Stitching the Heart Back Together

September 14, 2016
Hosted by Cheryl Jones

[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]

Guest Information

Episode Description

What is the connection between love, generosity and grief? In countless ways, our hearts close when we avoid the feelings connected to our small everyday losses. But in profound grief, our hearts break open and we learn how to love ourselves through it. Grief connects us to the human community and the losses we all suffer. As we walk the path of open hearted love for ourselves, we naturally become more and more generous in our connection to others. Through her own painful grief, Marianna Cacciatore discovered her own love and generosity, feeling an outpouring towards everyone who suffers. As an outgrowth of her exploration, she has written a book and is offering a 9 month study program to face up to grief and cultivate the qualities it invites.

Good Grief with Cheryl Jones

Wednesday at 2 PM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel

On Good Grief we explore the losses that define our lives. Each week, we talk with people who have transformed themselves through the profound act of grieving. Why settle for surviving? Say yes to the many experiences that embody loss! Grief can teach you where your strengths are, and ignite your courage. It can heighten your awareness of what is important to you and help you let go of what is not.

On Good Grief, we are inspired by people who have made something miraculous out of their deepest heartaches! We listen as they share how they have walked through their own exquisite pain and what they have gained as a result. We come away ready to follow our own dreams to a deeper, more meaningful time on this beautiful earth! Listen for Good Grief, broadcast live every Wednesday at 2 PM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel.

Cheryl Jones

Cheryl Jones is a grief counselor. During her education as a Marriage and Family Therapist, her first wife was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which was at the time a uniformly terminal illness with a six month to one year prognosis. In the eight years that followed, Cheryl engaged daily in the work of preparing for her death. She received training during this period from Stephen and Ondrea Levine (Who Dies and Grieving Into Life and Death) and Richard Olney (founder of Self-Acceptance Training). After her wife’s death, Cheryl immersed herself in her own multifaceted grief, surprised by frequent moments of joy.

Cheryl is a consultant and group leader at the Free Therapy Program of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center. She has trained extensively with Erving Polster, leader in the field of gestalt therapy and author of Everybody’s Life is worth a Novel. She was Clinical Director at the Alternative Family Project, which served the therapeutic needs of LGBTQ families in San Francisco. She also wrote a column called Motherlines for the San Francisco Bay Times and ran Considering Parenthood groups for the LGBT community.

Before becoming a therapist, Cheryl enjoyed careers as a musician, a restaurant owner and a carpenter. She still enjoys singing with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, eating food in outstanding Bay Area locations and remodeling her Craftsman. She lives with her wife in Oakland, California and especially savors time with her family and friends.

This site is protected by Trustwave's Trusted Commerce program