Children experience grief differently than adults, yet their pain is just as real. As a licensed professional clinical counselor for nearly five decades, I've had the privilege of walking alongside grieving children and their families. In this episode, I share what I've learned about how children process loss, the questions they often carry in their hearts, and how the caring adults in their lives can offer comfort, honesty, and hope.

We'll talk about common misconceptions about children's grief, what to say (and what not to say), and simple ways to help children feel safe expressing their emotions.

I'll also share why I wrote my children's book, Now I Lay Him Down to Rest, a gentle story created to help children find hope and reassurance after the sudden loss of a parent.

Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, counselor, pastor, or simply someone who loves a grieving child, I hope this conversation encourages you and reminds you that healing begins with love, patience, and honest connection.

Thank you for joining me on Hope After Loss. If this episode encouraged you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need it.

Together, let's continue finding hope after loss.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

Can dreams bring comfort after the loss of someone we love?

In this deeply personal episode, I share a dream that forever changed my understanding of grief and loss—and ultimately led me to write the book, Lost No More....A Mother's Spiritual Journey Through Her Son's Addiction. Dreams can become a source of hope, healing, and connection during our darkest times which it clearly did for me.  I refer to this as a miracle and believe in miracles ever since.

Whether you believe dreams are spiritual experiences, messages from our subconscious, or simply part of the grieving process, my hope is that this conversation encourages you to remain open to the many ways love continues to reach us.

In this episode, we'll explore:

•  Why dreams often become more meaningful after loss. 
•  My own life-changing dream and what it meant to me. 
•  Different ways grieving people experience connection—through dreams, signs, memories, music, or an unexpected sense of peace. 
•  How to remain open without feeling pressured to believe any one explanation. 
•  Why every grief journey is unique. 

No matter where you are in your grief, I hope this episode reminds you that love doesn't end when a life does.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

How do we move forward after losing someone we love without feeling like we're leaving them behind?

In this episode of Hope After Loss, Marilyn Burns, M.S., L.P.C.C., explores one of the most common fears grieving people face: the belief that healing means forgetting.

The truth is, grief isn't something we "get over." Instead, we learn how to carry our loss alongside our love, memories, and hopes for the future.

Marilyn shares insights from both her personal journey as a bereaved mother and her decades of experience as a mental health counselor. Together, we'll discuss how grief changes over time, why joy and sorrow can exist together, and how finding a "new normal" doesn't mean letting go of the people we miss.

If you've ever felt guilty for laughing again, making plans, or rediscovering happiness after loss, this episode is for you.

You don't have to choose between honoring your loved one and living your life fully—you can do both.

I'd love to hear from you.

What has helped you move forward while keeping your loved one's memory alive?

Share your thoughts, questions, or experiences at hopeafterlosspodcast@gmail.com.

You may hear your question featured in a future episode.

 If this episode touched your heart, please subscribe, follow, rate, and review Hope After Loss. Sharing this podcast with someone who is grieving can be a powerful act of kindness. 

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

After a significant loss, many people report experiences that leave them wondering whether their loved one is still near. In this episode, Marilyn Burns explores the common signs people describe after loss, including dreams, meaningful coincidences, familiar scents, songs, animals, and moments of unexpected peace. Through personal stories and professional insight, Marilyn offers a compassionate conversation about connection, hope, and the enduring bond of love.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

When life doesn't make sense, many people begin asking difficult quesions about faith, God and suffering.  In this podcast, Marilyn Burns shares how faith can become a source of strength--not because it removes the pain, but because it helps us find hope and meaning while walking with the pain.

Grief has a way of shaking not only our hearts, but our beliefs.

In this episode of Hope After Loss, Marilyn Burns, M.S., L.P.C.C., explores what happens when loss leaves us questioning faith, meaning, and the very things that once grounded us.

Whether your comfort comes through God, prayer, spiritual connection, nature, the universe, or simply the hope that something greater exists beyond your pain, this conversation offers gentle encouragement for the grieving heart.

If you’ve ever asked:
 Why did this happen?
Where was God?
How do I keep going when life no longer makes sense?

This episode is for you.

