life's too short

Christmas can intensify grief in ways you don’t expect. For many people, the festive season brings memories, longing, and a deep sense of absence - especially if you’re facing your first Christmas without someone you love.

In this solo episode of Life’s Too Short, I talk honestly about Christmas grief and what it’s really like to cope with loss during the holidays. I share a personal story about the first time I heard a Christmas song after my mum died, how grief can surface suddenly, and how this season can feel isolating when the world expects joy.

This episode explores:

why grief often feels heavier at Christmas
the emotional complexity of the festive season after loss
how to survive your first Christmas without a loved one
permission to lower expectations and opt out of traditions
how joy and grief can exist together over time

Whether you’re grieving a parent, partner, child, or someone deeply important to you, this episode is for anyone trying to get through Christmas while carrying loss.

You can find me on Instagram @lifestooshortpodcast, where I share updates, reflections and details about upcoming episodes. I’ll be taking a short break over the Christmas period to rest and be with my family, but new episodes will be back in the new year. Thank you so much for listening, sharing, and holding space for these conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is one I’ll carry with me for a long, long time.

Marina joined me to talk about a different kind of grief - the grief that comes before loss. The kind that lives inside uncertainty, scans, treatments, watching your child grow, and holding both hope and heartbreak in the same breath.

At 34, Marina was living her dream life in the west of Ireland - painting, teaching, growing a garden, building a future with her husband. Then came a diagnosis that changed everything: ALK-positive lung cancer. A disease she never imagined could happen to her, and one that is, for now, incurable.

In this conversation, Marina speaks with honesty, clarity and unbelievable strength about:

• the shock of diagnosis
• the years of treatment that followed
• becoming a mother after cancer
• parenting through uncertainty
• anticipatory grief
• the everyday beauty she holds onto
• and the spiritual grounding that keeps her going

I’m so grateful Marina trusted this space with her story. It’s emotional, it’s human, it’s real, and it will stay with you.

If you or someone you love is navigating cancer, or the uncertainty of life-limiting illness, there is support, community, and advocacy happening every single day. I’ve linked to Marina’s work and the Marie Keating Foundation below.

Where to Find Marina
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinawild_art/
Website & Artwork: https://www.marinawild.com/

Marie Keating Foundation
Support, information & resources: https://www.mariekeating.ie
Lung cancer awareness & advocacy: https://www.mariekeating.ie/cancer-information/lung-cancer/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Annabelle Reynolds for an incredibly honest conversation about complex grief - the kind of grief we don’t often talk about publicly.
Annabelle shares the story of her father, a deeply kind and vibrant man whose life changed dramatically after the 2008 recession. Over the years, addiction, shame, and difficult family dynamics reshaped their relationship long before his death from esophageal cancer in 2019.

We talk about:

What it’s like to “lose” a parent many times before they physically die
Anger, rage, jealousy, and the emotions society rarely associates with grief
Growing up fast and becoming the caretaker long before adulthood
Navigating addiction, family fractures, and grief that doesn’t fit the traditional mould
The first year after loss, anticipatory grief, and building a toolbox to survive it
Healing as sisters, spirituality, signs, humour, and the messy truth of moving forward

This is the first time Annabelle has shared her story in full, and it’s a conversation I know will resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced complicated loss - or ever wondered whether their version of grief is “normal.”

A gentle content note: this episode includes discussion of addiction, self-harm, and complex family trauma.

If this episode meant something to you, please follow the show, leave a review, or share it with someone who might feel a little less alone hearing it. That’s how our community grows.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode, I reflect on the idea of signs; the small, sometimes strange ways we feel our loved ones near after they’re gone.

A song on the radio. A robin in the garden. A moment that feels too precise to be coincidence.

Why do we look for them? What do they mean? And do they actually matter, or is the meaning in how they make us feel?

Through honest reflection and gentle storytelling, I'm exploring how grief sharpens our awareness of the world around us, how comfort doesn’t always need proof, and why believing (or not believing) in signs can both be okay.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Was that them?”, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Life’s Too Short wherever you get your podcasts.
✨ Follow on Instagram @lifestooshortpodcast
📰 Subscribe to the newsletter on Substack: https://lifestooshortpodcast.substack.com/
💬 Leave a rating or review, it helps others find these conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Life’s Too Short, I speak with Morgan Cummins; an executive coach and recruiter who lost his dad suddenly more than 20 years ago. What began as an unimaginable shock became, over time, one of his greatest teachers.

We talk about what it means to live with loss, how grief can reappear in the body years later, and how to let go of anger without letting go of love. Morgan shares his path from anxiety to spirituality, the lessons he’s carried into fatherhood, and how the death of his dad reshaped his definition of success, legacy, and peace.

It’s a grounded, generous conversation about what loss can show us, if we let it.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Find Morgan on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgancummins12/

💬 Join the conversation
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/lifestooshortpodcast
Substack → https://lifestooshort.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.