Feb. 1, 2023

If You Really Want to Help, Check Your Energy at the Door with Lisa Keefauver of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast and Book

If You Really Want to Help, Check Your Energy at the Door with Lisa Keefauver of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch Podcast and Book

Grief is a real part of being human. If that is the reality, how come we tend to be “grief illiterate” when providing support for those going through loss? We all have experienced some sort of loss or grief, but it is still a topic we don't discuss.

Today’s guest is Lisa Keefauver, MSW, a social worker, and widow turned grief activist. She has faced unthinkable tragedy from a young age and since then has helped open the field of grief discussion. A speaker, a podcaster, a professor, a writer, and a really cool woman, Lisa jumped into this important subject matter knowing that her whole life has brought her to this.

I found her podcast called “Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch” and I knew I needed to listen to Lisa and invite her to The Second Wind podcast. I also wanted to bring support to the honest and authentic discussion of grief and how to bring that same support to others going through the process of trauma and loss. How can you show up?

In this Episode

[02:27] The definition of grief and Lisa’s grief metaphor.

[05:27] Knowing and understanding how to navigate grief, especially during early childhood.

[07:57] How can we help the discussion of grief move forward?

[11:45] “Trauma isn't the event that happens to you. Trauma is the way in which you experience what happened to you.” - Lisa Keefauver

[14:25] The early seeds that got planted in Lisa to become a Professor of Loss and Grief at Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas.

[16:17] How did a young Lisa know she wasn’t given what she needed in her grief?

[21:47] Every individual has a lived experience of loss that feels very different from others.

[23:12] “Mental health field, in general, is getting better about starting to evolve and acknowledge the realities and the complexity of grief.”  - Lisa Keefauver

[26:26] You have to go through grief, being a grief activist, and pushing yourself to ask questions and to be curious.

[34:08] How our lack of grief literacy means we have become impractical about holding space for other people's pain.

[37:40] The moment Lisa knew she needed to share that, “Grief is such a sneaky bitch.” 

[41:22] Lisa quits her nonprofit job and creates her own company about grief.

[43:38] There is a definite contagion of mutual grief.

[45:56] When we begin to face the inevitability of death instead of numbing it, it can open up a rich wonder and beauty.

[51:03] How do you help people with grief? 

[01:00:36] You can still choose to show up even if you don’t always get it right.

[01:04:27] What is next for Lisa? And her life purpose.

About Lisa Keefauver

Lisa Keefauver is using her personal and professional experiences with grief and loss over the past 20 years to create a grief-smart culture. As founder of Reimagining Grief, Host of the top-rated podcast “Grief is a Sneaky Bitch”, and Adjunct Professor of Loss and Grief at Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, she is on a mission to transform and expand our understanding of grief, and change the lives of individuals, communities, and organizations along the way. 

She brings her whole self to the work, which includes warmth, vulnerability, humor, and therapeutic skills. She spends her time as a speaker, writer, podcast host, grief guide, educator, and organizational consultant. 

Connect With Lisa Keefauver

On her website
On her podcast and YouTube channel
On her Facebook
On her Instagram
On her LinkedIn
On her Twitter

Listen to Mindy Corporon's episode from August 4th, 2021 entitled One Sunday Afternoon, which changed her life forever.  

Heal your body and mind with RYZE mushroom coffee. Click here to get started!

Join My Second Wind Facebook Group