What if there’s nothing to fix? What if you could just, you know, be yourself - whatever that looks like today?    When I told people that this week’s guest was none other than adrienne maree brown - the excitement level was off the charts. adrienne maree brown is the author of Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism, among other works, and she’s instrumental in opening conversations about bodies, power, grief, and change (personal and collective).    This week, it’s all grief - and it’s all love. There is nothing to fix, and there is plenty to change.    In this episode we cover:    How self-sabotaging behaviors become addictive The freedom of being yourself (and why that pisses other people off) How can you make this day worthy of your grief?  Why humor sometimes fits “the shape of grief” and sometimes it does not Feelings are your body’s way of communicating needs What mycelium and mushrooms can teach us about death adrienne’s vision of the future - including aliens, education, poetry, and love  Want to learn the skills you need to work with grief? Join Megan’s grief intensive training right here.  Related episodes: Book bans, grief, and love: what do these have to do with social movements? Malkia Devich-Cyril   Is There Any Good News on Climate Change? With Bill McKibben   Coming Home to Yourself with Alex Elle Notable quotes: “The same Goddess of the ocean and stars and everything magnificent, is also the god of mosquitoes and bug bites and cancer.” - adrienne maree brown “People are so angry about all the ways that we're just being ourselves. And I'm like, you're only angry because you haven't given yourself permission to do it too.” -  adrienne maree brown About our guest: adrienne maree brown is the author of wildly influential books including Emergent Strategy, We Will Not Cancel Us and Pleasure Activism, plus the novellas Grievers and Maroons. She is a social media meme queen, writer, podcaster, musician, and movement facilitator based in Durham, NC.    Find her at adriennemareebrown.net, and on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Boundaried in Love with Prentis Hemphill and adrienne maree brown   “The Pleasure Dome” by adrienne maree brown, Bitch Media   Want to become a more grief-informed, human-centered therapist or provider? Registration is open now for Megan Devine’s 6 month online Grief Care Professional Certificate Program. Details at this link.   Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for an inexpensive monthly open video Q&A clinic for grieving people. Want to speak to her privately? Apply for a 1:1 grief consultation here.    Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links.   Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geena Rocero, trans advocate and author of Horse Barbie, discusses the cost of suppressing true self for success, parents supporting trans children, trans beauty pageants in the Philippines, grief of hiding true self, and the power of joy and humor. Quotes: 'Surviving means feeling a sense of a life well lived.' 'Live your most unapologetic self.'

Whether you’re interested in social justice or not, there’s no denying the grief simmering beneath the surface of daily life. It’s in our personal lives, it’s in the news, it’s in our communities. The thing is - we never really talk about it: just how much grief connects us.    If we learn to lean into that grief together, we might really create the beautiful world we all long for.    Malkia Devich-Cyril knows grief from the inside out. They grew up knowing their mom would die of her illness. They grew up immersed in the grief that is endemic to being Black in America. And they cared for their wife, comedian Alana Devich-Cyril through her death in 2018.   Malkia is a poet and media activist. They are the executive director of the MediaJustice, and a co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network. Their writings on media, race, justice, and grief frequently appear in national publications such as Politico, The Guardian, and The Atlantic, and in the Oscar nominated documentary film, 13th.    This episode is STUNNING. It has gifts for everyone, whether you’re grieving a personal loss, or you’re an activist of any kind.    If you ARE an activist or organizer, you need to hear what Malkia has to say about our narrative strategies, and what it really takes to make change happen.  In this episode we cover:  The difference between sorrow and grief How “feelings aren’t facts” relates to grief Is it normal to feel like you failed to keep someone alive?  Why do narrative strategists (aka: activists) need to understand grief?  Are book bans a form of grief? (spoiler: yes, but maybe not for the reasons you think) Why death is “the ultimate boundary” - and how to find hope in that Related episodes: Rage Becomes Her (and by “her” I mean US) with Soraya Chemaly Collective Grief and Communal Joy: with Baratunde Thurston Wonder in an Age of Violence: Valarie Kaur & See No Stranger For more on the shortage of compassion, see The Love Filled World: is there enough love to go around?  Notable quotes: “Sadness is a critical, crucial part of acknowledging the reality of our conditions. So I believe in sorrow. The point is not to exclude sorrow, it's to include joy. It's to include anger. It's to allow ourselves the full range of what acknowledging loss means.” - Malkia Devich-Cyril “A hurting person wants to bond with other hurting people, but they're also not gonna stay in a movement that is only dealing with pain.” - Malkia Devich-Cyril About our guest: Malkia Devich-Cyril is an activist, writer and public speaker on issues of digital rights, narrative power, Black liberation and collective grief. They are also the founding and former Executive Director of MediaJustice — a national hub boldly advancing racial justice, rights and dignity in a digital age. Their writing has appeared in publications like Politico, Motherboard, Essence Magazine, and three documentary films including the Oscar nominated 13th. Find them @culturejedi on Twitter and @radical_loss on Instagram. Read Grief Belongs in Social Movements: We Embrace it?    