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"Who The F --- am I now?" : A Journey Through Grief
Manage episode 484017141 series 3490806
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What happens when your entire life changes in a single week? After 30 years in high-tech, 27 years of marriage, and raising two children, Nicole Rousseau suddenly found herself navigating life as both a new widow and recent retiree—all within five days.
Nicole's story reveals the raw, messy, and often unspoken truth about grief in American culture. With remarkable candor, she describes what she calls the "three chapters of grief" and the particular challenges of anticipatory grief while caring for her husband through both dementia and ALS. "You start losing them before you've really lost them," she explains, describing the years of invisible grieving that preceded his death.
Rather than staying in her home of 25 years surrounded by memories, Nicole made the bold decision to sell her home and move from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California—challenging conventional wisdom about avoiding major life changes after loss. "I wasn't running from anything," she shares. "I was running to me." This radical reinvention allowed her to discover who she is beyond the roles that had defined her for decades.
Nicole's journey illuminates the transformative power of grief when we're willing to sit with it rather than rush through it. She describes grief as a magnifying glass that shows you all your imperfections, fears, and uncomfortable emotions—forcing you to confront parts of yourself you've long ignored. Through this process, she discovered new passions in sound healing, somatic work, and coaching, finding purpose in helping others navigate their own grief journeys.
The most profound lesson from Nicole's experience is what she calls the "six G's of grief": gratitude, grounding, grace, going through, grit, and group. These elements form a powerful framework for anyone navigating loss of any kind. As she powerfully states, "You've got to feel it to heal it"—there's simply no way around grief, only through it.
Have you experienced significant loss or major life transitions? Nicole's story reminds us that even in our darkest moments, transformation and unexpected joy are possible when we face our grief with courage and an open heart. Follow us on Instagram @LetThatShiftGo for more conversations that help you navigate life's biggest challenges.
Chapters
1. "Who The F --- am I now?" : A Journey Through Grief (00:00:00)
2. Welcome to Let That Shift Go (00:00:08)
3. Nicole's Story of Loss and Reinvention (00:00:43)
4. Navigating Multiple Life Changes (00:05:07)
5. The Three Chapters of Grief (00:11:31)
6. Finding Strength Amidst Overwhelming Loss (00:17:29)
7. Messy Yet Beautiful Gifts of Grief (00:22:01)
8. Myths About Grief and Timelines (00:28:13)
9. Healing Through Sound and Somatic Work (00:32:44)
10. The Six G's of Grief (00:39:02)
11. Episode Closing and Thank You (00:45:59)
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