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Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Monica and Colby Charette
41 episodes
1 week ago
Oct. 11, 2025 marks the 11th Year since Cassidy died. In this special episode of Holding the Light, I’m here to share 11 things I wish someone had told me about child loss—the truth no one prepares you for, but every grieving parent deserves to hear. Grief doesn’t end, but it changes. The things I want to share with you might not make your grief any lighter, but my hope is that sharing helps you feel less alone, in your journey. If you’re carrying the weight of child loss, or love someone who...
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Relationships
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Mental Health
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All content for Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss is the property of Monica and Colby Charette and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Oct. 11, 2025 marks the 11th Year since Cassidy died. In this special episode of Holding the Light, I’m here to share 11 things I wish someone had told me about child loss—the truth no one prepares you for, but every grieving parent deserves to hear. Grief doesn’t end, but it changes. The things I want to share with you might not make your grief any lighter, but my hope is that sharing helps you feel less alone, in your journey. If you’re carrying the weight of child loss, or love someone who...
Show more...
Relationships
Education,
Society & Culture,
Self-Improvement,
Health & Fitness,
Mental Health
Episodes (20/41)
Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Monica Charette: 11 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Child Loss
Oct. 11, 2025 marks the 11th Year since Cassidy died. In this special episode of Holding the Light, I’m here to share 11 things I wish someone had told me about child loss—the truth no one prepares you for, but every grieving parent deserves to hear. Grief doesn’t end, but it changes. The things I want to share with you might not make your grief any lighter, but my hope is that sharing helps you feel less alone, in your journey. If you’re carrying the weight of child loss, or love someone who...
Show more...
1 month ago
16 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Aiden Deans: Self-Reflection After Sibling Loss
We’re honored to sit down with Aiden Deans, who at just 12 years old, lost his older brother Austin to an accidental drug overdose. Ten years later, he wants to talk about his experience, both then and now — the grief, sometimes anger, the stigma surrounding his passing, but always the deep love that remains. He reflects on family, addiction, finding his way forward after loss, and bravely honoring both his brother, and his grief journey. This is also conversation between Colby and Aiden, who...
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2 months ago
42 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Jennifer Oldham: Holding On, Letting Go (Keeping Kindness for Hallie)
Jennifer Oldham lived through a moment no parent ever imagines—when an ordinary day turned tragic, in the blink of an eye. A sudden storm. A fallen tree. And the heartbreaking loss of her daughter, Hallie. In the quiet, in the pain, and in the love that endures, she has found the strength to speak—about what happened, how she’s still standing, and holding on to memories while learning to live again. How she is Keeping Kindness for Hallie. And sharing her powerful story of survival after child...
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5 months ago
36 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Janice Deans: Life Beyond Loss From Overdose
Austin Ashmore's spirit continues to impact the world, long after his life was tragically cut short by an accidental drug overdose. This podcast is the story of a mother’s plea to have others remember her son for how he lived, not how he died. He deserves that, and so does she. We uncover the legacy Austin left behind, in conversations, and the quiet strength of a mother’s love. To join the Facebook Group "Austin's Legacy" email: austinslegacy2016@gmail.com What did you think? Share y...
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6 months ago
37 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Lena Hann: Living Life More Fully After Child Loss
“It was the worst day of my life, but I’ve always been grateful for having him for 33 years.” Reaching the 10-year milestone since the passing of her 33-year-old son Wayne, Lena is finding solace in helping others embrace their grief journeys through a national network called The Compassionate Friends. But along the way, she’s also discovered she is helping herself live more fully, and more intentionally every day, for herself, and for her son. Links to resources from our interview with...
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7 months ago
34 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Darlene Sforza: Finding My Purpose Amidst Layered Grief
Losing a child, on it’s own, is more than enough to bear in one lifetime. But imagine losing three brothers before that and witnessing your mother’s unimaginable grief while navigating sibling loss. Then, in a 17-month span, watching both of your parents die. And two years later, hearing the news that your only child, at just 22 years of age, was killed in a car accident. Darlene Sforza calls this layered grief. As she searches for her purpose in life, along the way, she is finding hope in sh...
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8 months ago
39 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Margaret Reilich-Godino: Adolescent Sibling Loss
Sibling relationships often have a unique dynamic, shaped by shared experiences and a deep, sometimes, unspoken bond. Margaret was just 13 when her older sister and best friend Maiah, died in a tragic accident. Adolescent grief can have a profound impact on your life. Five years later, and now just 18 years old, you’ll be inspired by her mature, charming, real, and insightful perspective on sibling loss. We have opened a listener line! If there is something you’ve learned in your grief...
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9 months ago
37 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Sarah Kilch Gaffney: Grief Doesn't Take a Holiday
The holidays are here, and for those grieving the loss of someone they love, it can be so challenging. Our guest not only understands this as a grief support facilitator, but also as a widow, who lost her husband in her 20s, while raising their 3-year-old daughter. Lots to share in this special episode, including suggestions and resources to help your grieving hearts, and ways you can support bereaved friends and family this holiday season. If you or someone you love is struggling, the...
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11 months ago
39 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Samantha Banerjee: My PUSH for Preventing Stillborn Babies
In 2013 Samantha Banerjee was pregnant with her first child, she lovingly named, Alana. Nearing the end of a textbook pregnancy and just days away from meeting her baby girl, the unthinkable happened. Alana died from stillbirth. And thus began Samantha’s empowering grief journey that has captured national attention through tireless advocacy for stillbirth awareness and prevention. Samantha, who lives in New York with her husband and two healthy children, is nationally-renowned within t...
