Mental Health · Lisa Keefauver, MSW

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

by Lisa Keefauver, MSW

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch creator and host Lisa Keefauver is on a mission to reimagine grief one conversation at a time, helping us to center aliveness in a world full of loss. Yes, this is a podcast all about grief. Since 2019, Lisa and her guests have been exploring the expansiveness and pervasiveness of grief in our lives. Let's face it: 100% of us experience grief, multiple times in our lives. Lisa witnessed it time and time again in her career as a social worker and in her personal life—most significantly when she lost her husband in 2011. More recently, she experienced ambiguous grief while navigating breast cancer in 2024. And yet, individually and collectively, we're so grief-illiterate, and that's causing us all harm. So she's on a mission to reimagine grief so we can center aliveness in a world full of loss. She's so glad you're joining us. She brings her deep curiosity, love of conversation, and knowledge of how language and culture shape our experiences of ourselves and our world (including our grief) to each unscripted conversation. From thought leaders, CEOs, and social workers to authors, educators, researchers, filmmakers, and spiritual leaders, her guests open up about the complexity, confusion, and even confidence they've gained by navigating a grief journey of their own. About HostLisa Keefauver is equal parts heart & humor (with a judicious use of cussing. She's a narrative-therapy trained social worker, widow, and cancer survivor turned grief activist, podcast host and author helping you center aliveness in a world full of loss ORDER her book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating LossWATCH her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck LessWATCH her Endwell talk, Centering Aliveness in a World Full of LossREAD her essays on Substack, AFGO with Lisa KeefauverLEARN more about working with Lisa Keefauver by visiting www.lisakeefauver.com and follow on social media @lisakeefauvermsw If you like this series, please make sure to leave a rating and write a review TODAY on Apple Podcasts. If you like watching podcasts, please subscribe and view on YouTube at @lisakeefauvermsw. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Where We've Been and Where We're Going

This special episode is a reminder of where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, and where we’re going next season! Host Lisa Keefauver closes out Season 7 of the show by refl

Oct 13
22 min

J.S. Park | We Are Made of Us

J.S. Park returns to Grief is a Sneaky Bitch for a deeply moving conversation about the themes in his forthcoming book, We Are Made of Us. Together, we explore what it me

Jul 21
1 h 21 min

Casey Mulligan Walsh | The Full Catastrophe

Casey Mulligan Walsh, author of The Full Catastrophe, joined host Lisa Keefauver for a profound conversation on how much loss shapes us more deeply than we realize—especi

Jun 9
1 h 11 min

Mae Yoshikawa | Surprising Capacity of the Heart

Mae Yoshikawa, author, TEDx speaker, and the creator of Kizuki Journaling, joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore her profound journey through grief, culture, and embodimen

Jun 2
1 h 12 min

Angela Schellenberg | Attachment, Trauma, and Grief

In a world overwhelmed by collective trauma and personal grief, how can we rebuild trust, safety, and connection—starting from within? Angela Schellenberg, trauma therapi

May 26
1 h 14 min

Sandi Serling | Fear Unzipped

Sandi Serling, creator and host of Fear Unzipped, joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore the profound connection between grief, love, and spiritual healing. Sandi shares he

May 12
1 h 08 min

Sara Rian | Complexity of Love and Loss

Sara Rian joins host Lisa Keefauver for an honest, courageous, and vulnerable conversation exploring the both/and of living, loving, and the devastating grief and trauma

May 5
1 h 13 min

Marisa Renee Lee | Waiting For Dawn

Marisa Renee Lee returns for a second conversation with host Lisa Keefauver to discuss her powerful new book, Waiting for Dawn, which delves deeply into the nuanced exper

Apr 16
1 h 01 min

Shelby Forsythia | Of Course I'm Here Right Now

Shelby Forsythia, Grief Educator and Author joins host Lisa Keefauver for a second time on the show, this time to explore the wisdom she offers about grief support in her

Apr 1
1 h 17 min

Lizzie Pickering | When Grief Equals Love

Lizzie Pickering, grief educator and author of When Grief Equals Love joins host Lisa Keefauver sharing profound insights on how grief evolves over time and how maintaini

Mar 11
1 h 13 min

Darnell Lamont Walker | Never Can Say Goodbye

Death doula and storyteller Darnell Lamont Walker joins host Lisa Keefauver for the second time on the show. Since their last conversation, Darnell has reflected on the s

Feb 28
1 h 06 min

Naila Francis | Hallowed Nature of Grief

Naila Francis joins host Lisa Keefauver for a tender and magical conversation on the sacred nature of grief. Naila begins by acknowledging an experience of grief too ofte

Feb 18
1 h 16 min

Charlene Lam | Curating Grief

Charlene Lam joins host Lisa Keefauver for an in-depth and intimate conversation about the aspects of grief we long to explore but so rarely do in our daily life. Just as

Feb 11
1 h 13 min

Nina Rodriguez | Sibling Loss Into the Light

Nina Rodriguez joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore aspects of grief too often ignored, particularly focusing on sibling loss and the the societal stigmas surrounding add

Jan 27
1 h 08 min

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer | Poetic Response to Loss

Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer joins host Lisa Keefauver for a heartfelt conversation exploring the complexities of grief, the power of poetry, and the importance of self

Jan 21
1 h 19 min

Lisa Pahl | Talking About Death

Lisa Pahl joins host Lisa Keefauver to explore themes they're both passionate about—the sacred thresholds of life: dying, dementia, death, and grief. As a deeply experien

Jan 15
1 h 07 min

Sah D'Simone | Dancing with Grief

Having met first in 2024 when they both spoke at End Well, Sah D’Simone joined host Lisa Keefauver for a live in-studio conversation. Together they explore a wide range o

Jan 8
1 h 23 min

Michelle Hord | What We Owe The Grieving

Guest Michelle Hord joined host Lisa Keefauver to kick off Season 7 of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast. Michelle knows that behind every tragic headline are real people e

Dec 30 2025
1 h 12 min

Power of Narratives and Grief in Healthcare

Guests Hui-Wen Sato, Lisa Pahl, and Dr. Sunita Puri join host Lisa Keefauver for a special episode of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast produced with nonprofits ‪@medicinal

Nov 20 2025
1 h 53 min

Penny Smith | Reframing Dying for Better Living

Hospice Nurse Penny as she’s known to millions on Tik Tok and Instagram joins host Lisa Keefauver for this episode of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast. They explore Penny’

Jun 3 2025
1 h 11 min