Episodes

This week, Alexandra chats with Laylani Colibri Jack. Laylani Colibri Jack (lay-la-nee - co-lee-bree) is a transformational speaker, Compassionate Transition Coach, and best-selling author of The Compassion Code. Through her LIGHT Method™, she helps individuals and organizations navigate change, grief, and burnout—while equipping everyday people to become a “Middle Class of Care” capable of showing up with compassion, clarity, and confidence in life’s hardest moments. Ways to connect with Lay...

Quote this month is “Every challenge you face is an opportunity to grow.” Credit given to both Oprah Winfrey and Albert Einstein. So often we are raised not to trust ourselves and to have to rely on others or habits outside of ourselves to be able to function. Resilience is about looking inward and finding our own inner strength that exists to overcome what life hands us. We can do it. It is not easy, but we can do it. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send...

This week, Alexandra chats with Phil Weiss. Phil is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and Registered Life Planner (RLP®). He is passionate about empowering women through financial independence, providing the necessary tools and knowledge. Having seen his mother struggle with stage 4 breast cancer and his father’s inability to handle finances, Phil managed the situation by taking over the family's financial responsibilities, including negotiating with creditors, paying overdue bills, and ensur...

This week, Alexandra chats about her ideas on the 3 components of suicide prevention. They include genuine connection, healthy coping skills, and finding meaning and purpose. Not all three things are necessarily easy to maintain or find, and yet engaging all three is doable. Alexandra takes an upstream approach hoping that if adults can start to work on themselves, they can guide young children on how to do the same. Doing so can help larger groups and communities have better brain health. Conn...

This week, Alexandra chats with Tami about her grief after suddenly losing her dad and the family dog. Through her process, Tami was able to tap into her intuitive skills and begin a journey of self-discovery. She has turned her grief into an opportunity to help others.

This week, Alexandra is inspired by a quote by Caroline Myss, “Whatever is in me is stronger than what is out there to defeat me.” This quote is a good reminder that no matter what life throws at us, we have the strength within us. We have to work through all the conditioning we receive that tells us we aren’t strong to find our inner strength. We all have it. We just have to believe we have it. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠al...

Alexandra is a big believer in clearing physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and every kind of space you can. Doing so, helps move stagnant energy and increase creativity, no matter how that creativity comes in. Alexandra’s good friend Amy has been systematic in how she clears her space and has a process to doing so. Enjoy the helpful tips for how to breakdown a project to clear some space. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexand...

This week, Alexandra chats about the importance of building community during the grief process. Sometimes, people we think will show up for us don’t and others will. Experiencing grief can be isolating. Alexandra gives some suggestions for how to start building community when feeling isolated or lonely. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please se...

This week, Melissa Vera returns to discuss how being able to work through a loss does not mean that other losses will not be impactful. She tragically lost two dear friends and discusses how she began grieving them. Additionally, Melissa and Alexandra discuss a different type of grief and that of what is happening in the current US climate around immigration. Families are being ripped apart, racial profiling is occurring and there is an underlying anxiety that exists for families wondering if th...

Shavaun Scott, author of her memoir, Nightbird, shares her story of working through her grief and rebuilding her life and herself after her husband died by revenge suicide. Shavaun shares about the healing she has done in reconciling being in an abusive relationship for as long as she was and not allowing her grief to keep her from putting one foot in front of the other. Nightbird: https://a.co/d/7lrFBc4 https://www.shavaunscott.com/ Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.co...

This week, Alexandra was inspired by a quote from Maya Angelou: “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” This reminded Alexandra of when others have treated her with pity and made her feel inferior. All too often we can become paralyzed by grief and what we are going through, but it doesn’t have to define us. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics ...

This week, Alexandra talks about journaling. She discusses the research-backed benefits of journaling as well as some prompts that can be helpful when building a habit around journaling. Writing in a notebook may not work for everyone, however, there are other ways to engage in journaling through voice memos. There are also apps that can help with reflection and journaling. Grief Journaling Prompts: https://www.griefrecoveryhouston.com/journal-prompts-for-grieving-loss/ Connect with Alexandra...

This week is super short and sweet message from Alexandra about holding the belief and hope not only for ourselves but for others. Sometimes we have to borrow belief and hope from others until we can find it ourselves. Be that person for another and continue building community. We are not alone. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek profe...

Lorne shares her vulnerable story of how she lost her husband by suicide leaving her a single parent to two kids. There were no signs, she did not see it coming and yet she figured out how to put one foot in front of the other to start her grieving process and guide her kids. Lorne is an example of finding moments of joy in the aftermath of tragedy. Lorne’s interview on She diaries: https://brightskyhouse.com/2025/04/21/lornes-story-what-life-looks-like-one-year-after-suicide-loss/ Connect...

This week, Alexandra shares a few of the bigger themes and take-aways from the International Association of Suicide Prevention World Congress 2025. Though the conference focused on suicide prevention, there were lessons and themes that can apply to grief and other types of loss. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or a...

This week, Alexandra chats about another aspect of grief related to routines shifting and changing. When we lose someone we are close to we also lose the routines and habits we had with them. No matter how prepared or not we are for a loss our bodies and cells anticipate and hold onto the routines. It takes time and healing for our bodies to accept the shift and change.

This week, Alexandra chats about the idea of zooming out. Grief can force us to have tunnel vision and to get sucked into day to day life so we miss the big picture. There is a thru line in our lives and zooming out can help us recognize and see it. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Lea...

This week, Alexandra chats about compassion fatigue and how this can apply to the grief process. Compassion fatigue is often related to those in helping positions and careers. She posits that grief provides a great opportunity for compassion fatigue to creep up. The symptoms can look like other things and really be about compassion fatigue. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on ...

This week Alexandra talks about the loneliness that can arise with loss. There can be a deep seated loneliness from childhood experiences that pile up or there can be a loneliness from losing someone who you were close to. Either way, there is help and support available. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ , or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance ...

It can be easy to get sucked into the negative parts of grief. Our moments of joy create a chance for us to grow around our grief. This week, Alexandra talks about moments of joy she has experienced that she never thought she would. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠ , or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠ . Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choice...

Sometimes life hands us experiences that are awful and challenge us. Awful feelings can arise and we have a choice in how we want to handle our feelings and respond. Often, we go to blame. Blaming people. Blaming things. All this does is deflect from really feeling the feels and working through them. Life happens for us, not to us. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra chats about the period of time after a grief burst or a time of stress that she calls the Let Down. What this looks like is different for every person but can involve exhaustion, a need for rest and taking time to recharge and repair. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠, or send her an email at ⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ...

This week, Alexandra talks about how individualized each grief experience is while also highlighting similarities of the grief journey. There are some elements of grief that can be similar among people which hopefully encourages community and unity. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices...

This week, Forward to Joy has officially been around for 100 episodes! This is such a huge accomplishment for Alexandra and to celebrate she shares the top 10 things she has learned since Shawn died and also since starting this podcast. This is one you’ll want to save and listen to multiple times. <3 Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or ass...