"Grief does not have a timeline. The intensity and the frequency of it can change, but it will always be there. And so, finding ways to acknowledge it and honor it is an important part of the grief process. And then community— because the only way we truly heal is being in connection with others that make us feel safe and make us feel loved." —Laura Todd

Grief after losing a parent doesn't follow a schedule — and therapist Laura Todd knows that better than most. In this episode of Live, Love, Survive, Thrive, Laura sits down with host Dr. Kimberly Hubenette to share what happened after she lost her mother to stage four breast cancer at 24, and how that loss quietly resurfaced years later during her own postpartum period.
Laura is a licensed therapist specializing in perinatal, infant, and early childhood mental health, and the founder of Early Bonds Therapy in Silicon Valley. She opened her practice after facing postpartum anxiety and grief while becoming a mother without her own mother by her side. This conversation moves through the sudden hospital diagnosis that gave her family four weeks' notice, the family dynamics that shifted afterward, and the moment a supervisor told her she couldn't keep "treating herself" through grief. It's a conversation for anyone rebuilding identity, family rhythm, or purpose after significant loss — especially those navigating grief and motherhood at the same time.
Key takeaways:
• Grief resurfaces at life's milestones — weddings, births, birthdays — even years after the loss itself.
• A trained therapist can still need her own therapist; expertise doesn't exempt anyone from needing support.
• Family roles shift permanently when the "emotional center" of the family is gone, often leaving fathers or partners unsure how to fill that space.
• Community — not willpower — is what makes long-term healing possible.
• Watching your children inherit a lost parent's traits (a love of dance, a facial expression) can become its own form of connection and healing.
• Financial and lifestyle choices can shift permanently after loss, prioritizing present memories over indefinite delay.

If this episode resonated with you, listen to the full conversation and subscribe to Live, Love, Survive, Thrive for more real stories on healing, growth, and resilience.

Connect with Dr. Kimberly:
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Episode Highlights:
04:32 Meet Laura Todd: Losing Her Mom Too Soon
08:56 How Grief Reshaped Her Family Dynamics
11:37 Her Father's Grief and Finding a New Family Rhythm
20:05 Becoming a Perinatal Therapist After Loss
24:24 The Belief She Had to Let Go of to Heal
26:42 The People Who Carried Her Through Grief
30:49 Seeing Her Mother in Herself and Her Sons
34:51 Her #1 Grief Tip: There Is No Timeline
36:48 A Family Recipe That Keeps Her Mom's Memory Alive

Resources:
Get Kim's Books
📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over
📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!

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