About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world. Additional resources: “The Antidote to Authoritarianism” by Malkia Devich-Cyril, The Atlantic MediaJustice Media Action Grassroots Network   Want to become a more grief-informed, human-centered therapist or provider? Registration is open now for Megan Devine’s 6 month online Grief Care Professional Certificate Program. Details at this link.    Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered. Want to speak to her privately? Apply for a 1:1 grief consultation here.    Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links. Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever put on a face mask, expecting it to solve all your mental health problems?    That seems… unrealistic, but that’s what self-care marketing tells us: get your self care right, and all your difficulties will evaporate. This week, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin breaks down what “self-care” actually means when we’re living in a complex, capitalistic world. It’s an exploration of grief, burnout, and exhaustion, and what it takes to care for yourself inside systems that repeatedly ignore their part in your suffering.    After leaving med school to join a wellness group that turned out more cult-like than liberating, Dr. Lakshmin went on a journey to heal herself.  Along the way, she founded Gemma, a women’s mental health organization, and wrote a book called Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (warning: crystals, cleanses, and bubble baths not included).     In this episode we cover:  Why self-care doesn’t work Does looking for your own answers mean you have to do things alone? Accepting help as a bid for connection How Dr. Lakshmin’s definition of boundaries can help you practice real self-care The difference between eudaimonic and hedonic well-being How hope is different than optimism Related episodes: For more on systems that fail us and what to do about it: Rage Becomes Her (and by “her” I mean US) with Soraya Chemaly A fantastic discussion of the “wellness movement” and what it means for chronically ill folks: Living with Chronic Illness: A Conversation for Everyone with a Body with Sarah Ramey.   Notable quotes: “Hope is different than optimism… Hope is something you can build. It’s a practice. It’s a skill.” - Dr. Pooja Lakshmin About our guest: Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is a psychiatrist, a clinical assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, and the founder and CEO of Gemma, the women’s mental health community centering impact and equity. She has spent thousands of hours taking care of women struggling with burnout, despair, depression, and anxiety in her clinical practice. Her debut non-fiction book, Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included), is out now and available in e-book, hardcover, and audiobook narrated by Pooja. About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: More from Pooja Lakshmin: Gemma Women’s Mental Health Community “Hope is Not a Thing to Have – It’s a Skill to Practice” Oprah Daily “How Society Has Turned Its Back on Mothers” NY Times “Saying ‘No’ Is Self-Care for Parents” NY Times   Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered. Want to speak to her privately? Apply for a 1:1 grief consultation here.    Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links. Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re in a massive climate crisis, but it’s hard to think about it, isn’t it?    It’s a great temptation to shut our eyes to climate change. It’s overwhelming. This week on the show, climate activist and author Bill McKibben on facing the reality of the climate crisis, understanding what needs to change, and what you can do - not just to change the course of humanity and the planet, but to feel more hopeful and connected as this all unfolds.  In this episode we cover:  Is halting climate change really dependent on personal recycling and whether we use plastic straws?  Why don’t we take action when the evidence of the climate crisis is literally everywhere? Is it okay to have intense emotional responses to wildfires, floods, and the inaction of those “in charge”?  How the boomer generation is using their experience and their wealth to revisit the activism of their youth (and supporting younger activists at the same time) Why the “will to act” is so important to sustained change  How talking about our fears and our ecological grief gives us common ground to fight for our future - and our present.    Related episodes: For more on activism in the face of impossible odds: Women, Life, Freedom: Grief and Power In Iran, with Nazanin Nour Wonder in an Age of Violence with Valarie Kaur & See No Stranger Notable quotes:  The climate crisis is a really interesting test of whether or not (our) big brain was a good adaptation or not. It can get us into a lot of trouble, but can it get us out? My intuition is that it's actually going to be less the size of the brain that matters than the size of the heart that it's attached to. - Bill McKibben About our guest: Bill McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. His books include The End of Nature, about climate change, and Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?, about the state of the environmental challenges facing humanity. He’s a contributing writer to The New Yorker (read his latest piece here), and founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of sixty for progressive change.    