"We Don't Grieve Alone" with Amanda Held Opelt

After a series of miscarriages, the loss of her grandma, and then her beloved sister, Amanda Held Opelt found solace in an unexpected place, in exploring ancient grief rituals in practices. In her first book, A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing, Amanda explores how such ancient grief rituals and practices can be a vessel for honest expression, communal connection, and even healing.

Amanda is an author, speaker, and songwriter. She has spent 15 years serving in the non-profit and humanitarian aid sectors and lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina. In my time with Amanda, we talk about the complexity of living in a world that can be both stunningly beautiful and so very broken. She helps us see the beauty of ritual and community and how loss has the potential to deepen our capacity for love, faith, and healing.

JohnsonMarch 20, 2023amandaheldopelt, grief, community, healing, impossiblebeauty, impossiblebeautypodcast, aholeintheworld, holyunhappiness

"Held by Love" with K.J. Ramsey, MA. LPC

K.J. Ramsey is a trauma-informed licensed professional counselor and is the author of three books, including her latest title, The Book of Common Courage: Prayers and Poems to Find Strength in Small Moments. K.J. writes at the intersection of theology, psychology, and spiritual formation to guide us in recovering the rhythm of resilience through nervous system regulation and the wonder of communion with God.

In my time with K.J., she talks about her most recent book and the communal nature of courage; how “we need the presence and words of others to bring us from confusion to hope and faith.” She also discusses how being disabled and encountering various physical struggles have formed her faith and her prayer life.

JohnsonMarch 13, 2023k.j.ramsey, kjramsey, thebookofcommoncourage, bookofcommoncourage, melissajohnson, impossiblebeauty, courage, community, spiritualformation