Episode 7 Postmortem (WILD Podcast)

This episode is about what happens when a friendship ends — not with a bang, but with a slow fade, or a necessary boundary. I call these friendings. We talked about how society often minimizes the impact of friendship loss, especially when compared to romantic breakups or family estrangement. But friendship endings are real losses, and they deserve acknowledgment.

We also explored how choosing distance for your well-being can still bring grief. There's often a mix of relief and longing — and both are valid. Whether the ending was mutual, one-sided, or unclear, the emotions that follow can linger in quiet but powerful ways

Inside this episode is a six-minute excerpt from my grief literacy course, I Let It Die (The ILID Course), where I invite listeners to reflect on their own patterns with friendship.

Friendship grief is often invisible, but it is not imaginary. 
Episode 7 is an invitation to notice the echoes of connection — the ones that still hum even after the conversations have stopped. 
It’s a nudge to name the sadness in chosen distance,
to let longing be a valid part of the story,
and to remind ourselves that the end of “us”
doesn’t mean the end of what was real.

Let this be a space where we practice not minimizing the losses that didn’t come with ceremonies.
 Let this be part of your permission.

Key Themes:

• Friendship grief is often underestimated.
• Estrangement from family members can feel like a lost friendship.
• Distance, even chosen, can still carry grief.
• Relief and regret can coexist.
• Our friendship patterns are shaped by what we saw, needed, or never got.

Core Questions

• Who have you called “friend,” and who called you that back?
• Are there friendships you’re still grieving?
• What has the word friend meant to you over time?
• Are you the kind of friend you need?
• Is the friendship still mutual — and if not, is there grief around that?

Here's the chatroom for ongoing convo of this particular kind.