53 Erica Messer | Normalizing and Acknowledging Pet Loss Grief Artwork

How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

You can't go through life without experiencing loss and trauma the question is how do we deal and live with the grief and pain? Join Nathalie Himmelrich, grief expert and author, talking to people who have experienced grief and trauma first-hand. If you want to be inspired by others who traveled through their grief and trauma, found that healing is possible, and came out the other end knowing they can survive and thrive in life after loss. For more info: www.nathaliehimmelrich.com

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How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

53 Erica Messer | Normalizing and Acknowledging Pet Loss Grief

October 02, 2023 • Season 5 • Episode 53

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About this week’s episode

Today’s episode is about the impact of pet loss. Pet loss often goes unacknowledged, is compared with other losses, or is met with statements that invalidate the grief that is experienced. ‘It was just a cat’ and other unhelpful comments minimize the real experience of grief pet owners go through. Both Erica and I describe the connection we had with our cats and how their loss affected us. Erica’s cat Wolfgang had such an impact on her life and when he died, she could not find suitable support to help her navigate grief, so she created a beautiful card deck. Erica’s mission is to support others in dealing with pet loss and normalize pet loss grief as a valid sort of grief.

About this week’s guest

After the sudden passing of her cat, Wolfgang, Erica couldn’t find a simple product to help her cope, so she created her own: Pet Loss Grieving Cards. Thus, her company Wolfie’s Wish was born. Grieving Cards have since won “Best New Product” at the Superzoo tradeshow. When she’s not paw-sitively rocking it in her business, Erica enjoys performing pop and rock covers on her harp or scratching and mixing on the turntables.

Erica’s links: