In this solo episode, Erika opens up about Kingston, her soul dog, and Pets Are Family, the book she never planned to write. She makes the case that grief is not something to be fixed, that people do not need their pain solved, they need it acknowledged. Erika unpacks how her dogs became her kids, the morning eight years in when Kingston woke up not himself and her world quietly began to come apart, and the impossible week that followed. She is honest about the parts of grief no one prepares you for and the shame of admitting she was not okay while running a company. Erika also shares how one private loss became a national movement around pet bereavement leave, the strangers who checked on her every day until they became real friends, and how Kingston still sends her signs right when she needs the proof. She closes with the reframe that changed how she shows up for everyone she loves, and a challenge to stop trying to fix the people you love and simply acknowledge their pain.

Follow Erika on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erika_sinner/

Check out her website: https://erikasinner.org/

Buy her book, Pets Are Family: https://erikasinner.org/book

Check out TinySuperheroes: https://tinysuperheroes.com/

0:00 The love that changes how you move through the world

2:27 The day Kingston chose me

5:58 My soul dog

6:18 The morning everything changed

9:01 The decision no one prepares you for

11:24 Why I started therapy and stopped hiding it

16:38 The moment I knew I had to write the book

21:09 Coming back from grief, and the turtles

28:22 You do not need to fix grief

29:13 Your challenge this week