Jennifer Levin
Hi everyone and welcome to Untethered: Healing the pain from a sudden death. I am Dr. Jennifer Levin, and I specialize in traumatic death and helping individuals through the struggles, pain, trauma, and chaos of an unexpected death.
Today’s podcast interview is the second part of my interview with author Kim Cantin, who wrote the book Where Yellow Flowers Bloom: A True Story of Hope Through Unimaginable Loss which was released Friday, April 9th. Kim’s memoir is a heartfelt testament of her love as mother and her devotion as a wife in the midst of sudden loss and trauma, with an enlightened perspective on mortality. Through her patience, perseverance, and willingness to be open to help and to heal, she confirms love’s ability to connect and transcend beyond life.
In our first interview Kim focused on how she coped with her traumatic grief after the death of her husband and son while she was search for his remains. In today’s interview, Kim shares more about her healing and living with long term grief after sudden and unexpected death.
Hi Kim, welcome back. This is the part two of our interview and this is actually the first time I've ever done a part two of my podcast. However, with the the death of both your husband and your son, and all of the things in your story that relate to both to sudden and unexpected loss, I wanted to make sure that we had enough time to explore all of the different topics that so many of the listeners of this podcast experience, and there's so many ways I think that they can benefit from what you have expressed a willingness to share. So I can't thank you enough for being willing and able to come back again today and to share such a personal and vulnerable experience with us.
Kim Cantin
You're very welcome. I'm glad to be here.
Jennifer Levin
Yeah, thanks. So for anyone who is just joining us today, I really encourage you to go back and listen to our first episode, which aired on April 7th, so what Kim has to share with us today can be put in context. So let's start off our interview today by asking you what actually helped you most in your grief or still helps you in your grief.
Kim Cantin
Probably what helped me most was the tribe I put around myself, the compassion of friends. And letting people come help me. I was a pretty independent person, I was the helper of others. And so this kind of flipped my role as I was the one who needed help. And just being open and vulnerable to the compassion of other people, and getting a tribe of people who were comfortable in the space, you know, because some people aren't comfortable in this space. And there's, there's angels that showed up. And I think angels that showed up who were supposed to be here, and they made a huge difference. And I also think, you know, part of those angels were the sacred search team for me, and then intuitive readings really helped me too.
Jennifer Levin
Yeah. We're gonna actually talk about that in in a few minutes. Did you have people who weren't able to support you or who weren't comfortable?
Kim Cantin
No, everyone, everyone's great. Everyone did their best. But I did have, there were people who are my dear friends who are still my dear friends who I could just tell they didn't want this tragedy to happen. They didn't want their friend to change. They were uncomfortable, as they just naturally are uncomfortable with deep grief emotions, maybe that they have unresolved grief, and it was triggering for them. And so yeah, I mean, it's just kind of interesting that some people and I remember talking to my therapist about it, she goes, well, Kim, it sometimes it gets really fatiguing, right? For them, they didn't ask for it. Their friend has changed, and the dynamics of, because you've changed, the dynamics of your friendship has changed a bit. And so you know, everyone was terrific, but I do, like there's some friends of mine that I would have thought would have been more present in my life. And who seemed to have taken a back seat a little bit more, but that's because other angels came in who I think were uniquely supposed to be there to help me and were able to help me so I don't hold anything against them, other than there's a recognition of things have shifted and friendships ebb and flow. Right? And so there's just a recognition of that. And then look, I retired too. And so if you've got friends who are still in this huge, heavy grind of work, and they're exhausted, coming home, you know, it's like my world's a little different. My day to day is a little different. So the people that are going to be in my day to day is going to be different. Yeah.
Jennifer Levin
It seems like you have a very healthy perspective in the way you're able to look at that. Yeah. You know, perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions among people who have not experienced a traumatic death is that the grief experience ends or that there's a grief timeline. With that said, how would you describe your grief now, five years after the mudslides have occurred?
Kim Cantin
Lighter, I think my grief is lighter. It, it's dissipated, you know, you learn to kind of live alongside of it. And, and life goes on. And other things are happening in your life that are filling new experiences and new memories. So I would say it gets lighter, it doesn't go away. I mean grief, I think for me is a big bowl of spaghetti and a few meatballs and it's all intertwined and because it's nonlinear. And you don't know, you know, when you're gonna get to the meatball. But it's lighter, five years after it's lighter.
Jennifer Levin
But I imagine there's still those moments of just intense pain.
