What Shapes Us Now | September 2026 Podcast Roundup
Some losses change our lives in a moment. Others unfold slowly, as we care for someone we love, let go of a relationship, or realize the future we imagined will look different from the one ahead.
Those experiences can be difficult to explain, especially when the rest of the world seems ready for us to move on.
Teresa Reiniger makes room for those conversations through her podcast, Female Voices: Life & Loss. A grief specialist, life transition guide, and founder of Living After Grief, Teresa brings together personal stories, guest conversations, and reflections about the losses and changes that shape our lives.
The podcast offers listeners a place to hear experiences they may recognize in their own lives, along with perspectives that can help them better understand what someone else is carrying. Its conversations reach beyond the death of a loved one to include caregiving, relationship loss, identity, and beginning again.
For women over 40, those subjects may feel especially close. We may be caring for a spouse or parent, reflecting on childhood experiences with new understanding, navigating a marriage ending, or wondering how to support a grieving friend. Sometimes several of those experiences arrive together.
Teresa’s September episodes approach those realities from four different directions. Three guests share their experiences and work, while a solo episode considers how we can show up for someone who is grieving with more care. Together, the conversations offer an invitation to listen, reflect, and make room for feelings that do not follow a schedule.
The September Listening List
September 3 | Episode 11
Suzy McNamara | When Grief Begins Before Goodbye, Caring for a Spouse With Early-Onset Alzheimer’s
Meet the guest: Suzy McNamara is a widow, mother of four adult children, and author of The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree: A Tale of Love and Loss.
Suzy spent five years as the primary in-home caregiver for her husband, Bob, after his diagnosis with posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s. She talks with Teresa about the changes that began in his early 50s and how her role expanded from wife to caregiver, advocate, and protector.
While Bob was entering the final stage of his illness, Suzy also lost her sister and best friend, Elizabeth. Their conversation explores what it means to carry grief while someone still depends on you, protect a loved one’s dignity, and find support through faith, writing, and friendship.
A reason to listen: A conversation for caregivers and anyone experiencing the grief that can begin before a goodbye.
🎧Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
September 10 | Episode 12
What to Say to Someone Who Is Grieving | Important Announcement
With host Teresa Reiniger
When someone tells us a loved one has died, asking what happened can feel natural. In this solo episode, Teresa considers what that question may ask of the person answering it, particularly when sharing means revisiting a painful moment.
Drawing on her grief support and coaching work, she explores compassion, curiosity, privacy, and the right to decide when and with whom to share a loss. She also encourages listeners to make room for memories of the person’s life, rather than focusing only on the circumstances of their death.
A reason to listen: A thoughtful starting point for anyone who wants to support a grieving person, or needs permission to keep parts of their own story private.
🎧Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
September 17 | Episode 13
Lauren Johnston | Childhood Grief, Relationship Loss & Starting Over After 60
Meet the guest: Lauren Johnston worked for 18 years as a hairdresser before spending more than 20 years as an intuitive life advisor and coach. In the materials shared for this episode, she is writing a memoir and publishing personal essays on Substack.
Lauren lost her mother at 10 and her father in her 20s. In her conversation with Teresa, she reflects on how those early losses followed her into adulthood, influencing her relationships, fears of abandonment, and understanding of herself.
Her story also includes divorce, the emotions stirred by memoir writing, and a new beginning: leaving Austin after 40 years and moving to Belize at 60. The episode considers how a person can honor what has mattered while making choices about the life ahead.
A reason to listen: For anyone reflecting on how the past has shaped their relationships, or wondering whether there is still room to begin again.
🎧Listen on Spotify | Watch on YouTube
September 24 | Episode 14
What Happens After: Grief, Memory, and Empathy With Diane Namm
Meet the guest: Diane Namm is an award-winning author and storyteller whose illustrated book, What Happens After?, was created to open conversations about loss and validate grief across generation’s
After her family experienced several significant losses within a few years, Diane recognized how difficult it could be to find language for grief, especially for children. She joins Teresa to talk about what children may notice, feel, or blame themselves for after a death, and why adults need to make space for those emotions.
Their conversation also explores listening without trying to fix someone’s feelings, journaling, and the memories and rituals that help people remain connected to someone who has died.
A reason to listen: A meaningful conversation for parents, grandparents, and anyone helping a family navigate loss together.
🎧Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
A Place to Begin Listening
You may recognize yourself in one of these stories. You may think of a friend who is caring for her husband, a family learning how to talk with a child about death, or someone quietly starting over.
That is part of what makes these conversations a fit for What Shapes Us Now. They give us an opportunity to understand one another with more patience and to consider experiences we may not know how to talk about yet.
With Female Voices: Life & Loss, Teresa offers a place to begin that listening, one conversation at a time.
Explore the podcast through Living After Grief, follow it on Apple Podcasts, or visit its YouTube channel. Individual Spotify links are included above.
