Breathing Wind Podcast
Breathing Wind
Writing from the Heart with Dr. Jason Ridler: Finding unexpected new directions from grief and tragedy
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Writing from the Heart with Dr. Jason Ridler: Finding unexpected new directions from grief and tragedy

Grief shakes the illusions about how the world works

“The joy was not just in the simple stuff — like a good cup of coffee and being being mindful and present — but experiencing joy, looking for joy, and having a hand in it. And knowing that does not have to be completed necessarily by somebody validating it.”

-Dr. Jason Ridler


This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys.


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In this episode, Sarah talks with Dr. Jason Ridler (Dr. Jay) about the act of writing as a way to process by doing, how his grief transformed his relationship to writing, and how he connected back to the joy of why he became a writer in the first place. Dr. Jay is an historian, writer, and teacher of creative writing who has worked for such clients as Johns Hopkins University, Google, and the US Naval Academy, among others. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Dr. Jay remains a loyal but critical form of professional wrestling.

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Breathing Wind Podcast
Breathing Wind
Breathing Wind is a podcast about grief and loss and how we journey with these lifelong companions.
Naila Francis, grief coach, writer and former journalist and Sarah Davis, podcast consultant, speaker and writer, are cohosts. We offer warm, honest and insightful conversations for the introspective at heart.
Launched in 2019 as a personal grief project, the podcast struck a chord with listeners looking for a space to feel less alone in their grief. Quickly, a dedicated community grew around the candid and compelling conversations with others who knew grief just as intimately and those who offered guidance for navigating this universal human experience.
In its three seasons of publishing monthly episodes, Breathing Wind has become a trusted space to explore who we become and how we make meaning in the midst of our post-loss lives. It's also the place where joy, laughter, wonder and possibility co-exist alongside deep heartbreak.
Find out more at www.breathingwind.com.
Follow us on Instagram @breathingwindpodcast.
Send us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/BreathingWind.