Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.

How We Navigate Grief with Blair

Claim This Podcast

by Blair | How We Navigate Grief

25 episodes

Updated Daily

Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇨🇦

Podcast Overview

How We Navigate Grief is where we name what’s hard, share what helps, and move forward without erasing the past. <a href="https://howwenavigategrief.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">howwenavigategrief.substack.com</a>

Language

🇺🇲

Publishing Since

1/12/2026

View on Apple Podcasts RSS Feed

1 verified contact email on file for How We Navigate Grief with Blair

Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.

See contact details

Recent Episodes

June 19, 2026

Coming Home to Winnipeg: Why I’m Moving Back After 19 Years in BC

Nineteen years ago, I packed up my Alero and left Winnipeg, sure that home was somewhere out west. And for eighteen years, British Columbia gave me mountains, ocean, lakes, a life I’m endlessly grateful for. But somewhere along the way I started to notice that the word “home” kept drifting east, back across the prairies, back to the place I thought I’d outgrown.Turns out you don’t outgrow Winnipeg. It just waits for you.What Winnipeg Holds OntoIt waited in the way the sky opens up so wide you can watch a storm roll in from an hour away. In the people who say hello to strangers and actually mean it. In winters that ask everything of you and somehow make you tougher and softer at the same time.It’s the smell of River Heights after the rain, the long summer evenings, the way this city loves you back without ever needing to say it out loud.I would have moved home after my mom died, over five years ago, but my marriage kept me living in B.C. Now that I am no longer married, I am ready for a homecoming. Coming Home to a New ChapterSo, I’m coming home. Not the home I left, but a new one, with new chapters waiting to be written and built on the same ground that made me who I am.To everyone who’s still here, who never left, who kept the porch light on: I can’t wait to be your neighbour again. To the friends I made out west who became family: you didn’t lose me, you just gained a place to visit.Winnipeg, I’m coming back to you. Thank you for waiting.Saying Goodbye to BC: Where to Find Me Before I GoIf you’re one of my BC friends, here’s where I’ll be before the big drive east. Let’s grab coffee, have a dance, or meet me for a farewell hug.* Kamloops: June 23 to 26, and July 4 to 9* Basscoast: July 9 to 12* Driving from Kamloops to Winnipeg: July 12I’ll be back in BC for <a target="_blank" href="https://lljresort.com/regulated/">Regulated - Autumn Exhale</a> at Lac Le Jeune Resort on October 2, and maybe a few more times before then.XX BlairP.S. I am booking keynotes and workshops for fall and winter, into 2027. Interested in having me speak at your event or to your organization? Let’s talk: blair@blairkaplan.ca.Where’s Blair?* June 23-24, Unleash AI for Business SummitLearn the RIGHT Way to Use AI — And Get More Done in 1 Week Than Most People Will All YearFor anyone ready to create more content, faster, without the burnout — whether you’re building a business, scaling a side gig, or looking to work smarter. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unleashaiforbusiness.com/link.php?id=864&h=9439bd982a">SIGN UP HERE.</a>* June 24, online, Beyond Grief: a Roundtable on Living Fully After LossWhat happens when grief isn’t as heavy as it once was? This candid, multi-voice conversation explores what it means to live fully after loss.While much of the grief space centers on surviving, this roundtable makes space for what comes after the initial sorrow that follows loss and life-altering change, when life begins to expand again, often in unexpected ways. Together, grief and resilience leaders, podcasters, and grief-informed creators explore meaning-making, post-traumatic growth, and the nuanced reality of carrying grief while also reclaiming joy, purpose, and possibility.This is the conversation for everyone who needed to know grief shifts, that joy and aliveness are possible, and for everyone who’s arrived at lighter and isn’t sure what to do with that. <a target="_blank" href="https://letsreimagine.org/76768/beyond-grief-a-roundtable-on-living-fully-after-loss">REGISTER HERE.</a>* June 25, Kamloops, BCI will be in Kamloops. BC, MCing a golf tournament for a private client.* June 28-July 2, Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering, Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, with Hazen AudelAt the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hazenaudel.com/primitive-skills-gathering-2026">Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering</a>, we believe that there’s nothing quite like the bond formed around a campfire, learning to craft a shelter with your own hands, or trading knowledge with those who share your love for the outdoors. Our gathering brings together individuals of all skill levels who seek to deepen their understanding of traditional skills, self-sufficiency, and natural living. Over the course of several days, participants will immerse themselves in hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and meaningful discussions led by experienced instructors.All the while enjoying the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, Payette River, and natural hot springs.Whether you’re here to hone your bushcraft skills, practice primitive fire-starting techniques, or simply take a step back from the hustle and bustle of modern life, you’ll find a welcoming community and a place to reconnect with the wild.* August 3, Birmingham, Alabama Alana and I have been invited to be the keynote speakers at Integrating the Pieces: A Workshop on Resilience, Loss and Grief for the University of Montevallo. * August 23-29, Porto, PortugalI will be co-facilitating the Portugal Grief Trip alongside Rachel from Happy Grieving. There is still room for you. <a target="_blank" href="https://grieftrips.com/portugal">Learn more and book your spot!</a>October 2-4, La Le Jeune, BCJoin me, Kayla and Simone this May at the <a target="_blank" href="https://lljresort.com/regulated/">Regulated Retreat</a>.I’m stoked to be speaking at Regulated - Autumn Exhale, a three-day nervous system reset retreat for people who are done surviving and ready to feel steady again, because most of us don’t need more motivation; we need regulation. And that’s what makes this experience different.This retreat blends nervous system science, movement, nature, and honest conversation to help your body downshift and reset.I’m honoured to create and be a part of this experience and would love to share it with you! How We Navigate Grief is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading How We Navigate Grief! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe</a>

June 15, 2026

Grievorcée: A New Word for Grieving Someone Who Is Still Alive

I am not a widow. My wasband is still alive yet, I feel the version of him I once loved is not. He breathes. His heart still beats. And yet I grieve him in a similar way that I’ve grieved the dead, in the good outfit, eating shiva loaf, being still, in the dark, in the small hours when the house is quiet, and my thoughts are loud.A stroke took him. Not all of him. Just the part I married.So if I am not a widow, what am I? I went looking for the word and found a hole where it should have been. So I poured something new into the shape of that absence and let it set. The word is grievorcée, and once you have it, you will wonder how you ever went without.What Is a Widow?Let us begin where the language is sturdy.A widow is a woman whose spouse has died and who has not remarried. The word is ancient, Old English widewe, with cousins in nearly every tongue, because grief of this kind is older than grammar. To be a widow is to be a survivor of a marriage ended by death. The vow was kept. Til death do us part, and death did.The widow has a great deal, and I do not say this lightly. She has casseroles and condolence cards. She has a date on a calendar. She has a body to bury and a name to put on a stone and a room full of people who all agree, out loud, that something has been lost. She has permission to mourn.That permission is the thing. That is the inheritance I was denied.What Is a Grievorcée?grievorcée /ˌɡriː·vɔːrˈsiː/verb. To grieve a person who is still alive; to mourn the loss of someone not through their death but through estrangement, distance, illness, or profound change, while they yet draw breath.“After the dementia took the last of her mother’s memories, she found herself grievorcéeing the woman who still sat across the table.”noun, grievorcée: the living person who is so grieved. “She had become a grievorcée to her husband after their marriage ended.”Etymology: a blend of grieve and divorce, with the -ée suffix marking the one acted upon (compare divorcée), capturing the severing of a bond from someone who remains present in body but lost to the relationship.Read it again. Feel how it lands.A divorce ends a marriage by choice. A death ends it by force. The marriage does not fully end, at the beginning (or, ever?). It simply empties. He is still here. He is my wasband, the man who was, the man whose face I know better than my own, and whose mind has gone somewhere I am not allowed to follow.I am the grievorcée. Grieving a Living Spouse: The Loss Nobody NamesThere is a clinical term for the territory, and I will give it to you because precision is a kindness. The psychologist Pauline Boss called it ambiguous loss, the grief that comes when someone is physically present but psychologically gone, or psychologically present but physically gone. It is a loss without proof. Loss without the courtesy of a corpse.Ambiguous loss is the wife whose husband has dementia. The daughter of the addict who left and became no longer recognizable. The son of the man who survived the accident and never quite returned to the room. It is grief that cannot complete itself, because the thing you are grieving keeps walking through the kitchen asking where the remote is.My friend, Stephanie Sarazin, wrote a brilliant book about this type of loss called S<a target="_blank" href="https://stephaniesarazin.com/home/ambiguous-grief-book/">oulbroken: A Guidebook for Your Journey Through Ambiguous Grief</a>, which expands on Pauline Boss’s seminal work on ambiguous loss. With touching personal stories of loss onset by divorce, addiction, betrayal, trauma, incarceration, Alzheimer’s, estrangement, and more, Soulbroken explores the complications and deviations from traditional grief when mourning a loss, but not physical death, and offers practical solutions for healing.The clinicians, like Boss, had the concept. What they lacked, what we all lacked, was a word you could wear. Ambiguous loss is accurate, and it is also a phrase you cannot say at a dinner party without explaining yourself for ten minutes. Grievorcée, you can say in two syllables and a sigh. It does the explaining for you.Why I Needed a New WordBecause the old ones lied.When people asked after him, I had no honest reply. The forms have a box for married, a box for widowed, a box for divorced, and not one box for technically married to a man I miss with my whole body while he sits twelve feet away.Grief without a name is grief without a home. It wanders. It shows up in the wrong places, at the wrong volume, and everyone around you decides, quietly, that you are simply difficult now. That you have not “moved on.” Moved on from what, exactly? Nobody died. Try explaining that you are in mourning for a living man and watch how fast the room finds something else to look at.So I named it. I put on the metaphorical fur, I dripped myself in the cold fire of the right vocabulary, and I walked back into my own life with a word that finally matched the size of the thing.I am a grievorcée. My wasband is my grievorcée, present and gone, here and lost, mine and not.It is not a happy word. But it is true, and after long enough in the company of lies, truth is the most glamorous thing a woman can put on.If you are a fresh grievorcée or a seasoned one, you are not difficult, and you have not failed to move on. You are grieving a loss that the world forgot to give a name to. Now it has one. Wear it well.XX BlairP.S. If you have any advice for me, who is one month in, please comment below or send me a message. Where’s Blair?* June 23-24, Unleash AI for Business SummitLearn the RIGHT Way to Use AI — And Get More Done in 1 Week Than Most People Will All YearFor anyone ready to create more content, faster, without the burnout — whether you’re building a business, scaling a side gig, or looking to work smarter. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unleashaiforbusiness.com/link.php?id=864&h=9439bd982a">SIGN UP HERE.</a>* June 24, online, Beyond Grief: a Roundtable on Living Fully After LossWhat happens when grief isn’t as heavy as it once was? This candid, multi-voice conversation explores what it means to live fully after loss.While much of the grief space centers on surviving, this roundtable makes space for what comes after the initial sorrow that follows loss and life-altering change, when life begins to expand again, often in unexpected ways. Together, grief and resilience leaders, podcasters, and grief-informed creators explore meaning-making, post-traumatic growth, and the nuanced reality of carrying grief while also reclaiming joy, purpose, and possibility.This is the conversation for everyone who needed to know grief shifts, that joy and aliveness are possible, and for everyone who’s arrived at lighter and isn’t sure what to do with that. <a target="_blank" href="https://letsreimagine.org/76768/beyond-grief-a-roundtable-on-living-fully-after-loss">REGISTER HERE.</a>* June 25, Kamloops, BCI will be in Kamloops. BC, MCing a golf tournament for a private client.* June 28-July 2, Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering, Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, with Hazen AudelAt the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hazenaudel.com/primitive-skills-gathering-2026">Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering</a>, we believe that there’s nothing quite like the bond formed around a campfire, learning to craft a shelter with your own hands, or trading knowledge with those who share your love for the outdoors. Our gathering brings together individuals of all skill levels who seek to deepen their understanding of traditional skills, self-sufficiency, and natural living. Over the course of several days, participants will immerse themselves in hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and meaningful discussions led by experienced instructors.All the while enjoying the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, Payette River, and natural hot springs.Whether you’re here to hone your bushcraft skills, practice primitive fire-starting techniques, or simply take a step back from the hustle and bustle of modern life, you’ll find a welcoming community and a place to reconnect with the wild.* August 3, Birmingham, Alabama Alana and I have been invited to be the keynote speakers at Integrating the Pieces: A Workshop on Resilience, Loss and Grief for the University of Montevallo. * August 23-29, Porto, PortugalI will be co-facilitating the Portugal Grief Trip alongside Rachel from Happy Grieving. There is still room for you. <a target="_blank" href="https://grieftrips.com/portugal">Learn more and book your spot!</a>October 2-4, La Le Jeune, BCJoin me, Kayla and Simone this May at the <a target="_blank" href="https://lljresort.com/regulated/">Regulated Retreat</a>.I’m stoked to be speaking at Regulated - Autumn Exhale, a three-day nervous system reset retreat for people who are done surviving and ready to feel steady again, because most of us don’t need more motivation; we need regulation. And that’s what makes this experience different.This retreat blends nervous system science, movement, nature, and honest conversation to help your body downshift and reset.I’m honoured to create and be a part of this experience and would love to share it with you! How We Navigate Grief is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading How We Navigate Grief! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe</a>

June 10, 2026

A Year After I Opened for Sir Richard Branson, and the Resilience Lessons That Stayed

A year ago today, the mountains held me.I remember the thin, bright air of Deer Valley, Utah, and the way an unexpected invitation can rearrange a life. My travel season was winding down, or so I thought, when Shauna’s message landed in my inbox. Come to the mountains. Take the stage with Sir Richard Branson.When the universe hands you a door like that, you don’t knock politely. You walk through it. Loudly. With sparkles.The night I spoke to a room full of change-makersThat evening, I stood before a room of dreamers and builders and delivered my signature keynote, “The Five Secrets to Strengthening Your Resilience Muscle.” I spoke about bouncing forward through grief and trauma, not back, never back, and about the heartbeat behind The Global Resilience Project: the radical idea that our hardest stories, told out loud, become medicine for someone else.The energy in that room was electric. I could feel it move through the rows like the weather. And when it was over, the feedback wrapped around me like a warm coat on a cold summer night.Thirty seconds with Richard BransonThe next morning came soft and unhurried. An intimate breakfast, a small circle of us, no fanfare and no fluff. Just stories and hard-won wisdom from a man who built an empire out of big ideas and bold action.I had thirty seconds with him. Just enough for an awkward hug, a quick photo, and to press a copy of <a target="_blank" href="https://blairkaplan.ca/books/">Resilient A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol. 2</a> into his hands.Here is what Richard Branson said that morning, words I’ve turned over like river stones in the year since:* “If you don’t come up with an idea to make someone’s life better, you don’t have a business.”* “Kindness is so important.”* “You have to believe in what you’re doing.”* “If you make people smile, people will appreciate that.”Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs aren’t new at all. They’re reminders of what you already know and already practice, handed back to you by someone whose voice makes you finally listen. That was exactly what I needed that week.What I carried back down the mountainA year later, I’m still unpacking those thirty seconds.I don’t know if Richard Branson ever opened the book. But I know he held it. I know the stories inside it are still making waves across the world, in inboxes and book clubs and quiet bedside-table moments where someone realizes they are not alone in what they’ve survived.The four truths he offered in that Utah dining room turned out to be a compass. Make a life better. Be kind. Believe. Make people smile. I’ve returned to them again and again this year, every time I’ve taken a stage, written a page, or sat across from someone who didn’t think they’d make it through.The mountains gave me a moment. What I’ve done with the year is the real keynote.The takeaway, one year onIf Richard Branson believes in making people smile, then I think we’re on the right track. Resilience was never about hardening into something that can’t be broken. It’s about staying soft enough to be moved, and strong enough to keep walking forward anyway.A year ago, the mountains held me. This year, I’m learning to be the steady ground for someone else.XX BlairP.S. I am booking keynotes and workshops for fall and winter, into 2027. Interested in having me speak at your event or to your organization? Let’s talk: blair@blairkaplan.ca.Where’s Blair?* June 23-24, Unleash AI for Business SummitLearn the RIGHT Way to Use AI — And Get More Done in 1 Week Than Most People Will All YearFor anyone ready to create more content, faster, without the burnout — whether you’re building a business, scaling a side gig, or looking to work smarter. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unleashaiforbusiness.com/link.php?id=864&h=9439bd982a">SIGN UP HERE.</a>* June 24, online, Beyond Grief: a Roundtable on Living Fully After LossWhat happens when grief isn’t as heavy as it once was? This candid, multi-voice conversation explores what it means to live fully after loss.While much of the grief space centers on surviving, this roundtable makes space for what comes after the initial sorrow that follows loss and life-altering change, when life begins to expand again, often in unexpected ways. Together, grief and resilience leaders, podcasters, and grief-informed creators explore meaning-making, post-traumatic growth, and the nuanced reality of carrying grief while also reclaiming joy, purpose, and possibility.This is the conversation for everyone who needed to know grief shifts, that joy and aliveness are possible, and for everyone who’s arrived at lighter and isn’t sure what to do with that. <a target="_blank" href="https://letsreimagine.org/76768/beyond-grief-a-roundtable-on-living-fully-after-loss">REGISTER HERE.</a>* June 25, Kamloops, BCI will be in Kamloops. BC, MCing a golf tournament for a private client.* June 28-July 2, Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering, Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, with Hazen AudelAt the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hazenaudel.com/primitive-skills-gathering-2026">Sawtooth Survival Skills Gathering</a>, we believe that there’s nothing quite like the bond formed around a campfire, learning to craft a shelter with your own hands, or trading knowledge with those who share your love for the outdoors. Our gathering brings together individuals of all skill levels who seek to deepen their understanding of traditional skills, self-sufficiency, and natural living. Over the course of several days, participants will immerse themselves in hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and meaningful discussions led by experienced instructors.All the while enjoying the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, Payette River, and natural hot springs.Whether you’re here to hone your bushcraft skills, practice primitive fire-starting techniques, or simply take a step back from the hustle and bustle of modern life, you’ll find a welcoming community and a place to reconnect with the wild.* August 3, Birmingham, Alabama Alana and I have been invited to be the keynote speakers at Integrating the Pieces: A Workshop on Resilience, Loss and Grief for the University of Montevallo. * August 23-29, Porto, PortugalI will be co-facilitating the Portugal Grief Trip alongside Rachel from Happy Grieving. There is still room for you. <a target="_blank" href="https://grieftrips.com/portugal">Learn more and book your spot!</a>October 2-4, La Le Jeune, BCJoin me, Kayla and Simone this May at the <a target="_blank" href="https://lljresort.com/regulated/">Regulated Retreat</a>.I’m stoked to be speaking at Regulated - Autumn Exhale, a three-day nervous system reset retreat for people who are done surviving and ready to feel steady again, because most of us don’t need more motivation; we need regulation. And that’s what makes this experience different.This retreat blends nervous system science, movement, nature, and honest conversation to help your body downshift and reset.I’m honoured to create and be a part of this experience and would love to share it with you! How We Navigate Grief is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading How We Navigate Grief! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">howwenavigategrief.substack.com/subscribe</a>

25 total episodes available

Deep-dive analytics for How We Navigate Grief with Blair

Frequently asked questions

Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

What is How We Navigate Grief with Blair?: How We Navigate Grief is where we name what’s hard, share what helps, and move forward without erasing the past. <a href="https://howwenavigategrief.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">howwenavigategrief.substack.com</a>
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.

Legal Disclaimer

Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.

All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.

We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.

By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.