How does life shift when you lose the only person who shared your beginnings — your earliest memories, your inside jokes, your sense of home?

In this tender and illuminating conversation, host Nina Rodriguez sits down with Dr. Angela Dean, a licensed psychologist, thanatologist, and founder of The Broken Pack™—an organization and podcast created to validate and support adults grieving the loss of a sibling.

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Video is available here.

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After the unexpected death of her brother, Tony, Dr. Dean channeled her grief into advocacy, research, and community-building for those whose pain is often unseen. Together, Nina and Angela explore the unique nature of sibling loss, including how it impacts family dynamics, identity, and belonging, and why it remains one of the most overlooked forms of grief.

Angela shares the story behind The Broken Pack™, drawing parallels between the way wolves mourn a lost member and how humans experience the reorganization of their “pack” after a sibling’s death. The conversation moves through topics like grief expression, communication styles within families, the evolution of grief theory, and the power of enfranchising what has long been disenfranchised.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on the bonds that continue after loss, the healing potential of language and connection, and the importance of community in tending to sibling grief.

Key Takeaways

• Sibling loss is one of the most underrecognized yet identity-shaping forms of grief.
• After a sibling dies, family systems shift; roles, dynamics, and unspoken bonds all reorganize.
• Grieving styles differ, even within the same family; compassion and communication can help bridge those differences.
• The metaphor of The Broken Pack™ reminds us that when one member of the “pack” dies, the structure changes forever, but connection endures.
• Disenfranchised grief (grief that society doesn’t fully acknowledge) can deepen isolation; naming it helps restore dignity and belonging.
• Theories of grief are evolving, from linear “stages” to models that honor ongoing bonds, meaning-making, and the coexistence of love and loss.
• Community and conversation are vital to healing; grief needs witnesses, not fixes.
• The conversation closes with a reminder that even when our “pack” is broken, love continues to ripple outward through story, memory, and connection.

Guest: Angela Dean, PsyD, FT

• Licensed psychologist, thanatologist, podcaster, sibling grief specialist
• Creator of The Broken Pack™
• thebrokenpack.com
• IG: @thebrokenpack | Facebook

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

• Creator of Grief and Light, Grief Guide
• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack

Grief Support Resources for the Road:

• Grief Tending Toolkit
• Access our online community

Support the show

Thank you for listening! Please share with someone who may need to hear this.

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

When Ben Forman lost his brother Sam, his world shifted overnight, leaving him with survivor’s guilt, grief for what could have been, and a search for meaning.

In this episode of Grief and Light, Ben shares how a 10-day motorcycle therapy trip through the Himalayas became a transformative journey of healing, reflection, and connection. Along the way, he immersed himself in nature, friendship, and mindful practices, and drew on conversations with monks and his heritage to navigate loss.

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This episode is also available in video here.

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Ben also discusses his deeply personal film, Higher Calling, which captures this journey and explores themes of adventure-based therapy, brotherhood, grief, and the power of storytelling to channel pain into meaning.

Together, we explore how grief can reshape identity, open new paths for growth, and leave a lasting imprint of love.

Key Takeaways

• Grief can redefine identity and purpose. It reshapes who we are and invites us to find meaning in a changed world.
• Survivor’s guilt happens. Acknowledging it helps us honor both our life and the one we lost.
• Adventure therapy can help us move through grief. Physical journeys, like Ben’s 10-day ride through the Himalayas, can mirror emotional healing.
• Nature grounds and reflects us. In its stillness and vastness, we can find space to breathe and begin again.
• Pain reflects love’s depth. The intensity of grief feels like a measure of how deeply we’ve loved.
• Healing requires patience and self-compassion. Grief has no set timeline. Only gentle permission to mend at your own rhythm.
• Every grief journey is personal. Healing looks different for everyone; there’s no single path.
• Suffering can lead to growth. Turning toward pain opens the door to transformation and resilience.
• Art and storytelling heal. Creative expression helps us make meaning and carry love forward.
• Sibling bonds endure beyond death. The connection we share with those we’ve lost continues to shape, guide, and illuminate our lives.

Guest: Ben Forman

• Filmmaker, Producer
• Watch the Trailer
• highercallingmovie.com
• @thebenforman and @highercallingmovie

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

• Creator of Grief and Light, Grief Guide
• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack

Grief Support Resources for the Road:

• Grief Tending Toolkit
• Access our online community

Support the show

Thank you for listening! Please share with someone who may need to hear this.

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

No man should have to carry it alone.

Many men are hurting in silence, and Robb Pollard knows that silence well.

In this deeply human conversation, Nina Rodriguez sits down with Robb Pollard, founder of Walk With Me Brother, a nonprofit devoted to men’s mental health and connection.

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VIDEO AVAILABLE HERE

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Robb shares his journey of living with bipolar disorder, navigating bullying and alcohol, and learning to face the parts of himself he once tried to outrun. What emerges is a story not just of survival, but of purpose. One of transforming pain into a path that invites others to walk beside him.

In April 2026, Robb will begin a 3,600-mile walk across America, carrying with him one message: no man should have to walk alone.

Through his openness, Robb reminds us that vulnerability isn’t the opposite of strength. It’s the foundation of it.

Together, Nina and Robb explore what happens when men begin to talk, listen, and support one another, and how breaking the silence can change not only individual lives, but entire communities.

This episode is an invitation: to listen differently, to show up for the men in our lives, and to remember that healing starts with a single honest step forward.

Key Takeaways:

• Many men are hurting in silence and need safe spaces to talk about it.
• Asking for help can save your life.
• Vulnerability is a form of strength, not weakness.
• Bullying and shame can leave lasting marks on mental health.
• Community and connection are vital for healing.
• Therapy, medication, and alternative approaches can be life-changing.
• Listening is an act of love, and often more powerful than advice.
• Robb’s Walk With Me Brother movement is a call for awareness, compassion, and shared humanity.

Guest: Robb Pollard

• Founder of Walk With Me, Brother
• IG: @itsrobbp and @walkwithmebrother
• Connect with Robb: linktr.ee/walkwithmebrother

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

• Creator of Grief and Light, Grief Guide
• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack

Grief Support Resources for the Road:

• Grief Tending Toolkit
• Access our online community

Support the show

Thank you for listening! Please share with someone who may need to hear this.

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers