Grief Chemistry: Finding Your Friend Soulmates in Loss with Andrea Girón-Mathern and Rebecca Luttrell

 "The knee jerk reaction is ‘you’re not alone.’ But the reality is that you feel really f***ing alone!"

In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes Andrea Girón-Mathern and Rebecca Luttrell, the dynamic duo behind the All the Grief podcast. These two Colorado-based women prove that some of the most powerful friendships are forged through shared experiences of loss– what we in the Grieve Leave community call "grief chemistry."

Andrea is a social scientist and research expert specializing in belonging and community-based research. Rebecca Luttrell is a licensed professional clinical counselor and psychotherapist trained at Naropa University's Buddhist-inspired graduate program. When Andrea's father died during the pandemic, Rebecca became one of the few people who truly understood her grief. Their deepening friendship became the foundation for creating All the Grief podcast, where they normalize conversations about death, mortality, and every kind of loss.

The conversation explores the concept of "friend soulmates,” those rare people who just get you, grief and all. Andrea and Rebecca share how their podcast evolved from just the two of them talking into a platform featuring diverse guests and grief stories. They discuss why grief support shouldn't only live in therapists' offices, the importance of learning to "hold space" for others, and why telling someone "you're not alone" can sometimes feel invalidating when they're feeling desperately lonely.

The duo opens up about their vision for creating grief retreats at Andrea's mountain cabin, offering intimate spaces for small groups to process loss together in nature. They passionately advocate for expanding our definition of grief beyond death, including job loss, friendship endings, estrangement, infertility struggles, and even the collective grief of our current chaotic times. 

Join Rebecca and the All the Grief podcast co-hosts, Andrea Girón-Mathern and Rebecca Luttrell, as they explore grief chemistry, the power of peer support, and why normalizing all types of grief has never been more urgent.

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