Kris Carr has spent more than two decades helping millions of people navigate illness, fear, healing, and uncertainty. As a bestselling author and one of the most recognizable voices in wellness, she has inspired people around the world while living with Stage 4 cancer herself.

But when her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Kris found herself facing something entirely different: the long, slow heartbreak of anticipatory grief.

In this deeply honest episode of Crying Out Loud, Kris opens up about the years between diagnosis and goodbye, the emotional exhaustion of loving someone while knowing you are losing them, and the conversations so many families are terrified to have until it’s too late.

Together, we talk about what happens when grief begins long before death, why caregiving can stir up old wounds and unexpected rage, and how loss changes not only your heart, but your body, memory, identity, and nervous system too.

Kris shares the moment she realized that real love sometimes means being willing to sit beside someone and talk openly about dying. We also explore the loneliness many dying people quietly carry, even when surrounded by people who love them deeply.

I also share my own experience after losing Sammy, including the moment on the beach that shifted how I understood presence, grief, and continued connection forever.

This conversation is ultimately about what it means to truly show up for the people we love, how grief reshapes us long before and long after death, and why love does not disappear when someone leaves this physical world.

In this episode, we explore:• What anticipatory grief really feels like when you are living beside illness every day• Why caregiving and grief can awaken old trauma, rage, and emotional exhaustion• The conversations about death most families avoid and why they matter so much• How grief impacts the nervous system, memory, body, and sense of identity• What it means to continue a relationship with someone after they die• Why grief changes form over time, but love never truly leaves

If this episode moves you, check out Kris’s book I’m Not a Mourning Person. You can find her on Instagram and listen to her speaking online.

As always, I’d love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And if you’re looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you.

None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let’s cry out loud together.