Cat Grief is Real. So is Human Grief. We’re Underestimating and Misunderstanding Both.

Bay Area journalist s.e. smith thinks the high school goths were right: we should be talking about death all the time. It’s underdiscussed for something that will literally affect us all. And in that silence, they say, things get worse: the topic becomes less approachable, inevitable periods of grief can become more chaotic and disruptive, and the actual pain of losing your person or cat or dog can become harder to process. s.e. went out and talked to dozens of death-related people – death doulas, psychologists, funeral directors – to see what we could do about this topic to find some peace to rest in long before we actually have to rest in peace. They offer some insight, also, into the ways capitalism tries to steal your grief and leave you more messed up as a result.

Then we check in with friend of the show Emily Nagoski, author of hugely acclaimed book about sex Come As You Are. She tells us about her recent bout of agoraphobia and how she did her best to fight it off so she could see a Bigfoot musical.

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Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

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