Great Grief

Season 3, Episode 7: Last Dream Home

In this final episode of Season 3, I reflect on endings, beginnings, and the mystery of what it means to let go. Through story, song, and remembrance, I share the journe

Season 3, Episode 6: Love and Kindness Tea

In this episode, I share a reflection from my book Beneath the Skin of Sorrow—a poetic “recipe” for caring for ourselves in the midst of grief. Loving Kindness Tea invite

Season 3, Episode 5: Window Woman

After my husband’s passing, I found myself searching for language that could hold both my grief and my continued capacity to love. Then, a stranger offered me a new way o

Season 3, Episode 4: Encore

In this episode, I reflect on the idea of an encore—that unexpected moment when you are called back to the stage. As a young jazz singer on my first European tour, I ex

Season 3, Episode 3: What's Love Got to Do With It?

Valentine’s Day can stir many things — joy, memory, longing, even sorrow. Not everyone greets it with candy and flowers. So instead of wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day

Season 3, Episode 2: A Meditation on Loss

Welcome to Season 3 of Great Grief. In this episode, I sit with the word “loss.” What does it mean to lose something? A bag. A job. A sense of direction. A beloved. What

Season 3, Episode 1: My Grandmother Perry

Welcome to Season 3 of Great Grief! This season I’m listening closely—to stories, songs, and the quiet places where grief lives beneath the surface. In this opening epis

Holiday: Home is Where our Spirits Reside

December has been calling all year long. This holiday offering from Great Grief is an invitation to pause, to listen, and to remember what the heart craves — belonging, r

Seasons of Change, Episode 6: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 2

Grief comes to live with us all eventually, and she needs no invitation. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon appreciates the quiet moments shared

Seasons of Change, Episode 5: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 1

Grief cannot tell time. She comes and goes as she pleases. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon remembers the lessons of her grandmother, honors t

Seasons of Change, Episode 4: Holiday Season

The festive season carries such a high expectation of joy that can feel inaccessible for so many grievers. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna

Seasons of Change, Episode 3: The World Since You Left

How do we communicate with those who have “gone?” Is it even possible? In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon sets about asking the moon, the sun, and even the le

Seasons of Change, Episode 2: Ashes, Ashes

Grief can take us to our knees—right back to the dirt, dust, and the earth, from which all things grow. In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon consults Mother Nat

Seasons of Change, Episode 1: Falling

In this episode of Great Grief, we follow Nnenna Freelon on a walk through the woods, where she contemplates autumn, the changing of the seasons, and the possibility of r

Trailer - Season 2: Seasons of Change

Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, season 2: "Seasons of Change," launches November 28, 2023. The seasons are changing, an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, witherin

Wailing Women, Episode 4: Black Widow

The podcast Great Grief takes shape around Nnenna’s own great grief, which she experienced after the death of her husband, Philip Freelon, in 2019. A wife for nearly 40 y

Wailing Women, Episode 3: Hairstory

Our relationship with our hair is a complicated entanglement. It holds our history, personality, and identity. It also holds our grief. In this episode, "Hairstory," Nnen

Wailing Women, Episode 2: Sister Sister

No woman makes it through life without a sister. In grieving the death of her baby sister, Nnenna alights on all the ways Black women experience sisterhood. Through faith

Wailing Women, Episode 1: When Grief Speaks

Grief is a woman with plenty to say. This shape-shifting step-sister of ours wasn’t originally a part of the plan, but now she is coming with—no choice there. But did y

Trailer - Season 1: Wailing Women

Grief is your shape-shifting step-sister. While she wasn't originally part of the plan, now she is coming with—no choice there. In order to shape your grief, you must fir