Colin Campbell: Can We Keep Our Hearts Open to the Pain and Experience the Joys of Life as Well?

Colin Campbell , a writer and director for theater and film who was nominated for an Academy Award for Seraglio , a short film he wrote and directed with his wife, Gail Lerner, is the author of a powerful memoir about catastrophic loss titled Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss With Hope and Purpose . When his two teenage children, Ruby and Hart, were tragically killed by a drunk driver, Colin was thrown headlong into a grief so deep that he felt he might lose his mind, and he found much of the common wisdom about coping with loss—including the ideas that grieving is a private and mysterious process and that the pain is so great that “there are no words”—to be unhelpful. Join us as Colin shines a light on a path forward through the darkness of grief and empowers us to live more fully while also holding our loved ones close. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THINGS LIKE: The tragic accident that took Colin’s two teenage children’s lives. What a doctor did that became a “beautiful lesson” in Colin’s grief journey. Why “there are no words” is akin to the worst thing you can say to someone who is grieving. The amazing, inspiring ways Colin turned his first birthday without his children into a powerful experience of love and active mourning. Why leaning into pain helps a person to be less fearful and promotes healing. SOME QUESTIONS IRENE ASKS COLIN: Why is it important to take community with you on your journey through grief? What makes grief frightening, and why does it take courage to grieve? Why should anyone who has had a traumatic loss seek therapy? Is therapy always unaffordable, and how can we discern if we need a different therapist? How did you find a way to think once more about a meaningful future and a life with purpose?