Episode #198
How to Navigate Grief Without Losing Yourself with Kate Doerge
Grief has a script that we’ve been handed: five stages, one after another, until time supposedly heals you. But what if that was never the full story? There isn't one right way to grieve, and your path might look different. In this episode, I sit down with Kate Doerge, certified grief coach, speaker, and author of Reimagining Grief, who has walked through more loss in one lifetime than most people can grasp. She lost her father unexpectedly to heart failure, then her mother to an accident, and then, most heart-breakingly, her 16-year-old daughter Penny. Out of this deep experience of loss, she's built a completely new way of moving through grief — one built on choice instead of waiting for it to pass. We talk about what it actually means to feel grief in your body, the signs from her loved ones Kate can't explain away, and the choice that turned her family's indescribable loss into a way of helping thousands of others heal through loss. This conversation made me think differently about grief, healing, and what it really means to honor the people we love. Whether you're grieving today or simply want to better support someone who is, I hope this episode reminds you that healing doesn't mean leaving your loved one behind, it means learning to carry their love with you as you keep on living. Key Moments You'll Love ✨ : [4:36] Penny's Diagnosis at Four Months Old — One in 300,000 [8:38] Seven Brain Surgeries and She Never Let It Define Her️ [10:19] In That Last Week They Filled the House With Music, Love and Light [13:55] She Lost Her Father, Then Her Mother, Then the Unimaginable [16:03] Her Dad's Headstone Was a Rock From His Favorite Beach [30:13] Grief Lives in Your Body — If You Don't Move It, It Gets Stuck [33:53] The Day After Penny's Celebration They Launched Pennies Flight Foundation✨ [37:12] It's Not Your Lifespan That Matters — It's Your Wingspan [41:29] The Five Stages of Grief Were Written in the 1960s — It's Time for an Update [44:00] Stop Saying I'm Sorry — Say This Instead [46:20] Post Traumatic Growth Instead of Post Traumatic Stress [54:50] Running Through Dallas Thinking of the Book — Then a License Plate Said Faith Over Fear LINKS Kate Doerge website: https://www.katedoerge.com/ Kate on Instagram @doergek Reimagining Grief book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4wNDywY SPONSORS RE-LYTE: Go to https://redmond.life/kelly and use code KELLY to get 15% off your first order. TIMELINE: Mitopure now starts at just $79. Go to timeline.com/healwithkelly to get 20% off Mitopure supplements and Skincare with code HEALwithKelly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