Healing does not require perfect faith—only a willingness to remain open to comfort, meaning, and light.

💛 Questions around faith inspired Marilyn’s children’s book, Where Are You, God?

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

Grief doesn't just change our lives--it can change our sense of self.  In this episode of Hope After Loss, Marilyn Burns M.S., L.P.C.C. explores the deep sense of identity loss that often follows grief. When we lose someone we love, we don’t just lose the person — we also lose the parts of self connected to them, the roles we carried, and the life we once knew.

Through compassionate reflection and emotional insight, Marilyn discusses the importance of embracing the changes happening within and around us. Although grief changes us forever, learning to walk through life without our loved one can slowly shape a new version of ourselves — one built from love, resilience, growth, and healing.

This episode is a gentle reminder that becoming “someone new” after loss is not betrayal… it is part of surviving.

Grief may quietly reshape who we are becoming.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

Grief can feel like darkness—quiet, heavy, and hard to move through.

In this episode, Marilyn gently explores what it means to live in that darkness, and how we begin, slowly and softly, to find our way again.

When we are grieving, it’s common to feel lost, disconnected, and unsure of who we are or how to move forward. This isn’t weakness—it’s the mind and body trying to cope with something overwhelming.

Through both personal experience and professional insight, Marilyn offers a compassionate perspective on grief and reminds us that we don’t have to find our way all at once.

Sometimes… it begins with one small step.

If you are moving through the darkness of grief, this episode is a gentle place to pause, breathe, and remember—you are not alone.

This is Hope After Loss — gentle conversations for grieving hearts.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

In this episode, Marilyn shares the emotional reality of loving someone who is struggling, and what it feels like to live in the space between hope and fear.

This is the space where you find yourself waiting…
 waiting for the phone to ring…
 waiting for things to change…
 and carrying a quiet fear that never fully goes away.

Through her personal experience as a mother and her professional understanding of grief, Marilyn gently explores anticipatory grief, the emotional toll of living in uncertainty, and the weight of feeling responsible for someone you love.

If you are loving someone through addiction or walking through this kind of grief, you are not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

In this episode, counselor Marilyn Burns explores how trauma and grief affect the emotional brain, why these changes are a normal response to loss and how treating yourself with kindness creates the conditions where healing can begin.

Grief is not just an emotional experience—it is also neurological.

In this episode of Hope After Loss, Marilyn Burns, M.S., L.P.C.C., explores how the emotional brain responds to grief and loss, and why so many people experience overwhelming thoughts, anxiety, and emotional distress during the grieving process.

This episode gently explains:

– Why your thoughts may feel out of control after loss
 – How the emotional brain processes grief
 – The connection between grief, anxiety, and chronic stress
 – Why you are not “losing your mind,” even when it feels that way

Whether you are experiencing recent loss, anticipatory grief, or ongoing emotional pain, this conversation offers understanding, validation, and hope.

If you are struggling with grief, anxiety, or the emotional impact of losing someone you love, you are not alone—and what you are experiencing makes sense.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself. 

Anticipatory grief often begins long before the death of someone we love.  In this episode, Marilyn Burns shares how grief, fear and uncertainty begin affecting the heart and brain before loss occurs, and how understanding anticipatory grief can help us navigate this difficult time with compassion.

 When a loved one struggles with addiction, families live with a quiet, constant fear—the possibility that life could change at any moment. This episode explores that experience through both personal story and professional insight.

Marilyn speaks as both a mother and a counselor, offering understanding, validation, and gentle guidance for those navigating fear, helplessness, and emotional exhaustion.

If you are walking alongside someone struggling… or living with the weight of loss… this conversation is for you.

You are not alone.

This episode is dedicated to my son, Chris.

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to Hope After Loss: Conversations on Grief.

If this episode spoke to you, please consider sharing it with someone who may need support and hope today.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. 

If you have a question or a topic that you would like me to gently explore,
 you’re welcome to email me at [your email].

While I’m not able to provide individual counseling through email,
I would be honored to hold your question and possibly share it in a future podcast, so others may feel less alone.

Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you.  Until next time, be gentle with yourself.  Learning to walk with this pain begins one day at a time, one choice at a time to love yourself.