About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Read Bill latest piece in The New Yorker  - “To Save the Planet, Should We Really Be Moving Slower?”   Check out Bill’s Third Act community - Elders working together for a fair and stable planet.    Terry Tempest Williams’ book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, and her recent NYT article on Utah’s great Salt Lake (gift link, no subscription needed)   Explore Joanna Macy’s work on the intersection of grief and activism at her website, or her books, including Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects, World as Lover, World as Self, and Widening Circles: A Memoir Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered. Want to speak to her privately? Apply for a 1:1 grief consultation here.    Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links.   Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can grief be an opportunity for growth and self-understanding? The answer, of course, is yes: but it’s a bit more complex than that. This week, author, philanthropist, activist Rachel Cargle on survival optimism, the resilience narrative, and why questioning the stories you tell yourself - with curiosity and kindness - is a powerful path of healing.    In this episode we cover:  How was grief modeled for you growing up, and how does that affect later grief? Can your memory of childhood grief be…. entirely wrong? (or at least, inaccurate) Can you do grief wrong?  The difference between curiosity and judgment Is it ok to feel relieved when a sick person dies?  Rachel’s new book, A Renaissance of Our Own   Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered. Related episodes: Gabor Mate on why we celebrate trauma, aka: resilience  Illustrator Aubrey Hirsch on the power of storytelling as an act of healing   Notable quotes:  “It's a practice of kindness to ourselves when we acknowledge and lean into the both/and… So when I feel shame about the relief I feel because I no longer have this sick mother to worry about, I can actually rest with that relief because I know that probably in about 2.5 days I'm going to be on the floor crying about the fact that she's not here. It’s both/and.” - Rachel Cargle   “(As) I really look at my childhood and have to dust some things off, (I’m) also cleaning off the spaces where good things are. You're not just going to the box of bones and figuring out all the hard, terrible things that happened in your childhood.” - Rachel Cargle About our guest: Rachel Cargle is a writer, entrepreneur and philanthropic innovator. Her new memoir, A Renaissance of Our Own, centers the reimagining of womanhood, solidarity and self. In 2018 she founded The Loveland Foundation, Inc., a non-profit offering free therapy to Black women and girls.  She’s also the founder of Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre – a literacy space designed to amplify, celebrate and honor the work of writers who are often excluded from traditional cultural, social and academic canons.  For more on her many endeavors, visit rachelcargle.com.   About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Rachel’s book - A Renaissance of Our Own   The Loveland Foundation, Inc. - houses a collection of Rachel’s social ventures    The Great Unlearn, a self-paced, donation-based learning community   The Great Unlearn for Young Learners – an online learning space for young folks launching in 2022   Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre - an innovative literacy space designed to amplify, celebrate and honor the work of writers who are often excluded from traditional cultural, social and academic canons.   Want to talk with Megan directly? Apply for one of her limited 1:1 consultations here   Or join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered.   Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links.   Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we live in a world that’s at least half terrible, and that is a conservative estimate?If you recognize that line, you already know Maggie Smith. This week on the show, we’re talking about writing, marriage, divorce, and why you didn’t need whatever happened to you in order to become who you’re meant to be: as Maggie says, “trauma does not give you a “glow up.””    If you’ve ever wanted to write the story of your life - including the messy, difficult parts like divorce, miscarriage, and the loss of identity - this episode is for you.    In this episode we cover:  Why it’s ok if your story doesn’t have a happy ending (or even a happy middle) Do kids really need to learn about resilience?  Does anything remain after devastating loss?  What’s it like having your personal story out in the world for other people to talk about?  Divorce, miscarriage, and why sometimes the lemonade isn’t worth the lemons   Get the best selling Writing Your Grief course and join over 15,000 people who’ve explored their grief - and their identity - through writing. All the details here.    