Today’s guest is Suzi Pond. We recorded this conversation one year ago, on Mother’s Day 2020. It was my first interview for this project/podcast. I didn’t know yet what this was going to be, but I knew I needed to talk to one of my oldest friends first, who just happened to be an editor, and someone who had lost her mother when she was just 13 years old. Suzi also loved my mother, and my mother loved her. From her car in a field in Maine, we spoke about divorce, death, raising children without a mother to guide you, how both of our mothers died alone, and what a gift it is to simply ask your grieving friends questions about their loved ones.   Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast)   AND the next Mother's Grave retreat is LIVE. Come attend this incredible experience on the water from June 8-11, 2023. Join us for community, story sharing, healing, levity, friendship and rest. More info about this life changing retreat can be found ⁠here! (https://danablack.org/retreat) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Halley Mayo. She lost her mother when she and her twin brother were just 4 years old. In this episode, Halley expresses how she doesn’t know her life without grief and doesn’t understand why she is still crying…over a woman she didn’t even know. She talks about how grateful she is to her step-mother, who is actually her mother’s cousin, for choosing to be a mother when she didn’t have to. And we talk about a tape. A tape her mother recorded for her two children in the last weeks of her life. A tape that Halley didn’t hear for many years after her death, and which you will get to hear now...30 years after her death. Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Daisy Salto. Daisy is currently 16 years old, grew up in Chicago with her 4 siblings, and lost her mom when she was just 8 years old. She remembers watching Curious George with her mother and, even though she didn’t speak English, her mother thought that monkey was hilarious. In this episode, Daisy and I talk about learning what addiction was through the actions of our mothers, how trauma ages you, whether or not either one of us wants kids, and how Mother’s Day is just...well, it’s complicated.  Thanks to Sarah Illiatovitch-Goldman for the introduction to Daisy. And thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Lucy Sandy. Lucy was born and raised in Houston, Texas by two immigrant parents from Sierra Leone: Mommy and Daddy, as they are affectionately called. In this episode, as Lucy approached the 10-year anniversary of her mom’s death, we talked about how it's time to acknowledge that your parents weren't perfect, the challenges of being raised in the shadow of two cultures, and the pressure of being a good Black daughter and a good Black woman. Oh, and I get honest around my shame in calling my mom a bitch. Yeah...not proud. Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Jess Jones. She used to be an agent (one of my agents, to be exact!) and is now the Center Director for The Kaufherr Center in Chicago, which supports professional and emerging performing artists seeking opportunity within the entertainment industry. In this episode, we talk about faith, bringing your children to your childhood home, how her mom spent her life leading others through grief, even when she was grieving...and the innate goodness within us all. I will also admit to being a part of my church’s handbell choir in my youth, for all to hear.  Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Xander Krohn. He is a writer, teacher, and lover of a good suit. In this episode, we talk about how he attended a good old-fashioned Texas summer camp for over 10 years during his childhood, how you can miss your mom’s southern idioms even if she is still living, and that being a “highly functioning trans person with a bank account, a life, and a schedule” is the best kind of self-love.  Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Ann James. Ann is a brilliant actor, teaching artist, and Shakespeare expert…who once played my mom on stage—a complicated mom, for sure. In this episode, we will talk about Bob Barker (the dog!), singing outside Ann’s mom’s memory care facility during a pandemic, how the phrase “below the frost line” relates to dementia and Alzheimer's, and what it’s like to experience a mothering phase…when it’s your own mother. My mom’s mom—my 93-year-old Nana—will also make an appearance.  Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Caitlin Costello. She is a hilarious actor and comedian, who also works in the world of recruiting. Caitlin’s mother was a lifelong caretaker and nurse, who loved her family, friends and New York City. In this episode, we are going to talk about suicide. But suicide is only part of this story, it isn’t the whole story...and trust me, you are going to want to hear all of Caitlin’s stories, especially when she fell asleep drunk on her own mother’s gravestone.  Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Lane Flores. He is a playwright and actor living in Chicago but originally from Dallas, Texas. Lane lost his mother when he was 12, just as she was telling him to go “find his tribe and his people” in the arts, ultimately giving him his first real sense of community and belonging. In this episode, we learn that sometimes your mom can leave you and your sister alone in the graveyard and it’s still one of your favorite memories, but that you will always wish you had more memories, when you lose your mom at a young age. This is a dark fairy tale...but full of love, and a Greek God or two.  Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Today’s guest is Leah Hart. She is a teacher and writer from Brooklyn, New York, a city where her mother lived for most of her life and where she got to be a capital D “Dancer.” Leah tells me her mother always knew how lucky she was to get to dance, and to use her body in a radical way. In this episode, we learn that sometimes you get to have a good mom, and that when she gets sick, all you can do is watch Finding Nemo, be present for those final moments and tell her you love her, so that she can say “I love you more." Thanks for being here! This show isn’t just about our moms, it’s about us. Sign up for all the latest news around this podcast, and see behind the scenes content on our website. (https://danablack.org/podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mothersgravepodcast/). Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.