Don't Forget To Breathe: A Podcast for Living after Child Loss.
Don’t Forget To Breathe is a podcast for parents who have lost a child.
Hosted by bereaved parents Bruce Barker and Kristin Glenn, this show offers honest, compassionate conversations about life after child loss, long-term grief, healing, and learning how to keep living while carrying profound loss. Together, Bruce and Kristin create a space where grief does not need to be explained, and where parents can feel understood, supported, and less alone.
Originally launched in 2020, the podcast began as a form of soul-cleansing and healing, as Bruce shared his journey as a father who suddenly lost his 20-year-old daughter in 2006, a tragedy no parent should ever have to endure. After a three-year hiatus marked by deep personal transformation, including divorce, closing a business, intensive therapy, and continued healing, the podcast returns with a renewed heart and a deeper, more expansive perspective.
With Kristin joining as co-host in Season 4, the conversation widens. Drawing from decades of lived experience, Bruce and Kristin are joined by other parents who bravely share their stories of grief, resilience, and life after loss. Together, they explore how grief evolves over time, and how sorrow, hope, love, and even laughter can coexist.
You’ll hear the shift in voice, perspective, and presence, from surviving to living. Wherever you are on your grief journey, this podcast offers connection, understanding, and the quiet reassurance that you are not alone.
Episodes
32 episodes
When Joy Feels Like Betrayal -E431
There’s a moment many grieving parents experience, but rarely say out loud.A moment where laughter returns, or a sense of lightness breaks through… and almost immediately, it’s followed by guilt.In this episode, Bruce and Kristin ...
Gina's Story: Love, Impact, and the Unthinkable (Part 2) -E430
In Part 2 of Gina’s story, we move beyond the moment everything changed and into the long, complicated reality of living after child loss. This conversation holds space for what grief becomes over time, the loneliness that cannot be fixed, the ...
Gina's Story: Love, Impact, and the Unthinkable (Part 1) -E429
In Part 1 of this deeply moving conversation, Gina shares the story of her son, Gabe, a kind, funny, and compassionate 17-year-old whose presence impacted everyone around him.From memories of his humor and heart, to the way he showed up ...
What Death Does Not Take -E428
When a child dies, it can feel like everything is taken, your future, your identity, your sense of who you are. In this deeply honest conversation, Bruce and Kristin explore that raw reality, and then gently turn toward something many grieving ...
Natalie's Story: When Grief and Joy Exist Together -E427
In this episode, Natalie shares the story of her daughter Brooklyn, a joyful, imaginative little girl who filled every space with life.Through heartfelt memories and honest reflection, we talk about sudden loss, the early days of shock a...
All The Empty Rooms Documentary; A Reflection on Grief and Love -E426
In this episode, Bruce and Kristin reflect on the Academy Award winning documentary All the Empty Rooms, a film that quietly and honestly invites viewers into the sacred spaces left behind after the loss of a child.Rather than o...
The Shattered Future: The Invisible Loss (Part 2) -E425
In Part 2, Bruce and Kristin continue their conversation about the shattered future that follows child loss. Together, they talk about the milestones that can hit without warning, birthdays, New Year’s, graduations, weddings, and the qui...
The Shattered Future: The Invisible Loss (Part 1) -E424
When a child dies, parents don’t just grieve the life that was lived, they grieve the life that was supposed to be.In this episode, Bruce and Kristin talk about the invisible loss many bereaved parents carry: the future that sha...
Why Time Doesn’t Heal the Loss, But What Might Help (Part 3) -E423
In Part 3, Bruce and Kristin talk about what grieving parents often need most: to be seen, not fixed.They explore why it matters when others say our child’s name, ask how they lived instead of how they died, and allow grief to be spoken ...
Why Time Doesn’t Heal the Loss, But What Might Help (Part 2) -E422
In Part 2, we explore one of the quieter things time actually does: it distances us from support.As the calls become fewer and the check-ins fade, it may begin to look from the outside like we’re coping… or even moving on. But grief is p...