Kim Cantin
Yeah, and for me it happens a lot when I'm driving. I don't know why maybe because my guard's down, like I'm driving and then my guard's down. So you know, my husband had a Chevy Silverado, he loved his white truck. And so when I see a white Chevy Silverado, I think of Dave. Oh, I was I was going past the elementary school yesterday. And I just remembered a picture, I took of Jack, when he was in sixth grade, it was for like a sixth grade picture. And he had his funny hands up, kind of like to the sky like, Mom, what are you doing, doing another picture? And I just as I drove by, I just envisioned him walking down with that same, that same look. And so I just kind of let it happen. Like I am now right, like, you just let some of those feelings flow through you because those are healing and those I think, let me know that I loved them. You know?
Jennifer Levin
Yeah. I think that's a very encouraging word, lighter. Yeah. How do you cope now, when those experiences of intense moments of grief occur?
Kim Cantin
I let them happen. And I think I honor them, and I let them happen. You know, as before, you know, before this whole tragedy, I was, you know, a professional, I was an executive. And you know, I was working with a large number of people in an organization. And so I kind of had to keep it together. And now I think I'm just more authentic in the human vulnerability of it all. And so if I tear up like I just did a minute ago, I let that happen. And it's, it's part of the human experience. And I just honor it, I guess.
Jennifer Levin
How would you say that grief has changed you as a person?
Kim Cantin
Hmm, I think I'm more empathetic.
I've learned profoundly one of the human experiences that we all probably end up learning one day, which is profound grief, right? And so I understand that more and so I'm more empathetic in regards to that. I would say I'm more vulnerable, I'm more open to trusting the process, whereas before I was a high driver, want it done want it done now, you know, my job was a director like and your, you're just getting stuff done. And now, I can't always get my way. And that's not how life works. And so I trust the process that it's going to unfold at the time it's supposed to unfold. And it was the funny part is when Jack was first missing, Sister Kathleen, this nun at my church, and she's just a hot ticket. She's just terrific. And she's a friend of mine. And she goes Kim all in God's time. It's all in God's time and God's time is the right time. And at first when she said it, I would just get mad at her like what are you saying? That's not I mean, it's not wasn't funny, it there was nothing good about it, because I'm like, I want him found now. And through the process of three years of looking for Jack. I think she was spot on because if I had found him early on, like, say in the first month, Jack wasn't in one piece. He probably got electrocuted. He was in multiple pieces. And he was probably scattered. I don't know if I could have handled that. But because I spent three years searching it gave me time to prepare for that because first we're looking for almost a six foot tall 170 pound male and then we're like, well, we might not be looking for the whole body now, like so, it evolved. But all in God's time and God times the right time, by the time, three and a half years later that we did find some of Jack, I was just grateful for the find I didn't fall apart like I probably would have if early on, we had just found what we found. So I think, trust the process, so I learned to trust the process. And I'm much more spiritual, and much more spiritual of the universe. And I don't think there's any coincidences in life. So I'm just much more spiritual, the higher power I mean, I always had faith, but there's synchronicities that happen, that are just, there's angels working on our behalves I think.
Jennifer Levin
Has grief changed the way you view the world as a whole?
Kim Cantin
Well, I guess what I would say on that is, I think we're each, each of us are put on Earth, as souls, we use some kind of, we rent a shell. And the shell I have has brown hair right now and five foot tall. And we're supposed to evolve during our time on Earth. And I think we're supposed to evolve toward love. And and I think we're given challenges in life that maybe present themselves so we can grow and evolve. And I think, I think I certainly, I think my friends would say I'm, I'm much more vulnerable and, and open now than I was. And I'm just more there, I'm just more present.
Jennifer Levin
In your book, you share your experiences with several mediums, or intuitives, as you call them. And there was one conversation towards the end of the book with I think an evolutionary astrologer who said that you had experienced the death of your family before, but that you wouldn't have to do it again. Can you share more about this conversation and the feelings that you had afterwards about that conversation because I was struck by that.
