Turning Grief Into Art: A Powerful Way to Understand Death & Healing

In this episode, Jennifer Muldowney sits down with Jill Greenbaum to explore a different approach to one of life’s hardest conversations, death, loss, and everything we struggle to put into words. Jill introduces the idea that drawing, even in its simplest form, can help people communicate what they feel when language falls short.

Because here’s the truth most people overlook. Words disappear. Conversations get forgotten. But when something is placed visually in front of you, it stays. It becomes something you can return to, reflect on, and understand more clearly. Whether it’s imagining your end of life, mapping out your wishes, or simply processing grief, visuals create space for honesty in a way that talking sometimes can’t.

What makes this conversation powerful isn’t just creativity. It’s the shift in perspective. You don’t need to be an artist. You don’t need to get it right. You just need a way to express what matters. And in a world where people are overwhelmed, burnt out, and often disconnected from their own emotions, something as simple as drawing might be the most honest form of communication we have.

Key Topics:

-Using visual storytelling to make death, grief, and loss easier to talk about

-Turning simple drawings into a powerful tool for communication

-Creating visual obituaries to reflect on life, legacy, and meaning

-Processing grief through creativity, ritual, and personal expression

-Making end-of-life conversations more accessible and easier to understand

Quotes from the episode:

“There is music and there is art in everyone.”

— Jennifer Muldowney

“What I'm teaching people to do is not about making art, which is wonderful, but it is about communication.”

— Jill Greenbaum

Timestamps:

[01:39] From Education to Visual Storytelling: Jill shares how her background in teaching, curriculum development, and creativity led her into visual practice.

[02:11] Drawing Your Thoughts, Questions, and Plans: Jill explains how simple marks can help people express what they are thinking, even when they believe they “can’t draw.”

[03:16] Visualizing End of Life Issues: Jill shares how a group of women came together to use visual storytelling as a more accessible way to talk about dying, death, grief, and loss.

[04:10] Creating a Visual Story of Your End of Life: Jill explains the Lifting the Lid workshop, where people used prompts to imagine where they want to be, who they want with them, and what their final wishes may look like.

[07:41] It’s Not About Making Art, It’s About Communication: Jill makes a powerful point that drawing does not have to be beautiful, it just has to help people express what matters.

[09:49] How Visuals Help Funeral Professionals and Families: Jill explains how funeral directors, death doulas, and families can use drawings to make end-of-life wishes clearer and easier to remember.

[12:19] Creating Your Visual Obituary: Jill talks about helping people draw the highlights, challenges, and meaningful parts of their lives through visual obituaries.

[13:17] Impermanent Earth Art and Morning Altars: Jill shares how nature, grief, and creativity can come together through temporary art that reflects the shortness of life.

[14:52] When Pet Loss Opens a New Path: Jill shares how losing her dog led her toward pet loss and bereavement chaplaincy work.

[19:56] We Are the Artists of Our Lives: Jill reflects on how creativity is not limited to traditional art, but also shows up in the choices, rituals, and practices that help us heal.

[21:56] Why People Need to Know Their End-of-Life Options: Jill talks about the importance of education, informed choices, medical aid in dying, and newer options like human composting.

[24:42] Self-Care for People Working Around Death and Grief: Jill discusses burnout in care-based fields and why self-care cannot only fall on individuals, systems also need to become more responsive.

Connect with Jill Greenbaum at:

Website: www.jillgreenbaum.com
Email: jill@jillgreenbaum.com

Social media accounts: https://www.instagram.com/jillig/

https://www.facebook.com/jill.greenbaum

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillrgreenbaum/

Connect with Jennifer/The Glam Reaper on socials at:

Instagram -   / @jennifermuldowney  

TikTok -   / @therealglamreaper  

YouTube -    / @theglamreapermuldowney  

LinkedIn -   / @jennifermuldowney  

Facebook Page -   / @muldowneymemorials  

Email us - glamreaperpodcast@gmail.com

Shop Merch - https://the-glam-reaper.printify.me/

Listen to The Glam Reaper Podcast on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

The Glam Reaper® AMAZON Storefront - https://amzn.to/4hObpOh

Finding Peace in the Afterlife: How Grief Can Transform Into Healing

What if the healing you’ve been chasing for years… could happen in a single moment?

In this episode, Jennifer Muldowney sits down with Dr. Irene to explore something deeply human, the need for closure, connection, and peace after loss. Irene shares her work around the psychomanteum, a quiet, sensory-deprived space designed to help people feel close to loved ones who have passed. But what unfolds in that space isn’t always what you’d expect.

Some people feel a presence. Some see colors or images. And some don’t experience anything at all. Yet what’s consistent is this, something shifts. Irene opens up about her own experience, where a lifelong need for her father’s approval simply… disappeared. Not because she saw him, but because something inside her finally let go.

What makes this conversation powerful isn’t just the idea of connecting with the afterlife. It’s the reminder that so much of what we carry, grief, anger, longing, is waiting to be released. And sometimes, all we really need is the space to face it honestly..

Key Topics:

-Processing grief and emotional pain through immersive experiences

-Letting go of the need for validation from loved ones who have passed

-Creating space to express unspoken words and unresolved feelings

-Understanding how inner healing can happen without external confirmation

-Exploring alternative ways people seek connection, closure, and peace

Quotes from the episode:

“There is no white knight on a white horse coming to rescue you, you have to rescue yourself.”

— Jennifer Muldowney

I spent my whole life trying to be good enough… and in that moment, I realized I already was.

— Irene Blinston

Timestamps:

[01:05] The Research Behind Contacting the Dead: Irene explains how her work in transpersonal psychology led her to study the psychomanteum, a sensory-deprivation chamber designed to help grieving people connect with loved ones who have passed.

[02:20] 92% of Participants Felt Their Grief Reduce: The astonishing research result behind the book, showing that most participants experienced meaningful relief, and that the change lasted over time.

[03:12] What Actually Happens Inside the Chamber: Some people felt a presence. Others saw colors, symbols, images, or even apparitions. This is where the episode moves from theory into the truly fascinating.

[09:08] The Father Wound That Healed in One Session: Irene shares the deeply personal moment that changed her life, releasing a lifelong need for her father’s approval and replacing it with something far more powerful.

[13:11] No One Is Coming to Rescue You: A moving reflection on self-worth, healing, and the hard truth that real peace begins when you stop waiting for validation from other people.

[14:10] Who This Experience Is Not For: An important and grounded discussion on safety, mental health screening, and why this kind of work must be handled with great care.

[16:28] She Didn’t See Her Father, She Finally Said What She Needed To Say: One of the most powerful insights in the episode, showing that healing does not always come from contact, sometimes it comes from finally releasing what was trapped inside.

[19:06] Becoming Your Own Medium: Irene explains what makes this work so different, and why having the experience yourself can be more powerful than hearing messages through someone else.

[21:05] Can This Become a Real Healing Practice?: Irene shares her vision for rebuilding, training facilitators, and turning this rare work into something more available for people who are grieving.

Connect with Dr. Irene Blinston at:

Websites -support@portaltohealinggrief.com

Connect with Jennifer Muldowney, aka, The Glam Reaper on socials at:

Instagram -  @jennifermuldowney  

TikTok - @therealglamreaper  

YouTube - @theglamreapermuldowney  

LinkedIn -   @jennifermuldowney  

Facebook Page -  @muldowneymemorials  

Email us - glamreaperpodcast@gmail.com

Shop Merch - https://the-glam-reaper.printify.me/p...

Listen to The Glam Reaper Podcast on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

The Glam Reaper® AMAZON Storefront - https://amzn.to/4hObpOh

Behind The Profession: The Mental Heath Toll of Funeral Work

What happens when the people who stand beside grief every day are expected to carry it quietly?

In this episode, Jennifer Muldowney sits down with Dwight Thompson, a former funeral director turned therapist, for a deeply honest conversation about the emotional toll of working in death care. Having lived both roles, Dwight speaks with real understanding about what funeral professionals hold day after day, the sorrow they witness, the stories they carry, and the parts of themselves they often have to set aside just to keep going.

Together, they talk about how little support exists for the mental health of people in funeral service, and how often their pain goes unseen. They explore the silence, the stigma, and the weight of doing work that asks so much from the heart while giving so little room to process it. This episode also shines a light on the importance of community, shared understanding, and spaces like Funeral Professional Peer Support where people can finally feel less alone.

Tune in for a moving conversation about grief, compassion, and what it means to care for others when no one has taught you how to care for yourself.

Key Topics:

- The hidden mental health toll of funeral work

- Why funeral professionals often suffer in silence

- The lack of real support for people in death care

- How stigma keeps funeral directors in the shadows

- The need for research, resources, and peer support in funeral service

Quotes from the episode:

“If we would just face the fact that we are dying, we live better and we love more.”

— Jennifer Muldowney

“No one in these mental health spaces are talking about funeral directors. And that to me is alarming."

— Dwight Thompson

Timestamps:

[01:43] Funeral Professionals Are Human Too and why people in death care carry their own grief as well

[03:18] Dwight’s Full Circle Journey from funeral directing and embalming into psychotherapy

[06:18] “That’s Me” and the moment Dwight saw his own story in other funeral directors’ mental health struggles

[06:49] A $274 Paycheck and a Therapist Who Didn’t Understand the reality of seeking help without being understood

[08:37] An Alarming Gap in Training and why funeral directors are still missing from mental health education

[09:36] First Responders vs Funeral Directors and why the comparison does not fully fit

[12:13] Borrowed Solutions and Missing Research in funeral directors’ mental health care

[14:31] The Dark Corner of Careers and why funeral service remains overlooked and misunderstood

[17:58] Death Care as Dirty Work and the stigma attached to working around death

[19:38] Why Are We Still So Death Denying and what that says about society’s discomfort with mortality

[21:20] The Healing Power of Peer Support and why shared experience matters so much

[23:26] A Branding Problem and why valuable support can still go unnoticed

[27:28] Business Culture and Silence in the funeral sector and how all three affect mental health support

[33:02] The System Cannot Fix Itself and why outside expertise may be needed

[36:26] What Comes Next and the wider conversations still needed in funeral service

Connect with Dwight Thompson at:

Website: https://www.funeralpeersupport.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwight-thompson-msw-rsw-rmft-s-31160621a/

Email: dwight@ottawapsychotherapyservices.ca

Connect with Jennifer Muldowney (The Glam Reaper) on socials at:

Instagram -   / @jennifermuldowney  

TikTok -   / @therealglamreaper  

YouTube -    / @theglamreapermuldowney  

LinkedIn -   / @jennifermuldowney  

Facebook Page -   / @muldowneymemorials  

Email us - glamreaperpodcast@gmail.com

Shop Merch - https://the-glam-reaper.printify.me/p...

Listen to The Glam Reaper Podcast on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

The Glam Reaper® AMAZON Storefront - https://amzn.to/4hObpOh

Painting Through Pet Loss: Why I Picked Up a Brush for Roxy and Poppy

Grief shows up in strange ways. One minute you’re fine, the next you’re crying in the pet aisle because you saw their favorite treats. Or scrolling through Etsy for hours, trying to find the perfect portrait that captures the sparkle of your beloved furry friend.

That’s exactly what I was doing in 2024 looking for something to honor Roxy and Poppy. I wanted a piece of art for my new home. But the more I searched, the more I realized nothing felt like them or like me with them. OR they were too expensive for my budget. And then I got an idea….

What if I painted it myself?

I haven’t really painted in years, at least not seriously. But the thought of creating something for them with my own hands felt…. Meaningful. Personal. A little terrifying of course and also I wasn’t sure Id have the skills anymore. I used to draw horses and Disney characters, rarely humans and had never tried dogs. I didn’t want to do them a disservice so I had another idea…..how about paint by numbers?! Now don’t laugh because it does sound childish but when I sent off the photo I curated of the two of them (their lives didn’t cross over each others) and received the piece back, I nearly died at the intricacy of all the colors and numbers – tiiiiiiny spots had numbers in it.

I got to work.

Every weekend I did a few more numbers until just this past Christmas I was able to finish it and I am so pleased with the results. I recorded a time lapse most of the times I painted. It was SO cathartic and the end result was as accurate the photo as it could be, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish the same result freehand. I was thrilled.

Why Art Feels Like the Right Path

I’ve read a lot about art therapy over the years. As someone who lives and works in the world of grief, I know how powerful creativity can be as a form of expression. Art helps bypass the analytical mind and go straight to the heart. It doesn’t require answers or solutions. Just a willingness to feel and explore. The paint by numbers situation allowed the controlling perfectionist in me to create something I could be proud of (and want to display) and the creativity of simply putting brush to canvas was so relaxing and meditative.

The result? I love it. I wanted to paint Roxy and Poppy not just how they looked, but how they felt. Their energy. Their quirks. Their place in my life and heart. The photos I chose of them and blended and the chosen background, all reflect me and them and I couldn’t be happier.

Not an Artist? Doesn’t Matter.

You don’t have to be anyway good at art to do this. This isn’t about creating a gallery-worthy piece, its just for me and because the hard work has been done for you, you just have to show up. It’s about sitting with grief in a way that’s active, but gentle, meditative and deeply connected. I turned on some Disney classics – don’t ask me why, this just felt right and I cried and I concentrated. A weird tribute maybe but a slow, sacred, splattered kind of love letter it became.

If You’re Grieving A Furry One Too...

Maybe you're not ready to paint. Maybe your creative style looks like journaling, or building a photo collage, or writing a poem. That’s beautiful too. There’s no “right” way to remember a pet. There’s just your way.

But if the idea of picking up a brush or pen or piece of clay whispers something to you, I encourage you to follow it. You don’t have to show anyone. You don’t have to be “good.” You just have to start. I have learned a lot recently about the act of starting over seeking perfection.

And if you do start, know that you’re not alone. I’m over here, surrounded by tissues staring at my painting where I tried to capture two of the cutest and sweetest souls, I’ve ever known Roxy and Poppy.

They were worth every brushstroke. And so is your baby.

Keening & The Craic - Season Six is off!

What if the secret to resilience is knowing how to carry both a "guttural scream" and a "good laugh" in the same room?

In this season six premiere, Jennifer Muldowney welcomes the viral sensation and her dear friend, Vivienne Sayers, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the most authentic way possible, by exploring the bittersweet soul of Ireland. From the red carpets of the Oscars to the quiet, sacred traditions of the Irish wake, they dive into why Irish culture has always been a masterclass in balancing joy with deep, generational grief.

They discuss the power of visceral storytelling in films like Hamnet, the hilarious reality of being an Irish immigrant in New York (including a mortifying run-in with Ed Sheeran), and why the "Irish funeral" is currently in a chrysalis stage. The conversation challenges the drinking stereotypes of St. Patrick’s Day, urging a return to a broader narrative of language, community, and the ancient art of "keening"—reminding us that while we are a people who know how to complain, we are also a people who never let someone grieve alone.

Tune in for a celebration of the "Yin and Yang" of the Emerald Isle: the heart that smiles, the soul that cries, and the community that holds it all together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9DfyF6vBWw

Key Topics:

-The Dual Soul: Navigating the "Tear and the Smile" in Irish culture.

-Keening & The Craic: Understanding the ancient tradition of professional mourners and the "social lubricant" of the Irish wake.

-The Modern Irish Identity: Moving beyond green beer and drinking stereotypes to reclaim language and heritage.

-Generational Trauma vs. Wealth: How history has shaped the way the Irish process loss.

-The Funeral "Wake 2.0": Why a good funeral—and a good life—requires community, connection, and a perfect ham sandwich.

Quotes from the episode:

"There’s room for everyone at the table, no matter what industry... even if you're bloody identical twins, they still create their own corners of the world for themselves."

— Jennifer Muldowney

"America has generational wealth; Ireland has generational trauma. And we totally laugh about it, but... we are looking to broaden the Irish narrative of who we are as people."

— Vivienne Sayers