What happens when grief becomes the starting point for real human connection rather than something to hide away from?

In this episode, we sit down with Ben, co-founder of The New Normal, a charity providing free, non-judgmental peer-to-peer support for people navigating grief and mental health. What began with one conversation between two young men - bonded by the loss of their fathers - has grown into a thriving community built on honesty, compassion and shared experience.

Ben reflects on the origins of The New Normal, the power of creating spaces where people feel seen and heard, and why community can transform the way we move through loss.

What You’ll Learn

Connection Through Grief: How shared experiences can create powerful, lasting bonds.

Building Community: Why peer support can be a lifeline for people navigating loss.

Embracing Mortality: Why accepting death can help us live more fully in the present.

This conversation is a reminder that grief doesn’t have to be faced alone and that from the hardest moments, the most extraordinary communities can emerge.

It's A Death Sentence is produced by Urban Podcasts.

How do you grieve a parent you’ve already been saying goodbye to for years?

In this episode of It’s a Death Sentence, Emma shares the story of her dad, Peter Skipp - a kind, intelligent man who lived a vibrant life before Alzheimer’s slowly altered the rhythm of their family’s world.

Emma reflects on the long arc of her father’s illness, from the first signs of dementia to the moments before his death, and the strange calm that followed the funeral. It’s an honest, unflinching conversation about memory, care, guilt, laughter, and the unexpected ways grief unfolds when you’ve been grieving long before someone dies.

What You’ll Learn

The Long Goodbye: How dementia reshapes grief, often beginning long before the final day.

Caring in a Flawed System: The realities of navigating diagnosis, healthcare, and daily caregiving with love and frustration in equal measure.

Moments That Stay: How small gestures, humour and fleeting lucidity become anchors in the storm of loss.

This is a story of holding on, letting go, and remembering the full person behind the diagnosis.

It's A Death Sentence is produced by Urban Podcasts.

How do you grieve a sibling when the world forgets you’re grieving too?

In this episode, Carrie shares the recent loss of her brother, who died of cancer at just 45 years old. She opens up about the raw reality of sibling grief—the kind that often goes unseen as attention is directed toward parents, partners, and children.

From the humour and mischief her brother brought to life, to the anger and privacy he clung to in illness, Carrie paints a portrait of a man fully himself—and of the void he leaves behind. Together, we explore how sibling loss unsettles the natural order of things, and how unconditional love can be carried forward for the family who remains.

What You’ll Learn

- The Forgotten Griever: Why siblings are often overlooked in grief, and how their lifelong bonds make the loss uniquely profound.

- Legacy Through Voice: How recording memories and voices can preserve someone’s essence in ways that photographs and stories alone cannot.

- Transforming Love Into Action: How grief can become an act of service—supporting surviving family members and carrying forward love that has nowhere else to go.

Carrie’s story is a powerful reminder that grief is not only about what we’ve lost, but also about how we choose to love, honour, and support in the aftermath. Her words give voice to a kind of loss rarely acknowledged, yet one that cuts deeply and reshapes who we are.

It's A Death Sentence is produced by Urban Podcasts.