Grief Heals16 Sep 2025

Among the Stars: A Conversation with Author Denise Clanin

In this very special episode of Grief Heals, host Lisa Michelle Zega is thrilled to welcome the podcast's very first guest, Denise Clanin.

Denise is a former accountant turned stay-at-home mom and debut novelist living in North Idaho.

What began as a simple college writing assignment over a decade ago has blossomed into Denise's novel Among the Stars - but the story behind the story is what makes this conversation truly compelling.

After losing her brother six years ago, Denise found herself returning to that forgotten manuscript during her toddler's nap times, discovering that writing became an unexpected pathway through grief.

Her novel explores themes that mirror her own journey - loss, healing, community, and the messy, complicated nature of grief itself.

In this heartfelt conversation, Lisa and Denise dive deep into how creativity can become a companion in healing, the way our loved ones continue to inspire us beyond their physical presence, and why no one is ever truly a lost cause.

Whether you're navigating your own grief journey, curious about the intersection of writing and healing, or simply love hearing authentic stories of human resilience, this episode offers profound insights wrapped in genuine warmth.

Plus, you'll discover how Denise's entire family moved together from California to Idaho after her brother's passing, the unique ways her brother's fearless spirit continues to influence her approach to building community, and how writing fiction helped her learn to be patient with herself in the grieving process.

To purchase Among the Stars by Denise Clanin, you can find it here

You can also follow Denise on Facebook and Instagram.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(88)

Welcoming What Is

Lisa returns to the question she's been turning over for a few episodes now — the relationship between healing, wholeness, and being human — and finds her way into it through her own preparation for h...

11 Maj 31min

Gardens and Grief

In this episode, Lisa reflects on the surprising parallels between gardening and grieving and what her first sprouting bell pepper seeds taught her about wholeness.Drawing on the wisdom of "lazy garde...

28 Apr 29min

Grief Humanizes

Lisa reflects on a question that's been sitting with her: What if we renamed this podcast? From Grief Heals to Grief Humanizes because maybe that's the truer thing grief does.She traces the thread fro...

13 Apr 30min

Gifts of Grief

Grief gives gifts. If that’s true, it opens up a conversation that asks what are the gifts that grief has given me. The first gift that comes to mind is that my life is more than this body. Before Chi...

30 Mars 26min

How Did I Get Here Part Two

Last time I sought to answer the question, “How did I get here? What happened to (for) me?” to become a woman that my Bible college, homeschooling, good christian, pastor’s wife selves, would not rec...

16 Mars 28min

How Did I Get Here?

I asked myself, “How did I get here? What happened to (for) me?” and this is what came out. There are lots of tears as I trace my journey and think about how I became a woman that my Bible college, ho...

3 Mars 38min

The Opposite Of Self Criticism: Notice Without Judgment

For nearly six months my girlfriend was pushing down the thought that she can’t stand her hubs – especially because he was sick. What kind of woman is contemplating divorce after her husband is diagno...

2 Feb 14min

When Anger is A Voice of Love

Stop. Will you pause for a breath?When I pause and notice, it reminds me that I am alive and I am being lived. What do you notice?This week’s Grief Heals episode is an offering, not a lesson. A slow, ...

19 Jan 29min