Two Atlanta widows have launched a podcast about grief, exposing their own vulnerability, humor, and resilience.
Simonie Levy and Greer Mendel are the hosts of “Grief and Grit,” a podcast that covers topics including social media, milestones, pregnancy and infant loss. They’ve explored the messiness, loneliness, and heartache that navigating grief brings to their individual experiences.
Laughing, they called their friendship “love at first sight.” The pair was connected through a mutual friend, but they became friends through a mutual experience: the death of a beloved spouse.
Levy, 57, was a mother of four young children when her high school sweetheart husband Mark Levy died from an illness. That was 16 years ago on July 20, 2008. Her children are now adults.
Mendel, 42, lives with her elementary school-aged son and daughter, as well as her father. Her husband Jarrod Mendel died suddenly on May 1, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a few months she bought a new house, lost her husband, moved, and had to euthanize the family dog.
“Grief and Grit” launched this year on July 17, the same week as the anniversary of Mark’s death and Jarrod’s birthday.
“We thought it was a nice way of honoring both of them,” said Mendel.
With Thanksgiving and winter holidays approaching, the podcast will soon address how to grieve a difficult relationship, the grief of children (featuring Kate’s Club), and grief and gratitude.
Levy, whose children have moved out of the family home, said that she’s been feeling grateful and content with the life she has created. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer on Thanksgiving Day, but it has become a “beautiful time” for a family who has created new traditions.
“It’s important for people who are new to grief to realize that you create an entirely new life. It’s not like you have forgotten the person. The essence of that person is always there, present in everything he’s spoken about,” she said.
She added: “I have a real future. I didn’t always feel that way when I lost Mark, but now I do. I have embraced life.”
Mendel continues to celebrate holidays with her late husband’s family, and she’s close to his siblings. “They’re my family,” she said. While she is open to a new partner, she said they’ll have to be comfortable and confident enough to know that her heart is “big enough to love them while remembering, honoring, and having love for Jarrod.”
Levy said it’s important to note that neither woman needs to be rescued. “I am a strong, independent woman who raised four children,” she said.
“We were both independent and strong before our losses, but what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. We’re still here, and it took a lot of strength to be here,” said Mendel. “To Simonie’s point, we don’t need a knight in shining armor.”
Speaking of cliches, there are a few the podcasters don’t like. Mendel said when she hears, “Everything happens for a reason,” she thinks, “There’s no good reason that my kids don’t get to grow up with their dad. We can find purpose after a loss, but there’s no reason.”
Because Mark had been ill, people said about his death, “He’s in a much better place now.” But Levy felt that “a better place” would be with her and their children.
While most people mean well, Levy and Mendel strive to educate all people about grief.
“People are uncomfortable with the uncomfortable, and there’s not much that’s more uncomfortable than death,” said Mendel.
She added: “From these experiences, you grow, you expand, you become more compassionate and empathetic.”
Listen to “Grief and Grit” on the website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
