In this empowering episode of Healing Starts with the Heart, Sharon Brubaker pulls back the curtain on one of the greatest grief misconceptions: that we need to learn how to grieve. Sharon reveals a deeper truth—we were all born knowing how to grieve. From your first cry to your instinct to reach out when in pain, grief is not something to be taught but something we’ve been taught to forget.
Through raw, compassionate storytelling and the powerful example of a client who found her way back to healing, Sharon reminds us that grief is not a flaw—it’s our body and spirit doing exactly what they were designed to do. If you’ve ever questioned your tears, your numbness, or the way your grief looks—this episode is for you.

Key Points Discussed:

• You didn’t lose your ability to grieve—you were born with it

• The world unteaches us how to grieve by rewarding silence and pretending

• Grief is a full-body, nervous system experience—not just emotional pain

• Your grief is not wrong, too big, too heavy, or something to be fixed

• Real healing begins when we stop performing and start expressing honestly

• A powerful story of a widow rediscovering her voice in Grief Study Hall

• Why your body still remembers how to release what hurts—without needing a manual

Journal Questions for Reflection:

• When did you first start to believe your grief was “too much”?

• How have you been performing instead of feeling your grief?

• What rules or messages about grief have shaped your current experience?

• How has your body been trying to express grief—and have you been listening?

• What would it look like to stop apologizing for your grief?

• Are you willing to trust that you still know how to grieve?

Conclusion:
You don’t need to learn how to grieve—you need to remember that you already know. Your tears are not signs of weakness, your pain is not brokenness, and your emotions are not something to hide. They’re sacred. They’re real. They’re part of the healing. Sharon invites you to stop apologizing, stop performing, and return to what your body, your heart, and your spirit already know how to do: grieve.

Contact Us:
Have a question, story, or want to connect with Sharon?
Email: hello@thegriefschool.com
Join the Grief Study Hall every Tuesday from 1–3 PM CST
Facebook: The Grief School Facebook Group
TikTok: @thegriefschool
Website: clickhereforhope.com

In this raw and deeply honest episode of Healing Starts with the Heart, Sharon Brubaker invites listeners into the messy, painful, and necessary truth of what it means to lean in to grief. Instead of hiding, numbing, or pretending you’re okay, Sharon challenges you to stop running from the pain and start facing it head-on. This is not about suffering for suffering’s sake—it’s about healing the only way that works: by feeling it all. If you’ve ever told yourself, “If I let this out, I’ll never stop crying,” this episode is for you. Sharon unpacks the myths we’re told about grief, the lies we believe to stay strong, and what it truly means to begin moving pain through you—not around you.

Key Points Discussed:

• Why avoidance only deepens and prolongs grief

• The dangerous myth that time alone heals grief

• What “leaning into the pain” actually looks like in real life

• How grief lives in the body—and what happens when we suppress it

• The truth about emotional numbness and false strength

• Why staying “composed” is not the same as healing

• The power of sitting with your grief, naming your pain, and giving it space

• The importance of breaking free from performative grieving and moving into true processing

• How leaning in, little by little, helps you reclaim pieces of yourself

• Real-life stories of clients who finally allowed themselves to cry—and what happened next

• Why grief is not a lifetime sentence, unless you choose it to be

Journal Questions for Reflection:

• What pain have you been avoiding in your grief?

• Where in your body do you feel the heaviness of your loss?

• What lies have you been told (or believed) about being strong?

• What might shift if you gave yourself permission to fall apart today?

• Can you name a moment when you chose numbness over feeling? What did that cost you?

• What part of your grief needs to be witnessed right now—by you?

Conclusion:
Grief demands to be felt. Not hidden, not ignored, not scheduled. And the truth is, real healing only begins when you choose to lean in. You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to pretend. You just have to show up—to your own pain—with honesty and compassion. You’ll find that in the leaning, there’s light. There’s breath. There’s a path forward.

Contact Us:
Have a question, story, or want to connect with Sharon?
📧 Email: hello@thegriefschool.com
📱 Follow Sharon on TikTok: @thegriefschool
🌐 Join our healing spaces: www.thegriefschool.com
✨ Be part of our community: clickhereforhope.com
💬 Join us for Grief Study Hall (Tuesdays 1–3 PM CST) or Processing the Pain of Grief (Thursdays 7 PM CST)

In this unforgettable episode of Healing Starts with the Heart, grief specialist Sharon Brubaker shares the story of the exact moment her life split into “before” and “after.” Through a searingly honest account of the phone call that changed everything—the loss of her nephew Austin—Sharon takes listeners inside the collapse that grief can cause. This isn’t a conversation about “moving on” or checking boxes—it’s a journey through the mess, the silence, and the search for truth. If you’ve had that day—the one where it all fell apart—this episode is for you.

• The moment grief hit: June 17, 2006—the call that shattered Sharon’s life

• The illusion of “ordinary” before a loss, and the unbearable clarity after

• How the world keeps spinning while your life stops

• The raw, physical, full-body nature of grief

• Society’s failure to understand or support grieving people

• The myth of strength: why being “strong” isn’t always helpful

• Why no one is coming to save you—and how Sharon created the help she needed

• The role of silence, breaking down, and choosing to face the pain head-on

• Why The Grief School and Grief Study Hall were born—from brokenness to building

• The truth: You are not broken. You are grieving. And you don’t have to do it alone.

• What was the moment that split your life into “before” and “after”?

• How did your body respond to the shock of your loss?

• What lies about grief or “being strong” have you believed or been told?

• Where in your life have you been waiting for someone to save you?

• What truth are you ready to say out loud about your grief?

Grief isn’t polite. It doesn’t knock first. It wrecks, rewires, and reshapes everything. But even in the rubble, there is still breath, still hope, and still a path through. If you’ve had that day—the one that broke you—you are not alone. And if no one ever told you: you don’t have to carry this forever. You just have to walk through it. One breath at a time. One truth at a time.

Need more support or want to connect with Sharon?
📝 Join Grief Study Hall: Every Tuesday, 1–3 PM CST
📚 Read the Book: Grieve That Sht* — grab it at clickhereforhope.com
📸 Follow Sharon on TikTok: @thegriefschool
💌 Email: hello@sharonbrubaker.com