Related episodes:  Kate Bowler on the difference between transactional hope and functional hope Aubrey Hirsch on the power of storytelling  David Ambroz on “A Place Called Home”    About our guest: Maggie Smith is the award-winning author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Good Bones, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, Lamp of the Body, and the national bestsellers Goldenrod and Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. A 2011 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Smith has also received several Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council, two Academy of American Poets Prizes, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been widely published, appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, The Best American Poetry, and more. You can follow her on social media @MaggieSmithPoet. About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.    The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Get the best selling Writing Your Grief course and join over 15,000 people who’ve explored their grief - and their identity - through writing. All the details here.   Maggie Smith’s website Maggie’s memoir - You Could Make This Place Beautiful   “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? / The world would split open.” - feminist poet Muriel Rukeyser   Want to talk with Megan directly? Two options: apply for one of her 1:1 sessions through the contact form at megandevine.co, or join our Patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions. Either way, it’s your questions, answered.   Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links.   Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Wonder is the root of love, the lack of wonder is the root of violence.”  Is there a way to create boundaries with someone who wishes to cause harm? Can you love them and hold them accountable? Do you have to fight for a just world for everyone? Valarie Kaur is no stranger to violence. As a Sikh, as a woman, as a person of color, violence has shaped both her activism and her deep sense of community care. Her Revolutionary Love Project is the blueprint for organizers, activists, and really - anyone in love with the world and what it could be.    This week, the activist, and best-selling author of See No Stranger joins me to talk about love, action, and the power of wonder in the face of impossible things.    We cover activism, wonder, horror, grief, acts of violence, acts of justice, parenting in an age of rampant school violence, healing family wounds, building true community - and why fighting for love and pleasure is always going to be more sustainable than fighting against hate.  “I spent the last 20 years organizing my life around hate and I want to spend the next 20 years organizing around love. The pain of the world is the pain of the world, regardless.” - Valarie Kaur   * One brief content note, Valarie’s neighborhood had some construction going on, so there’s more background noise in this episode than usual. Listen for the goodness, though - it’s all around you.    In this episode we cover: How do you continue to work on behalf of EVERYONE for a more just and beautiful world, when some of those people cause great harm?  Getting outside of unbearable pain so you can survive Do you have to suffer in order to be of service? Being an activist for the long haul “Squad care” and what it means for activists and anyone alive in the world What do you want future generations to inherit from your time here?    Want grief support with Megan? Apply for 1:1 sessions here, or join the monthly Q&A here.  Related episodes: The Love-Filled World A Place Called Home: a conversation with child welfare advocate, David Ambroz Connection is the best medicine: with Dr. Rana Awdish Notable quotes:  “We're living in a time where we have to metabolize grief on a scale that no other generation before us has had to.” - Valarie Kaur   “Our solidarity is only as deep as our ability to love one another, and our ability to love one another is only as deep as our ability to weep with one another.” -  Valarie Kaur About our guest:  Valarie Kaur is a renowned civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, educator, author of the #1 LA Times Bestseller SEE NO STRANGER, and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project. A daughter of Punjabi Sikh farmers in California, her work has ignited a national movement to reclaim love as a force for justice. See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.  About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Valarie Kaur’s websiteThe Revolutionary Love Learning Hub   Want to talk with Megan directly? Two options: apply for one of her 1:1 sessions through the contact form at megandevine.co, or join our Patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions. Either way, it’s your questions, answered.   Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links. Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.co  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you try to not let something define you, can it define you anyway?    You might know Chase Jarvis as an Emmy nominated photographer, founder of Creative Live, and angel investor. The world of venture capital and billion dollar deals isn’t exactly known for its human side, but Chase’s kindness and vulnerability are legendary.    In part two of our conversation, we get into a deep discussion over whether a successful person is allowed to feel intense grief, or if success disqualifies you. We unpack an accident that could have killed him - and how that experience shaped his life even as he tried to ignore it. Chase’s willingness to explore personal, emotional territory in real time in this episode is really special.    