In the latest episode of "Midlife Repurposed," I had the pleasure of welcoming back Clarissa Moll, whose journey through grief offers incredible insights into resilience and empathy. Clarissa's experience with loss and her dedication to helping others through similar challenges are truly inspiring.
Here are three key takeaways from our enriching conversation:
Grief as a Journey: Clarissa highlights that grief is not a singular emotion or moment but an ongoing part of life. Rather than viewing it as a problem to solve, embracing it as part of our daily routines and personal growth can lead to profound change. She called it a journey.
Empathy in Action: Her own story shows how personal experiences of pain can develop deep empathy and compassion. Clarissa discusses how this empathy empowers her to engage with news stories in a way that connects with the humanity behind the headlines.
Balancing Information Consumption: In navigating midlife challenges, it's essential to recognize personal burdens before overwhelming oneself with global issues. Establishing boundaries around media consumption can reduce stress and enhance our ability to cope with changes.
About Clarissa Moll
Clarissa Moll is an award-winning writer and podcaster who helps bereaved people find flourishing after loss. Clarissa’s writing appears in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, RELEVANT, Modern Loss, Grief Digest and more. She co-hosted Christianity Today’s Surprised by Grief podcast and produces Christianity Today's flagship news podcast, The Bulletin. Clarissa’s debut book, Beyond the Darkness: A Gentle Guide for Living with Grief and Thriving After Loss, was a best-selling new release in 2022. She is the author of the Beyond the Darkness Devotional, Hurt Help Hope: A Real Conversation about Teen Grief and Life after Loss, and Hope Comes to Stay (forthcoming 2025). Clarissa is a remarried widow and lives with her large blended family in the Boston area.
Quotes from Clarissa
Every new beginning comes out of a place of absence, and there is grief attached to that. It requires a reorienting time.
Our woundedness gives us wisdom. . . . You can hold joy and sorrow in the same hand. You can live with both and survive.
We learn how to take our grief to the grocery store, to the office, to the boardroom, to the kitchen table. We let it be a part of who we are and a part of our journey knowing that it isn't the only thing that defines us.
I am a road-tripper, and there is nothing I like more than an itinerary and a map. And the reality is that grief offers us neither of these. Instead, it invites us to a journey that really goes on to the horizon. And when we take that sort of long-game perspective, we can slow down, order our steps a little bit differently, take 40 days, and meditate on what it means to include grief into your life in a way that is honest and sustainable and allows you to grow. And that's what I hope that readers will come away with as they read this book.
For most of us, we've always thought until we interact with grief that it's an emotion. And emotions are something that we sort of process in our heads. We talk about with our friends. We stuff them down and pretend they don't exist. We're not quite sure how to embody our emotions. But, you know, if grief is a companion, if it's sticking around, if it's not leaving you, you can't stay in your head forever. And it helps to have concrete things that you can do that give you a sense of forward motion. Okay. I am making an effort to engage with this unwanted companion. I'm making an effort to rebuild my life.
Links
Clarissa on Life Repurposed (previous interview)
The Bulletin–Christianity Today Podcast
Beyond the Darkness Devotional – New!
Beyond the Darkness: A Gentle Guide for Living with Grief and Thriving after Loss
Hurt Help Hope: A Real Conversation about Teen Grief and Life after Loss
I hope you’ll tune in to our conversation! Clarissa shares so many nuggets of wisdom. And do check out her books. The devotional is a beautiful new resource that has so many practical actions with each day.
Grief Is Not an Emotion: It's a Journey of Growth | Clarissa Moll