Love is the Mother of Grief
“It's healthy, I believe, to touch these places. I don't know how you can touch your love place without touching your grief place. They're both there. They're layered on top of each other and your joy place. They're all there, and when we shut down, we shut down all the good stuff, too.”
~Nnenna Freelon
In this week’s episode, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon takes us on a journey through her many realms of grief. As compelling a storyteller as she is a performer, Nnenna candidly reflects on her ongoing evolution as a griever since the deaths of her beloved husband Phil and sister Debbie. She shares how she has turned to creativity, including her music, not only as a grief practice but as a way to stay connected to Phil, why she’s mindful of the words she uses when talking about grief and loss and how embracing grief as a teacher is transforming her dance with this ever-shifting experience. Deeply moving and thought-provoking, this conversation centers grief with so much reverence, wonder and vitality, we hope it inspires you as much as it did us — and invites you to consider what it might mean for you to fall back in love with life while honoring your broken heart.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android Devices | RSS
About Nnenna Freelon
Nnenna Freelon is a six-time GRAMMY® Award nominee and a proud Durham resident. She’s a live performer, recording artist, arts educator and activist. The loss of her soulmate and husband, renowned architect Phil Freelon, in 2019 to ALS, followed by the loss of her sister Debbie in 2020 to cancer, have reshaped her way of being in the world — inspiring both her Grammy-nominated recording “Time Traveler" and her award-winning Podcast, Great grief with Nnenna Freelon. She is also the founder, with her late husband Phil, of NorthStar Church of the Arts, a sacred space for creative expression, spiritual exploration and cross-cultural collaboration in Durham, N.C.
Mentioned in this episode:
What is ALS? From ALS.org
Like this episode? Show it some love.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Leave a rating or review. The more ratings, the more likely others who have lost parents will hear these stories.
Follow us on Instagram.
Want more time with us? Join our Patreon community.