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1 year ago
52 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Monica Charette: 10 Things I Have Learned About Grief In 10 Years
October 11, 2024 marks 10 long years since Cassidy died. She would be 27 this year. I never thought I’d still be here, but here I am. Not only have I survived, but I have learned to live again, just differently. I’m living WITH my grief. This episode is a personal reflection on my journey. I’m here to share 10 things I have learned about grief in 10 years, including the wealth of knowledge I have gained from bearing witness to other parents’ grief in this podcast. Thank you for listening. Wha...
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1 year ago
25 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Vicki Roy: My Brother Was More Than a Victim of a Mass Shooting
**This conversation includes references to violence, including experiences of a mass shooting, traumatic grief, and other details unsuitable for young children. This recording is prohibited from being copied or reproduced without permission.*** Losing a loved one to murder creates unique and complicated grief like no other. Vicki Roy is here to talk about her traumatic bereavement following Maine’s worst Mass Shooting that claimed the life of her brother Michael Deslauriers. She bravely shar...
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1 year ago
46 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Sandy Fisher: If I Knew Then What I Know Now (Loss By Suicide)
There is something to be said about a mother’s intuition. Sandy Fisher knew something was wrong the day her 18-year-old son, Scott Junior, died by suicide. He had just entered college. Now, after 18 years of grieving his loss, and even an attempted suicide herself, she is courageously sharing her experience and knowledge. Her mission? To help students, parents, friends, and educators recognize the warning signs, ask the right questions, and seek help. Dial 988: Suicide and Crisis Lifel...
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1 year ago
44 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Rob Reider: The Sad Dads Club
Navigating life after child loss is hard enough without the gender-based stereotype that men must somehow be strong and overcome their grief. After the devastating loss of his daughter Lila to stillbirth, Rob Reider has created a space to help nurture bereaved fathers, in a club just for men. It’s called the Sad Dads Club. A place to share loss among others who can truly understand their journey. A voice for all grieving fathers. SAD DADS CLUB helps fellow bereaved fathers navigate li...
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1 year ago
43 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Mary Alexandre: Balancing Grief with Joy
When your child dies, it’s so hard to accept that every part of their existence is no longer possible. Mary Alexandra felt this deeply after her daughter Celina died, as life, inevitably, moves forward. This kind of grief, never goes away. But Mary shares how it IS possible to balance grief with her greatest joys. Like the wedding of her younger daughter and becoming a grandmother, all while keeping Celina’s memory alive. A message for all who are grieving. It’s okay to be sad, and happy. Ce...
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1 year ago
39 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Julie Brown: Writing and My Grief Evolution
When faced with the possibility that her 34-year-old daughter Jessica might die from brain cancer, Julie Brown turned to her writing for solace, which, she says, has become part of her evolution. After Jessica’s passing, this caregiving and courageous mother is now inspired to write the next chapter of her life in hopes of helping others. Resources mentioned in our podcast conversation: Building A Life: A Mother's Healing Journey of Self-Discovery by Julie Brown available at Amazon and at l...
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1 year ago
30 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Susan Cloutier: Surviving the Loss of My Son and Husband
When a horrific car accident suddenly claimed the lives of her teenage son Casey, and her husband Gus, Susan Cloutier had to dig deep to want to keep living. She shares her story of losing half of her family in an instant, parenting her angry, and deeply grieving 11-year-old son, finding love again, even contemplating ending her life. Yet through it all, she learned how to lean heavily into her faith to move forward with love and purpose. What did you think? Share your feedback in a t...
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1 year ago
42 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Debbie Reynolds: Living After the Loss of My Children
While Debbie Reynolds would not, and should not, ever say she is childless, she is now navigating a life without her only two children, Michelle and Matthew. How does a parent even begin to process the death of their young daughter, while helping an older son with sibling grief, and later, his own terminal illness? The path of healing has been difficult, but also enlightening, as Debbie candidly tells the story of her family's unimaginable journey, including what she has lea...
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1 year ago
39 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Annette McCoy: Coming to Terms with Suicide
Suicide without warning is more common than we might think. Which is why Annette McCoy will never stop asking herself, “how did I not know?” Sometimes, even after years of searching, the answers just aren’t there. Instead of focusing on how her only child died, she is coming to terms with it, by sharing her story and her endless love for Evan. Turning that grief, into so beautifully honoring her child. Noted in this podcast is the project “Evans Rocks Around ...
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2 years ago
38 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Dawn Prime Watson: Surviving My Son's Suicide Without Blame
Every day Dawn carries her heavy grief, alongside endless love for her son Krys, but she never carries the guilt or responsibility that often plague parents of child loss to suicide. In this podcast, this brave Mom candidly shares how the demons and drugs were bigger and stronger than her 30-year-old son. Her peace comes in knowing he is safe, in loving the son he left behind, and helping others through life’s greatest loss. Colby and I are honored to Hold the Light with Dawn Prim...
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2 years ago
1 hour 8 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Cidny Bullens: As Long As You Love (A special interview with our podcast theme song singer-songwriter, and fellow parent of child loss)
In a very special interview, Colby and I had the complete joy and honor of talking with Cidny Bullens, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, who is known for being a backup vocalist for Elton John, singing lead vocals on the Grease soundtrack, and has nine critically-acclaimed solo albums. Cid humbly shares how the deep grief of child loss transformed his life, in more ways than one—including influencing his decision to publicly come out as a transgender man, and the creation of an album in h...
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2 years ago
1 hour 2 minutes

Holding the Light: Sharing Hope After Child Loss
Oct. 11, 2025 marks the 11th Year since Cassidy died. In this special episode of Holding the Light, I’m here to share 11 things I wish someone had told me about child loss—the truth no one prepares you for, but every grieving parent deserves to hear. Grief doesn’t end, but it changes. The things I want to share with you might not make your grief any lighter, but my hope is that sharing helps you feel less alone, in your journey. If you’re carrying the weight of child loss, or love someone who...