Imagine walking into a prison to sit across from the woman responsible for your children’s deaths, bracing to be wrecked for a month, and walking out feeling lighter instead.

That’s just one moment from my conversation with Colin Campbell, and it’s one I’m still thinking about.

I’m sitting down with Colin, author, playwright, and part-time professor of theater and film. On June 12, 2019, Colin and his wife, Gail, lost their two children, 17-year-old Ruby and 14-year-old Hart, when a drunk driver hit their car on the way to Joshua Tree. Content note: this episode includes conversation about child loss and a fatal drunk driving crash.

In this episode, we talk about:

✨ How Colin and Gail leaned on Jewish mourning traditions
✨ Why we grieve better in community
✨ What it looks like to grieve as a couple
✨ Colin’s “grief spiel” and how to tell your friends and family exactly what you need after loss (plus what to do if you don’t know yet)
✨ Why so many people are afraid to say the wrong thing to a griever, and how compassion can go both ways
✨ How grief needs and identity shift over time
✨ How living fully can become a tribute instead
✨ Grief rituals that give you agency
✨ How to handle anniversaries, birthdays, and hard days without the pressure to do them “right”
✨ Anger, the desire for justice, and what restorative justice and a victim-offender dialogue actually involve
✨ Why Colin offers grace and compassion instead of forgiveness
✨ How writing a one-person show and his book helped
✨ Why the more Colin talks about Ruby and Hart, the easier it is to access joy

If you’ve ever wondered whether the anger, the guilt, or the way you carry your loss can actually change, this one’s for you. Press play, and stay for my gentle challenge at the end: how can you be a little more unabashedly joyful today?

Connect with Colin:

• https://colincampbellauthor.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/colincampbellwriter/

Connect with me:

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🔗 Website: https://lossesbecomegains.com/
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✍🏼 Life Beyond Grief Substack: https://taraaccardo.substack.com/
📖 Shop the LBG Daily Journal: https://lossesbecomegains.com/journal
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