Episode 61: Myra Sack on Traumatic Loss and Living with Grief

Evolve

In losing her two-year-old daughter, Havi, Myra Sack suffered the kind of loss most people cannot even fathom. By telling her Havi’s story, Sack discovered she can help others live with grief. Sack is the author of Fifty-Seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way, an excerpt of which appears on the Evolve website. She discusses the important role ritual played after Havi’s diagnosis and following her passing. Sack traces her journey into grief literacy and how she has used her own painful experiences to help others process grief. She talks about the tragic consequences of a doctor’s mistake and how she and her husband, Matt, have worked to ensure no family suffers a similar fate. The former collegiate soccer standout also shares the place that sports have played in her life and the blessings she’s looking forward to in the New Year.

Theme song, “Ilu Finu” by Rabbi Miriam Margles. Her album This is the Day is available for purchase at CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/miriammarglesandthehadarensemb

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Myra Sack.

Support Evolve

Links:

• Support Evolve with a donation of $36
• Read Myra's Evolve essay, "Rituals of Grief"
• Purchase Myra's book, "Fifty-Seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way"
• From Ritualwell, "The Four Yizkors: Grief and Memory Hold Hands"
• From Ritualwell, "Balancing Grief and Gratitude"
• Bryan's previous conversation with Myra
• Myra's Philly Jewish Sports Hall of Fame profile
• J-Screen
• Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief
• Learn more about Shelley Barnathan, Myra's rabbi