Clover Stroud: The Rituals of Grief

Clover Stroud: The Rituals of Grief

So many of us have experienced a before… and an after.

My friend, the lovely writer Clover Stroud, had her before and after at a young age. When she was 16, her mom was in a horse-riding accident and suffered a serious brain injury that left her severely disabled until she died… 22 years later. The suddenness of that accident layered with the ongoingness of that level of caregiving bonded Clover and her big sister, Nell in remarkable ways. Then, Nell unexpectedly died.

The grief of losing her sister is captured in Clover’s beautiful book, The Red of My Blood—a book that captures the visceral feelings of grief. The pain. The beauty. The staying wide awake to the life that’s in front of us despite it all. The “how do I go on parenting with all this grief?” The “give me a sign” feeling we crave when our loved ones are gone.

In this conversation, Kate and Clover discuss:

  • Kids who have to grow up too fast due to tragedy and who we become because of it
  • How some people have to live in ongoing trauma or extended grief due to caregiving or chronic illness
  • The unexpected glimmers of beauty that can sustain us amid the ache of loss
  • Why we need rituals to hold us together during deep grief

Kate went to visit Clover at her farm outside of Oxford in England to talk about the things in our lives that almost destroy us but also form us in some remarkable ways too.

CW: cancer, traumatic brain injury, horse accident, death of a sibling

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avsnitt(281)

Sarah Bessey: Faith That Survives

Sarah Bessey: Faith That Survives

What happens when the faith that once held you starts to unravel? When the certainty you clung to turns to dust? Sarah Bessey knows what it’s like to watch faith fall apart—and somehow find something ...

15 Apr 202545min

Simone Gorrindo: The Cost of Love and Duty

Simone Gorrindo: The Cost of Love and Duty

What happens when the person you love is called to something that takes them away? Again and again and again. Journalist Simone Gorrindo never expected to become a military wife. Raised in a liberal a...

8 Apr 202538min

Jeff Chu: Good Soil

Jeff Chu: Good Soil

What happens when a journalist-turned-seminarian finds God in a pile of rotting vegetables? You get Jeff Chu—writer, pastor, and accidental theologian of compost. In this tender and funny conversation...

1 Apr 202538min

Pádraig Ó Tuama: In the Name of Belonging

Pádraig Ó Tuama: In the Name of Belonging

What does it mean to live alongside people you don’t agree with? And love them anyway? Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and conflict mediator from Ireland, where belonging has always been compli...

25 Mars 202548min

Amy Griffin: Some Warriors Weep

Amy Griffin: Some Warriors Weep

We all carry stories. Some smooth over the past, making things easier to bear. Others—the truer ones—break us open. Amy Griffin knows what it’s like to hold a secret so tightly, it starts to define yo...

18 Mars 202537min

Coach K: Love in Winning, Love in Losing

Coach K: Love in Winning, Love in Losing

What happens when someone believes in you–before you’re even ready to believe in yourself? In this powerful conversation, Kate sits down with legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) to ta...

11 Mars 202543min

The Hardest Part: A Lent for Real Life

The Hardest Part: A Lent for Real Life

Lent is here—the season we stop pretending we’re fine and admit that life is…a lot. It’s forty days of naming what’s fragile, walking toward the hard truths, and resisting the urge to skip straight to...

4 Mars 202536min

Vivek Murthy: We Are Good Medicine

Vivek Murthy: We Are Good Medicine

Loneliness is more than just a feeling—it shapes how we see ourselves and the world around us. It can make us withdraw, hesitate to reach out, or convince us that connection is for other people. But D...

25 Feb 202542min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
aftonbladet-krim
gynning-berg
p3-dokumentar
en-mork-historia
svenska-fall
mardromsgasten
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
skaringer-nessvold
blenda-2
killradet
rss-nemo-moter-en-van
hor-har
flashback-forever
kod-katastrof
rattsfallen
vad-blir-det-for-mord
rss-mer-an-bara-morsa
rysarpodden
larm-vi-minns