Kim Cantin
So Kristen, Kristen, and I went to UCLA together and so I knew her from there. And we were at the sorority houses next to each other. And then we happened to she, she worked in the same company I did. And she actually took over my job as I got promoted. And so I knew her at first, you know, and we worked in medical device, and at a time where you know, you wore the navy blue suit and you were conservative. And that's when, you know, she was working in this Medical Center with me. And then a little while later, I'd see her back at corporate when I took the corporate role. And she looked more like Stevie Nicks circa the rumours album with like this velvety beret hat and flowy dresses. I'm like, What's going on Kristen? And she goes I want to be an evolutionary astrologer. And I was like, well, what is that? And she told me she says really like looking at individuals uniquely and what's going to happen for them in their life and how they're supposed, their souls are supposed to progress. And like, okay, that's interesting. I don't know much about it, but that's very interesting. And so she knew my husband and so after I was out of the hospital in the rental, I reached out to her and said, this is what's happened to Dave and Jack. And she picked up the phone right away and she's like, because I think I just I think I texted her on LinkedIn or something. And she goes, oh my God Kim, this is not the first lifetime you've lost your family. And I go what? She goes yeah, you've carried some of your family on your back like a warrior before this is not the first time and she goes but before when it happened you couldn't get past it. And this time, you're gonna get past it. You're gonna crumble and reassemble and then she told me the the metaphor of Kintsugi, which is this Japanese art form, and a lot of people might recognize it. So if there's a beautiful porcelain bowl and the porcelain bowl breaks instead of throwing the bowl away, in this art form, they assemble it back together with a gold lacquer. And so when you see this porcelain bowl with this beautiful gold lacquer where the cracks were, it actually is almost more beautiful than the original. And it's the metaphor for the art of the precious scars, you show what happened to you. And that's part of your story. So I was kind of freaked out when she told me that. I said, How does this not happen again? I cannot, I will not have this happen again. And what was so fascinating to me. And I told her, I said, when they first told me in the hospital Dave died and we knew Jack hadn't been found, there was a really weird sense of familiarity I had that was really creepy, and so when Kristen said, this isn't your first lifetime you've lost your family and I reflected on this odd familiarity when I was in the hospital, and they told me Dave died. It was pretty stunning. And, and a pause point for me for sure. And so her comment is you have to get through it. You have to do the grief, you have to know you can get back to life and thrive again. And she said in this lifetime, you're going to evolve and do it. And that's why I think we're all here to evolve to learn something. And by golly, I'm learning this one because I don't want it happening again.
Jennifer Levin
Very understandably. Wow. Yeah. Moving forward, what do you think is the best way that you can honor Jack and Dave in your life?
Kim Cantin
I think it's by Lauren and I both living a joyful, meaningful life, and thriving. And not sitting on a chair and wallowing. But thriving, and finding joy again. And, and, being for, I know that they'd want me to still be a good mom to Lauren. So I know they'd want that. Yeah, I think I think they'd want that. I mean, if I ever married again, or dated again, I think Dave would smirk his smirk and say, well, I'm okay with it. Because with me, you proved you have good taste and he would be okay with it. Because he'd want me happy and I would want him happy. And Jack would want, Lauren. And like, we'd want we loved each other so much that that's how we honor one another is whatever it means for us, whatever our future holds in the future, is to find joy, again, whatever that joy is.
Jennifer Levin
I think that's so great. And I see so many clients struggle with that concept, because there's so much guilt of I can't go forward. Or I feel guilty moving forward and having joy in my life. Because my loved one can't.
Kim Cantin
But they're in pure joy. Well, I think I think they're in pure joy. So they're in they've graduated, they're in pure joy.
Jennifer Levin
Well not everyone's able to have that belief system. And I think there's an intellectual belief that I think my loved one wants me to be happy. But the action and getting over the guilt is such a hard thing to implement and say, I'm so glad you're able to express that honoring Jack and Dave, is that you and Lauren, a better way for you to honor Jack and Dave, is for you and Lauren to live your best life. Because I think other listeners hearing that, that can be so motivating. So thank you for sharing that.
Kim Cantin
You're welcome.
Jennifer Levin
Yeah. You know, another section that I was so drawn to in your book, and it's exactly what we're just talking about, is, in your book you mentioned, you're even questioning your hope to be able to find joy again. And as I said, I noticed that so many clients of mine often fear they will never experience joy, or they will never find happiness in their life again. And this may have nothing to do with like the guilt. But they're so encumbered. And I even used the metaphor of the cage of grief earlier this week, grief has become a cage. They just don't know how to go out. And so what are your current thoughts right now about what happiness or joy looks like in your life? And what are the types of things that does bring you joy or happiness?
