A Place of Yes | A Grief Podcast

Katrina Labate joins Heather to share what it means to lose your only sibling when the loss is sudden, disorienting, and far too soon. Her sister, Maria, was just 30 when she died after a rapid and devastating cancer diagnosis, leaving behind not only a close-knit family, but a future Katrina assumed they would share. In this conversation, Katrina reflects on their childhood together, the adult friendship they were just beginning to step into, and the particular heartbreak of sibling grief, a loss that is often deeply felt and far too rarely named.
Heather and Katrina talk about the milestones that keep grief moving, the emptiness of becoming the only one left to hold certain memories, and the quiet ways loss resurfaces years later. They also explore what it means to keep living fully after profound loss, how joy and grief can sit side by side, and why Maria’s presence is still part of the biggest moments in Katrina’s life. It’s a tender, thoughtful conversation about sisterhood, memory, and carrying love forward after loss.
Resources & Ways to Connect
Our Sweet Maria: A Father’s Story of Love, Loss, and Hope: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Sweet-Maria-Story-Loss/dp/1667878390

A Place of Yes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast/

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: https://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

A Place of Yes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-place-of-yes-a-grief-podcast/id1725899363
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aYEz4dvQXkux0x320eVFX

Chad Griffin was just 20 years old when his brother was diagnosed with cancer and died within months. Years later, he would lose his sister to alcoholism and his mother as well — a succession of losses that reshaped his understanding of family, faith, anxiety, and what it means to live with grief over decades, not days.
In this conversation, Chad reflects on early numbness and escapism, the anxiety that followed his sister’s death, and the long road back through therapy, meditation, and deep introspection. He and Heather talk about compound grief, anticipatory grief, and the way loss evolves over a lifetime — shifting from raw pain to longing, from fear to acceptance. Chad shares how saved voicemails, AI-generated images, and simply saying their names have become acts of remembrance, and why honoring the full relationship — including the suffering — is part of healing. It’s a conversation about feeling the feels, facing what hurts, and discovering that on the other side of pain can be unexpected beauty.
Resources & Ways to Connect
Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelp

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Heidi Dunstan is a certified grief educator, author, and speaker — and she became that after losing her husband, Mike, suddenly from a massive heart attack just two days after Christmas and the day before her 40th birthday. In a single hour, her life shifted from planning a surprise birthday party to learning how to survive a loss that rewrote everything, including the holidays that followed.
In this conversation, Heidi and Heather talk about why “grief is love” is more than a comforting phrase, and how judgment can quietly shut grieving people down. Heidi shares why common lines like “I’m sorry for your loss,” “you’re so strong,” and “at least…” can miss the mark, and what matters more instead: presence, specifics, and the courage to simply show up. They also explore the overlooked secondary losses that come with grief — shifting friendships, silence from people who don’t know what to say, and the complicated pressure to grieve “the right way” — along with practical language that helps people feel seen, safe, and supported.
Resources & Ways to Connect
Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelp

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Heidi Dunstan Website: https://heididunstan.ca/

Libby Adams is a radio host in Albany, New York—one half of the Fly Morning Rush on Fly 92.3—and she knows what it means to grieve in public while trying to keep life moving. After losing her mom to cancer in 2022, Libby began navigating adulthood with a new lens on everything: the milestones her mom won’t see, the joy that still shows up anyway, and the guilt that can come with feeling okay again.
In this conversation, Libby shares what it was like to live with anticipatory grief as her mom’s health changed, how the smallest moments—like getting a haircut—can hit harder than the “big” days, and what it takes to show up for work when the grief is still raw. Heather and Libby talk about the strange mix of denial and survival, the way loss reshapes identity, and the quiet places love keeps showing up—sometimes as a voice in the back of your mind, sometimes as sunlight that feels like a reminder.
Resources & Ways to Connect
Fly 92.3: https://fly92.com/

Fly Morning Rush: https://fly92.com/show/the-fly-morning-rush/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelp

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Season 4 of A Place of Yes premiers on March 11, 2026. This season continues the honest conversations about grief that so many people are afraid to have — the messy parts, the unexpected moments, and the ways we begin to heal.
This season features powerful stories from people who have lived through profound loss, along with experts who offer practical, compassionate insight into what grief really looks like. From sudden tragedy to long-term illness, from navigating friendships to redefining faith and identity, these conversations create space for both pain and hope.
If you’ve ever felt alone in your grief, this season is for you.
Subscribe and join us for Season 4 of A Place of Yes.