We make a lot of invisible things visible in this episode, from the creativity of every day, to the grief of  getting what you want, to how a near-death experience can both shape your entire life AND be something you refuse to think about.    Content note: this episode contains a lot of swearing.    *Need to talk to Megan? apply for a 1:1 grief consultation with Megan Devine here*    In this episode we cover:    How to break the habit of dismissing your feelings before you even get to feel them Do successful people get to identify as grieving?  Can you revisit old issues with kindness?  What happens if you decide something MAJOR is “no big deal”?  Related episodes:  Listen to part one of Chase Jarvis here Chip Conley on the dark night of the soul, near death experiences, and finding community About our guest: Chase Jarvis is an award-winning artist, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and one of the most influential photographers of the past 20 years.  His expansive work ranges from shooting advertising campaigns for companies like Apple, Nike, and Red Bull; to working with athletes like Serena Williams and Tony Hawk, to collaborating with renowned icons like Lady Gaga and Richard Branson. He is the Founder of CreativeLive, where more than 10 million students learn from the world’s top creators and entrepreneurs; CreativeLive was acquired by Fiverr in 2021. His recent book Creative Calling debuted as an instant National Best Seller.   More at chasejarvis.com  About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: Get Chase Jarvis’ latest book, Creative Calling, here   Want to talk with Megan directly? Apply for one of her limited 1:1 consultations here, or Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: either way, it’s your questions, answered.   Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links. Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms.   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn. For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt something, then immediately “disqualified” yourself from feeling it? As if you don’t have the right to feel what you’re feeling?    Chase Jarvis is a very successful man. He’s also kind, and thoughtful, and actively exploring his own ideas of himself. If you’ve heard Chase speak before, this is a very different kind of conversation.    We make a lot of invisible things visible in this episode, from the creativity of every day, to the grief of getting what you want, to how a near-death experience can both shape your entire life AND be something you refuse to think about.    5 things you’ll learn in this episode (at least 5!)   The difference between Big C Creativity and little c creativity (and how it relates to hard times) How the roles we’re “allowed” to inhabit get fed to us, starting in childhood Is there a grief spectrum? If so, where do you land on it?  Are you allowed to feel grief, when objectively speaking, other people have it a lot worse?  If someone sobs in your presence, that might be a very good thing.    Content note: this episode contains a lot of swearing.    Notable quotes:  “Am I worthy of becoming the person that I want to become?” - Chase Jarvis   About our guest: Chase Jarvis is an award-winning artist, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and one of the most influential photographers of the past 20 years.  His expansive work ranges from shooting advertising campaigns for companies like Apple, Nike, and Red Bull; to working with athletes like Serena Williams and Tony Hawk, to collaborating with renowned icons like Lady Gaga and Richard Branson. He is the Founder of CreativeLive, where more than 10 million students learn from the world’s top creators and entrepreneurs; CreativeLive was acquired by Fiverr in 2021. His recent book Creative Calling debuted as an instant National Best Seller.   More at chasejarvis.com  About Megan:  Psychotherapist and bestselling author Megan Devine is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on grief, from life-altering losses to the everyday grief that we don’t call grief. She helms a consulting practice in Los Angeles and serves as an organizational consultant for the healthcare and human resources industries.  The best-selling book on grief in over a decade, Megan’s It’s Ok that You’re Not OK, is a global phenomenon that has been translated into more than 25 languages. Her celebrated animations and explainers have garnered over 75 million views and are used in training programs around the world.   Additional resources: The long dark night of the soul is commonly understood as a time of spiritual dryness and existential doubt and loneliness. For more on the “long dark night of the soul,” Check the wiki page. Chase’s book - Creative Calling Chase references Ram Dass, and the quote, “We’re all just walking each other home.”    Want to talk with Megan directly? Apply for one of her limited 1:1 consultations here, or join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: either way, it’s your questions, answered.   Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed    Books and resources may contain affiliate links. Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of It’s OK that You’re Not OK. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, tag us on social with your thoughts, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.    Follow the show on TikTok @itsokpod and use the hashtag #ItsOkPod on all social platforms.   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, and follow Megan on LinkedIn.   For more information, including clinical training and consulting and to share your thoughts, visit us at megandevine.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.