What Happens Next: Stories of Grief and Loss | Ryder’s Story
This podcast explores life’s most unexpected and life-altering moments—grief, trauma, loss, and the long journey of healing after everything changes. From devastating diagnoses to unimaginable loss, these are the moments that don’t just interrupt your life—they redefine it. Through raw personal storytelling and honest conversations, we dive into what happens next: how we cope with grief, navigate trauma, rebuild identity, and find a way forward after loss. Season One focuses on the loss of our son, Ryder, during a full-term pregnancy—a sudden and heartbreaking experience of child loss and stillbirth. This season shares the shock, heartbreak, and emotional aftermath of losing a baby, while exploring grief in real time and the difficult path toward healing. This is not a podcast about quick fixes or perfect healing. It’s about real grief, mental health, resilience, and what it truly looks like to survive loss—and slowly rebuild a life that will never be the same. If you’re navigating grief, coping with trauma, or searching for hope after loss, this podcast offers honesty, connection, and a reminder that you are not alone.
Episodes
What started as an ordinary day became the day that changed our lives forever. In this episode, I recount the 911 call, the uncertainty inside the hospital, the waiting and movement from room to room, and the emergency C-section that followed. It’s the story of the day we met our son Ryder—and the devastating moment we were told he was gone.
After Ryder’s death, Ann and I quickly realized we couldn’t navigate the weight of grief alone. This episode explores our experience with therapy — individual, couples, and the group sessions that ultimately helped us find understanding, community, and a path toward surviving the unimaginable.
The storm of Ryder’s death didn’t end at the hospital. In this episode, I talk about what happened after we walked out without our son—the grief, the anger, and the questions that followed us home. Those questions eventually led us to fight to have Ryder’s case reopened by the medical examiner, searching for answers in the middle of unimaginable loss.
In this episode, we talk about something many grieving parents eventually discover — loss reveals who your people really are.
After losing our son Ryder, Anne and I found ourselves navigating life as parents after loss while trying to plan memorial services, travel home to the Midwest, and process a grief that felt impossible to carry.
This episode shares the next chapter of our grief journey as a loss dad and loss parents, includi...
In this deeply personal episode, I reflect on Ryder’s 7th birthday and the lasting impact of his loss on our family. I share the raw emotions of grief, the milestones that never happened, and how this journey has shaped our other children. We explore moments of magic, heartbreak, and clarity, including the story of Ryder’s hospital paperwork mistake and how we restored his voice and legacy.
This episode is unfiltered and honest, t...
In this episode, we share the raw and unfiltered experience of the weeks following the memorial services for our son, Ryder. We discuss the heavy silence at home, navigating grief alongside everyday life, and the overwhelming emotions leading up to Mother’s Day. From struggles with returning to work, coping in therapy, to a necessary escape to Jamaica, we explore how grief and small moments of joy can coexist. This episode is for p...
In this special episode, I’m joined for the first time by my wife Anne as we dive into a full review and discussion of the animated short film “Versa,” streaming on Disney+. We break down the story, animation style, themes, and emotional impact while sharing our honest reactions and different perspectives throughout the film.
This episode blends first-time guest energy with thoughtful conversation as we explore what makes “Versa” s...
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