Why Time Doesn’t Heal the Loss, But What Might Help (Part 1) -E421
“Time heals all wounds.”Most grieving parents have heard that phrase. Many of us have been hurt by it.In part 1 of this 3-part series, Bruce and Kristin challenge the myth that time alone heals the loss of a child. This isn’t a sc...
Season 4: Roadmap For Grieving Parents -E420
This conversation opens with a promise: we will talk about child loss with honesty, tenderness, and practical care. Bruce Barker and Kristin Glenn outline the intention for Season 4 of Don’t Forget To Breathe: honest, com...
You Get It: Grief, Healing & Connection -E419
As we launch this Season 4 conversation of Don’t Forget To Breathe, host Bruce Barker is joined by Kristin Glenn as they officially begin their journey together as co-hosts. This episode centers on a powerful truth shared by bereaved p...
Child Loss, Grief, and Healing: Season 3 Recap -E318
This episode of Don’t Forget To Breathe reflects on Season 3, a season focused on parents who have lost a child, life after child loss, long-term grief, and healing. Hosted by a grieving father, this recap honors t...
Kristin's Story (part 2): Loss, Compassion, and Showing Up for Others -E317
In this first half of a two-part conversation, host Bruce Barker talks with Kristin—one of the founders and former Executive Director of a Colorado nonprofit that supports grieving parents.Kristin opens up about her child, her loss, and ...
Kristin's Story (part 1): Loss, Compassion, and Showing Up for Others -E316
In this first part of a two-episode conversation, host Bruce Barker sits down with Kristin, one of the founders and former Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting families who have experienced child loss....
The Holidays After Child Loss: Grief, Memory, and Survival -E315
The holidays can be one of the hardest times for grieving parents. Between memories of what once was and the silence of what’s missing, emotions can feel overwhelming. In this heartfelt episode of Don’t Forget To Breathe, host Bruce...
Loss, Grief, and Healing: A Conversation with Sheila Johnson Wilson -E314
My guest, Sheila Johnson Wilson, a writer, musician, and professional coordinator, has endured the loss of more than 20 loved ones, including 17 in just five years. Through deep personal work, she’s found healing and now shares her story to ins...
Marnie's Story (part3): Child Loss, Love, and Life After Loss -E313
In part three of my conversation with Marnie, she shares life after Joey’s death in 2022; the weight of grief, the struggles, and the ways she continues forward while holding onto her daughter’s memory. Unlike the first two episodes, we recorde...
Marnie's Story (part 2): Child Loss, Love, and Life After Loss -E312
In the second of three conversations, Marnie continues sharing the story of her daughter, Joey, this time moving into the heartbreaking account of her final days and the moment of her death. Alongside the deep pain, Marnie reflects with tendern...
Marnie's Story (part 1): Child Loss, Love, and Life After Loss -E311
In the first of three conversations, Marnie from Colorado opens her heart to share memories of her daughter, Joey and the devastating medical diagnosis, countless hospital visits, and the daily fight to keep her alive, as well as the laughter, ...
Did You Really Just Say That?-Revisited - E310
In this episode, I revisit one of the most talked-about topics from Season 2, Episode 9: Did You Really Just Say That?We’ll reflect on some of the surprising, hurtful, or well-meaning-but-wrong things people say to gr...
A Father's Reflection on Child Loss: 7,595 Days with Kristen - E309
Nineteen years ago today, Kristen died. In this short episode, I reflect on the weight of this day, what it brings up, how I’ve coped, and the ways I’ve honored her memory through the years. Grief changes, but it never disappears. This is a qui...
Coming Back to the Mic to Talk Grief and Loss -E308
Where Has Bruce Been?After a three-year pause, Don’t Forget To Breathe returns with a raw and transparent look at the life-changing events that kept Bruce away from the mic. In this powerful relaunch, Bruce shares his journe...
Season 3 Preview: Parent Stories of Child Loss, Grief, and Life After Loss -E307
After more than three years away from the mic, I’m back with Season 3, bringing heartfelt, healing conversations around life after child loss. This season features solo reflections, revisits to powerful past topics, and honest stories from fell...