Different ways grieving people experience connection—through dreams, signs, memories, music, or an unexpected sense of peace.
• How to remain open without feeling pressured to believe any one explanation.
• Why every grief journey is unique.

No matter where you are in your grief, I hope this episode reminds you that love doesn't end when a life does.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment.

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you. Until next time, be gentle with yourself. Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself.

One of the greatest fears after loss is that healing means leaving our loved one behind. It doesn't. In this podcast, Marilyn Burns shares how it's possible to move forward while continuing to carry love, memories and meangful connections with those who remain forever part of our lives.

How do we move forward after losing someone we love without feeling like we're leaving them behind?

In this episode of Hope After Loss, Marilyn Burns, M.S., L.P.C.C., explores one of the most common fears grieving people face: the belief that healing means forgetting.

The truth is, grief isn't something we "get over." Instead, we learn how to carry our loss alongside our love, memories, and hopes for the future.

Marilyn shares insights from both her personal journey as a bereaved mother and her decades of experience as a mental health counselor. Together, we'll discuss how grief changes over time, why joy and sorrow can exist together, and how finding a "new normal" doesn't mean letting go of the people we miss.

If you've ever felt guilty for laughing again, making plans, or rediscovering happiness after loss, this episode is for you.

You don't have to choose between honoring your loved one and living your life fully—you can do both.

I'd love to hear from you.

What has helped you move forward while keeping your loved one's memory alive?

Share your thoughts, questions, or experiences at hopeafterlosspodcast@gmail.com.

You may hear your question featured in a future episode.

If this episode touched your heart, please subscribe, follow, rate, and review Hope After Loss. Sharing this podcast with someone who is grieving can be a powerful act of kindness.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment.

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you. Until next time, be gentle with yourself. Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself.