Untethered to Rooted

About Untethered to Rooted

This podcast is a collection of stories around grief and loss and how it intersects with our identities in ways that shape our healing and ourselves. Hosted by Dana Daugherty, a licensed psychotherapist with extensive experience dealing with grief (both personally and professionally), Untethered to Rooted provides listeners with practical tools for healing. Hear from everyday people how grief shapes their identity and how their identity shapes the way they process grief. Disclaimer: This podcast does not constitute therapy. The views shared by podcast guests are not reflective of the host's.

Publisher

Dana Daugherty

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Jul 2024

Latest episode

1 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Episode 21: Grieving the Untimely Death of Our Friends & Peers with Lou-Lou Igbokwe

   In this episode, Dana Daugherty invites her guest Lou-Lou Igbokwe to talk about something some millennials are beginning to face as they move through their 30s and 40s: when their friends and peers die prematurely at a young age. Together we talk about how grieving the loss of friends doesn’t get as much support as grieving family members, the difficulty of processing untimely death because we know a person has so much more life to live, and what it means to keep someone’s memory alive through ritual, story, and connecting with others who are grieving as well. Born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey to Nigerian immigrant parents, Lou- Lou Igbokwe has always used the cultural kaleidoscope that colored her world to shape the stories she tells. From reruns of the Mary Tyler Moore Show to the visceral language of Toni Morrison, the common theme of Lou-Lou’s early influences is community.  She discovered her love for theater at Dartmouth College, later earning an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, where she developed her play Iyom during her two years in Singapore. Her writing has since taken her into film and TV, with credits including Starz’s Step Up: High Water, BET’s Bigger, and Netflix’s Bridgerton, as well as short film, Chula, that screened at Palm Springs Film Festival. She’s also, by her own admission, a shameless performer who owns three karaoke microphones. This conversation is for anyone who’s lost a friend and felt like the world didn’t quite know what to do with that grief, and for anyone trying to figure out how to hold onto the memory of their friend once they’re gone. You can connect with Lou-Lou on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lou-lou-igbokwe-999277410/) or Instagram @writeonloulou  (https://www.instagram.com/writeonloulou) Connect with Dana online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untetheredtorooted/ Monthly newsletter: https://www.danadaugherty.com/socialnewsletter Work with Dana: https://www.danadaugherty.com/contact Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode reflects personal stories and opinions only. The views shared by podcast guests are not reflective of the host's. This podcast does not constitute therapy. The information shared here does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking medical advice should consult with their licensed treating provider.

2. 

   27 Aug 2026

   Episode 20: Sibling Loss & Talking to Kids About Grief with Melissa Braunworth

   In this episode, Dana Daugherty invites my guest Melissa Braunworth, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California (lic # 129701), to explore sibling loss and how to talk about grief with kids. Melissa brings both professional and personal experience to this conversation, having lost her younger brother to a two-year journey with advanced stage cancer, just two weeks after her own engagement. In the years since, she’s navigated major life milestones, such as growing her family and continuing her clinical work, all while carrying that grief, impacting how she now supports children and families and builds a language for loss. With over a decade of experience supporting kids, teens, parents, and school staff, Melissa specializes in grief and loss, trauma, ADHD, perinatal/postpartum mental health, and faith deconstruction/reconstruction. We talk about what it really looks like to support a child through loss, how creative expression opens doors that words can’t, and how Melissa brings grief language into conversations with her own kids. Melissa is a mom to three children, a spouse, a sister, a Native to the Bay Area, an eldest daughter, and a first generation Asian-American U.S.-dweller. Also a note that anything that Melissa says today is for educational purposes and does not constitute therapy or therapeutic advice. For more information or for the best way to contact Melissa is through her website where you also find a link to her Substack: www.lithopsandbloomtherapy.com (https://www.lithopsandbloomtherapy.com/) Connect with Dana online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untetheredtorooted/ Monthly newsletter: https://www.danadaugherty.com/socialnewsletter Work with Dana: https://www.danadaugherty.com/contact Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode reflects personal stories and opinions only. The views shared by podcast guests are not reflective of the host's. This podcast does not constitute therapy. The information shared here does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking medical advice should consult with their licensed treating provider.

3. 

   20 Jul 2026

   Episode 19: Foster Care Grief & Disability Advocacy: Turning Pain into Purpose w/ Lexi Mattocks

   In this episode, Dana Daugherty invites her guest Lexi Mattocks to share her powerful journey of surviving foster care adversity and finding identity in becoming a survivor and a community leader. Lexi grew up in an abusive household where she became the whistleblower for her family’s struggles while dedicating herself to protecting her seven foster siblings, often sacrificing her own goals to keep them safe. We talk about what it meant for her to become a guardian for her severely disabled foster brothers, and how that experience shaped her into an advocate for differently abled people. Lexi opens up about surviving homelessness during her final year of college, and how she found healing, discipline, and a new sense of identity through powerlifting. We also explore the tools she leaned on to cope in her twenties, and why those same tools needed to evolve as she enters her thirties and a new chapter: motherhood. Lexi speaks candidly about confronting generational trauma, grieving what she didn’t have, and why she believes there is real courage in knowing when and how to ask for help. She reflects on the role models she needed to lean on throughout her life, and the lessons she’s carried into her advocacy work today. Lexi Mattocks is a South Korean adoptee, survivor, and advocate whose life has been shaped by resilience in the face of trauma. She’s on the board for the USA Powerlifting Disabled Athletes Committee, and has a passion for spreading adaptive awareness in the gym, science lab, and community. You can find Lexi on Instagram @lexi_adaptive_athlete (https://www.instagram.com/lexi_adaptive_athlete) or on YouTube @LexiAdaptiveAthlete (https://www.youtube.com/@lexiadaptiveathlete). Connect with Dana online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untetheredtorooted/ Monthly newsletter: https://www.danadaugherty.com/socialnewsletter Work with Dana: https://www.danadaugherty.com/contact

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.