Kim Cantin
Um much more simple pleasures do I'm much more, it's usually human connection. And just being grateful for it if I have a girlfriend over, and we're just, you know, gaving the joy of the connection. It's more of a simple pleasure doesn't have to be hoity toity, it doesn't have to be...it's the human connection. It's the I love to garden. It's my roses now that it's spring. They're getting ready to bloom. And I replanted Calla Lilies last spring, and they're doing great because of all this rain. Huge. Noticing that I think it's, joy for me is in the simple things. And the simple things usually have to do with people and the human connection or even just, you know, my silly dog. He makes me rub his belly before I put him in the crate at night. And it's just, it's just joyful for me like he's just a silly, he won't go until I rub his belly. And I'm like, I find joy in that because that's his thing. And that's a great thing. Right?
Jennifer Levin
What brings your daughter joy right now?
Kim Cantin
Well, she went out with a friend last night. And she hadn't done that for a while. And that really brought her joy. And it was lovely to see her getting in the jacuzzi with some friends. And Lauren loves to sing. And when I, she started to bake now and so hearing her in the kitchen singing brings her joy. But I think it's also the people stuff, right? The people who showed up for her, you know she did today she came in she you know she's with her friend Dylan. And like, we sat and talked in the driveway for 40 minutes, Mom, it was just great. They had a great time. But she was connecting with another human in a way that was super for her soul at the time like she needed.
Jennifer Levin
I'm sure that's got to be joy for you as well.
Kim Cantin
Oh, god. Yeah, she's had it hard. She's had it hard.
Jennifer Levin
I think we talked about in our last interview, that grief is never ending and doesn't have a timeline. And some people believe, and it's been written about that, you know, we get to acceptance. And, you know, that's a personal belief. I like the words, integration, or understanding. And you use the word, adaptation, in your book, and I'm curious about what your thoughts are on the word adaptation versus acceptance.
Kim Cantin
Well, I love that you, you articulated that because I don't like the word acceptance. Because to me, it implies okayness. It's not okay, that Dave and Jack are gone. Right? It's not ever gonna be okay. I'm never gonna be okay with it. But I can adapt with it. It is what it is. And I think in life, all we can do with whatever life throws at us, if it's a car accident, if it's higher interest rates, if it's heavy rain, whatever life throws at us. All you can do is look at it and adapt accordingly. And so, I think that's a life skill for anything, and it works for grief, too, that I'm learning to adapt into my new life without the physical presence of my son and my husband, who I miss a lot. And I'm going to adapt into a life that I find joy and meaning.
Jennifer Levin
Yeah, yeah. Have you read Tara Brach's book Radical Acceptance?
Kim Cantin
No,
Jennifer Levin
no, I haven't. Yeah, it's a great book because it talks about accepting things and not being okay with it. So, because yeah, I think there is that misconception that acceptance means okay. And I think,
Kim Cantin
Yeah, one of my the lady who helps me with Reiki, she, she studies a lot of the Buddhist thinking, and she helped frame something for me that was helpful. And she said, you know, the best thing you can do is not be attached to a specific outcome. You know, I really want the red car, if I really, if I don't get the red car, life is going to end I need the red car, right? Whatever your thing is, because I wanted, I really wanted to find Jack remains a really, really, really, really, really and she goes, the more attached you are to the specific outcome, the more letdown you're gonna have, if it doesn't happen. And so her what she advised me is try just to be present with what do your best you can influence right? I went out and searched, I can influence I can get the University team I can influence to try to find his remains. But I can't. I'm so tied to a specific outcome. Like, all it's going to do is let me down. And I think that's fair in life of anything. Right? You just, you just try to be present in in the moment of what is happening for you.
Jennifer Levin
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So if we can go back a little bit to, you know, what brought you here. You know, in my professional experience I have worked with, with people who've experienced the death of loved ones to fires and hurricanes and accidents due to forces of nature. But when we met prior to our interviews, I mentioned you were going to be the first person on my podcast, who actually experienced the death of your loved ones, from acts of mother nature or a natural disaster. You know, unless in an active nature occurs in the community itself there's not a lot of support or an opportunity to connect with other people in your situation. So what advice would you give to somebody who has experienced the loss of a loved one from a natural disaster?
Kim Cantin
I think I would tell them, keep your faith. I don't think God did this to us. It happened. I'd say hold on, it will get lighter. And a friend of mine told me the acronym of hope, which is hearing other people's experiences hope as an acronym, that by hearing other people's experiences, sometimes there's a nugget that you can learn from. That's why my grief group was so helpful for me with mudslide survivors, because we got each other of what had happened to us. So that kind of thinking of hope is an acronym, hearing other people's experiences and seeking those finding your tribe that does that might be helpful. I think the number one thing I'd say to you is be gentle on yourself and listen to your body. For me, I've what's happened the last three months in Southern California, I'm in Santa Barbara, but it's been record level rain. And I think we've had three times as much rain as Seattle, for the same period. And consequently, in Santa Barbara, there's been multiple evacuation warnings. So the phone is going off and doing this almost amber alert. And for us, that's just terrifying. Because that happened all the Thomas fire and then it came in as the as the mud is at my chest, like it came in a little too late. And so I'd say listen, because I've been listening and observing my behavior and my feelings with it, because I've noticed because of the natural disaster, I in Santa Barbara, specifically, get hyper vigilant. And I when I get the warning, I'm like, Lauren, we're not, no driving today. I said we're staying off the roads. We're staying in the house and she's looking at me like Mom, I want to, I got a job to go to. I go no you're not going and I get over the top. And I was two times in where I grew up in Southern California, which is about 90 minutes south of me for a funeral and it was raining then and I was there. Didn't bother me at all. Then I was there again. A month later. It was raining again, didn't bother me at all. And I'm like, What is the difference? And then I was on the East Coast and it rained there, didn't bother me at all. I go, what's the difference? And the difference was for me and the natural disaster, is those places never let me down before. Rain was just rain. And when rain happens in Santa Barbara, it's death danger to me. Death danger. So I'm paying notice to say, can I work through that? With some trauma work? Or maybe Santa Barbara doesn't become, I'll always have a house here but maybe it's not my permanent place. I don't know. I'm just making an observation that because of my natural disaster in my town, where it happened, where there's a big mountain, and that mountain crashed down, and there's evacuation warnings going off like multiple this past quarter that I'm I'm traumatized. I have, I have remnants of that that are, and you know, poor Lauren needs to know. And I'm not helping her, because I'm probably making her worry more about it when I'm freaked out, right? Because she's cueing off of me. And that's not healthy either. And when she was up, she went, she goes to school in the Bay Area. The rain doesn't bother her in the Bay Area. But she said when she came back to Santa Barbara she goes mom I get triggered, I get triggered around here. So it's just I'd say natural disasters, listen to, listen, listen and observe and then work with your therapist on what to do.
Jennifer Levin
And what would you say to someone who's grieving a loved one whose body, or as your son who is referred to as missing and not yet been found?
Kim Cantin
I would say I am so so sorry. And I know how brutal it is. And I would, if they're open to it, I would suggest I would say, would she want to know my experience to know how I was so relentless, and almost desperate to find his remains early on. And then after having some intuitive readings and hearing from Jack and him saying, Mom, it's just a shell. I'm okay. That shell is not me anymore. And at first I'm like, be quiet. Like, I don't believe you. That's not true. It can't be that was the baby I burst, right? That's the the child I birthed. And after a while, because time, you got to give time time. Right? I gave time time. And I now believe it that I think we just have shells when we're, I think our souls rent a shell. It's a it's a rent a shell program while we're here. And the soul lives on and the soul lives on in pure joy
Jennifer Levin
Those are really good words to hang on to. Anything else you'd like to share with us about your book? We're gonna have all of the information in the show notes and links so our viewers can purchase the book, but anything you'd like to tell us about your book before we close?
Kim Cantin
Sure what's called Where Yellow Flowers Bloom. And it's kind of a metaphor, because yellow flowers bloomed where we thought they would never in a place that could be really sad. And it's a way to say let's look at the good things when, when, they may not be as a way of living. It's on Amazon. And I really hope I mean, I really hope it helps some people who are going through tough times. That's that's why I did it. Right. And it helped me I selfishly, it's helped me heal. And I really hope it I think and I think it might I think help get people access to their grief and explore their process. So I hope I hope it helps people.
Jennifer Levin
I know it definitely will. And, again, thank you so much for writing the book and bringing so much forward for people to think about and to acknowledge and normalize the experience, you know, talking about two deaths and not only that, what we call non death losses, all of your personal possessions, identity, everything combined with both the loss of your husband and the search for your son. It was just an overwhelming heartbreaking story and it definitely impacted me greatly reading it, and to be able to have the opportunity to follow up with you live and have you on as a guest on my podcast. It's just such a meaningful experience. So thank you.
Kim Cantin
So yeah, I enjoyed it. And I can tell you, as soon as I learned that you had those podcasts, I got up one Saturday morning, once I learned about him, I think I got up at like, 4:30 in the morning, and I started listening to them and I'm like, where were you five years ago? Because they're so helpful. And I just, you just, I really got a lot out of them. So thank you for doing that.
Jennifer Levin
Thank you. Well, this concludes our interview, but I encourage all of our listeners to interact with Kim on our Facebook group. So thank you again.
Kim Cantin
Okay, take care now. Bye bye.
Jennifer Levin
I am so grateful to Kim for her willingness to participate in two interviews for this podcast. In today’s conversation there were a new set of themes and take aways that I hope you as a listener were left with after spending more time listening to Kim’s reflections and experiences. It is obvious that at present, more than 5 years after the mudslides and the deaths of her husband and son, Kim still experiences deep pain related to her losses and that her grief also becomes triggered at unexpected times. However, overall, Kim describes her grief as lighter and states that she can experience happiness and is committed to living the best life possible.
Kim helped us normalized the long-term experience of grief. We know that the pain and sadness associated with the sudden and unexpected death of loved ones never goes away. Kim shared that she is now able to honor her grief feelings whenever these emotions surface and that she allows herself to experience the feelings and process her emotions until they soften. We also know that sudden and unexpected death changes us at the very core. In our interview Kim commented that grief increased her ability to be empathetic and vulnerable with others. She noticed that she was more present in the world, more open to growth and evolving as a person.
However, grief also makes us acknowledge realities in the world or in ourselves that can be quite painful. For example, Kim realized that during her grieving process she had to acknowledge that she was not always in control and that she was not always going to get her way which is something that I think a lot of people struggling with grief are challenged with. Kim recognized that she is now able to “trust the process more” and I just had a conversation with a client the other day who asked what this phrase really means. “Trusting the process” means to have faith or a belief that somewhere there is a larger plan in place that includes things working out for the best even if you can’t see it or understand it at the time.
To move towards healing Kim opened herself to new experiences throughout her grief process whether it was new types of therapy, new ways to find her son Jack, or advice from people with different skills including spiritual advisors and intuitives. I have worked with many clients who have fixed mindsets regarding how they want their healing process to work or have unwilling to try certain exercises or healing modalities. I believe Kim’s openness to try new things, seek advice from different professionals from diverse backgrounds benefitted her greatly and increased her ability to continue to move towards healing when her motivation was challenged, her grief intensified and the search for her son was long and weary.
I was so pleased to hear Kim share newfound experiences with happiness and that different things in life contribute to new experiences of joy. So many of the clients I have worked with spend a considerable amount of their grief experience questioning the outcome and longing for their life to return to the way it used to be. I wish I had the power to turn back the clock and reverse the tragedies that my clients have experienced but I do not.
Therefore, one of my goals is to help clients shift their energy from wishing their life would return to normal or engaging in the repetitive question of why
to help refocus on new things in life that can still elicit happiness. With time and healing, I strongly believe you can still find happiness again even within the context of grief.
I loved the examples that Kim shared of the new things that bring her happiness and joy – the connection with others, rubbing the belly of her dog and spending time in her garden. These are simply joys in life and yes, I am sure at times Kim experiences a bitter sweetness with them all but does not stop her engaging in activities that bring her happiness or joy.
Finally, Kim stated that the best way she can honor her husband and son is to live her best life possible. After the death of her husband and her son, the loss of her home all of her belongings Kim had every reason to close up shop. No one would have blamed her if she said her losses were to great and that she felt defeated by life. But she did and could not. She had the responsibility of her 14-year-old daughter, and she needed to create safety for her and find her son. She has continued on to live her best life possible to honor her husband and son and has written a beautiful book about grief, healing, and hope – Where Yellow Flower Bloom: A True Story of Hope Through Unimaginable Loss
I truly thank Kim Cantin and everyone who has shared their story on my podcast in service of those trying to rebuild their lives after a sudden and unexpected death of loved ones.
If you want an opportunity to connect with Kim please join our Facebook group, “Talking about the Podcast Untethered with Dr. Levin.” Kim’s biography is posted along with her contact information if you would like to connect with her.
Our next podcast will be on May 10th and will feature psychiatrist Dr. Mariel Tourani who talk about how medication can help after a sudden and unexpected death. Thank you so much for joining today’s episode of Untethered Healing the Pain After a Sudden Death. If you are interested in healing experience after a sudden or unexpected death, I invite you to go my sister website www.therapyheals.com/events to learn about our upcoming grief retreat on Whidbey Island in Washington, August 5-8th 2023 this summer. Kim Cantin, gave me permission to share that she is going to be a participant at this retreat, we still have a few spaces left and the early bird registration deadline is Sunday April 30th.
