Forward To Joy

This week, Alexandra was inspired by a quote from Maya Angelou: “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” This reminded Alexandra of when others have treated her with pity and made her feel inferior. All too often we can become paralyzed by grief and what we are going through, but it doesn’t have to define us. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra talks about journaling. She discusses the research-backed benefits of journaling as well as some prompts that can be helpful when building a habit around journaling. Writing in a notebook may not work for everyone, however, there are other ways to engage in journaling through voice memos. There are also apps that can help with reflection and journaling. Grief Journaling Prompts: https://www.griefrecoveryhouston.com/journal-prompts-for-grieving-loss/ Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is super short and sweet message from Alexandra about holding the belief and hope not only for ourselves but for others. Sometimes we have to borrow belief and hope from others until we can find it ourselves. Be that person for another and continue building community. We are not alone. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lorne shares her vulnerable story of how she lost her husband by suicide leaving her a single parent to two kids. There were no signs, she did not see it coming and yet she figured out how to put one foot in front of the other to start her grieving process and guide her kids. Lorne is an example of finding moments of joy in the aftermath of tragedy. Lorne’s interview on She diaries: https://brightskyhouse.com/2025/04/21/lornes-story-what-life-looks-like-one-year-after-suicide-loss/ Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra shares a few of the bigger themes and take-aways from the International Association of Suicide Prevention World Congress 2025. Though the conference focused on suicide prevention, there were lessons and themes that can apply to grief and other types of loss. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra chats about another aspect of grief related to routines shifting and changing. When we lose someone we are close to we also lose the routines and habits we had with them. No matter how prepared or not we are for a loss our bodies and cells anticipate and hold onto the routines. It takes time and healing for our bodies to accept the shift and change. Huberman LabHealing From Grief and Loss with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connorhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/1SJy7X8fA6IlmaRjgxAaPK?si=hfA7jCIpQo6Ab-GEY9QxsQ Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra chats about the idea of zooming out. Grief can force us to have tunnel vision and to get sucked into day to day life so we miss the big picture. There is a thru line in our lives and zooming out can help us recognize and see it. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra chats about compassion fatigue and how this can apply to the grief process. Compassion fatigue is often related to those in helping positions and careers. She posits that grief provides a great opportunity for compassion fatigue to creep up. The symptoms can look like other things and really be about compassion fatigue. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Alexandra talks about the loneliness that can arise with loss. There can be a deep seated loneliness from childhood experiences that pile up or there can be a loneliness from losing someone who you were close to. Either way, there is help and support available. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can be easy to get sucked into the negative parts of grief. Our moments of joy create a chance for us to grow around our grief. This week, Alexandra talks about moments of joy she has experienced that she never thought she would. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes life hands us experiences that are awful and challenge us. Awful feelings can arise and we have a choice in how we want to handle our feelings and respond. Often, we go to blame. Blaming people. Blaming things. All this does is deflect from really feeling the feels and working through them. Life happens for us, not to us. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠, or send her an email at ⁠⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra chats about the period of time after a grief burst or a time of stress that she calls the Let Down. What this looks like is different for every person but can involve exhaustion, a need for rest and taking time to recharge and repair. Connect with Alexandra on her website, ⁠forwardtojoy.com⁠, or send her an email at ⁠alexandra@forwardtojoy.com⁠. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra talks about how individualized each grief experience is while also highlighting similarities of the grief journey. There are some elements of grief that can be similar among people which hopefully encourages community and unity. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Forward to Joy has officially been around for 100 episodes! This is such a huge accomplishment for Alexandra and to celebrate she shares the top 10 things she has learned since Shawn died and also since starting this podcast. This is one you’ll want to save and listen to multiple times. <3 Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I’m Alexandra Wyman, and welcome to Forward to Joy. This podcast was born out of my own journey through grief, healing, and finding a way to embrace joy again after deep loss. I created this space to have real, honest conversations about the messy, complicated, and beautiful process of navigating life after loss. Each week, I’ll be sharing stories — both my own and from incredible guests — that shine a light on grief, mental health, resilience, and the tools that can help us keep moving forward. This isn’t about fixing or forgetting — it’s about finding meaning, hope, and even joy in the midst of the pain. Whether you're grieving yourself, walking alongside someone who is, or simply curious about what healing can really look like, you're in the right place. New episodes weekly! I’d love for you to join me on this journey Forward to Joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is short and sweet as Alexandra chats about the importance of reading the room, especially with grief. When experiencing a loss, we get to decide what we want to share, when and how. It is not okay for others to project their discomfort onto us nor ours onto them. Be empowered to work through your grief the way you need to. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is one of Alexandra’s favorite episodes, and such a good reminder as the weather starts to get warmer. It's also good to have favorite episodes for when a podcast host loses her voice. Hopefully, Alexandra will get her voice back soon and will be back to new episodes. Enjoy! Connect or Work with Sabrina: Bodiesbybrina.com Instagram: @bodiesbybrina Podcast: Veggies and Vices Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra had the honor of speaking with special core trauma transformation specialist Dr. Tara Perry. She is a subconscious mind expert who has been featured in Fox News, Esquire, Lifetime Television for Women, and more. Over the last 25 years, she has successfully treated celebrities, Olympic athletes, first responders, doctors, parents, and children. Tara’s passion is working with people to resolve their grief and deepest suffering. Enjoy this chat! Ways to connect with Dr. Tara: Website: https://consulttara.com Podcast: Next Level Healing (also found on YouTube) Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra talked about the science of trauma and how it can look different for children and adults. We often only see the surface of what people are experiencing, and there could be so much more underneath. It’s helpful to understand what trauma looks like and how it can impact people, since we are interacting with each other throughout our day. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Alexandra talks about affirmations. While they can be very useful, alone they are not as effective with healing deep core beliefs that may impact us negatively. We need to use other modalities to help require our brains and then affirmations can be a useful tool for setting intentions. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices