Surviving after the loss of a child.

"Releasing shows on a very regular schedule has been extremely helpful especially as new parents discover the show and rely on something in their life that comes with some regularity."

Today Marcy Larson, the creator of Losing a Child: Always Andy's Mom shares her story of parenting podcast.

► Tell us about you and your podcast

On August 15, 2018, while traveling to a minor league baseball game with my husband and two younger sons, Andy, age 14, and Peter, age 12, our car was rear-ended while we were in the exit lane traveling between 5 and 10 mph by a car traveling at highway speed. My son, Peter and I, were knocked unconscious briefly, while Andy was killed instantly. My husband, Eric, an anesthesiologist, tried in vain to resuscitate him.

Our world was crushed. Andy was such a light and a bundle of energy in our family, and in an instant, he was gone. Instead of his first day of high school being that Monday, we had his funeral. My busy pediatric practice became almost an afterthought as I struggled to help myself and my family, now five instead of six, recover.

My husband started a podcast on issues in medicine called The Paradocs six months before the accident. In my pain, I looked for a podcast on parental grief and could not find one. After much thought, I concluded that this is what I was meant to start. This is an awful experience, worse than I ever imagined it could be, and one that should not be dealt with alone. Hopefully, helping others walk this path will help bring healing to all of us.

► Why & how did you start this podcast? 

I started the podcast in the hope that by sharing my story and hearing the stories of other parents we could all heal together. The podcast has been so healing for me and for listeners who often have very few places to turn after the tragic loss of a son or daughter.

I began the podcast in September of 2019 and have faithfully released an episode every week since. Most of the episodes are with other parents but I occasionally bring on my friend Gwen, a thanatologist (expert in the study of grief), to discuss various topics around grief. I didn't have any specific plans for what the podcast was going to be or goals. However, it is clear that there is a huge hole to be filled in helping other parents walk this terrible journey together and provide each other hope.

► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?

I have always worked part time so I schedule one day to work on the podcast a week. I use that day to record interviews, review the editing, and replying to emails from grieving parents.

► What do you gain from podcasting?        

The biggest gains from doing the podcast have been to my spiritual, mental, and physical health. Despite meeting regularly with other parents who have lost children, I find comfort and strength in our shared experiences. I also learn so much from the parents in ways to cope, view the world, and how to keep living for the next day.

I don't have any sponsors and we get some money from donations to the show.

► How does your podcasting process look like? 

I use zoom to record my guests and then record locally on my Mac to GarageBand. I used to edit but now outsource that to a private individual. I also have someone edit and post my videos on Instagram.

► How do you market your show?

Through mostly word of mouth and Instagram. Video editing and postings on Instagram have been very helpful. I am generally unsure of why the show grows but I know that the Sick Kids children's hospital in Toronto provides all its parents experiencing loss my show as a resource.

I also continue to grow an email list where I provide a link to the show and show notes that drive a lot of my downloads.

► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?

I think having a husband who was encouraging me and had experience in the process was so helpful. Releasing shows on a very regular schedule has been extremely helpful especially as new parents discover the show and rely on something in their life that comes with some regularity.

As I write this, I have released over 200 shows and have covered just about every type of loss and age for parents. I have sorted these losses by age and manner of death which I think has really helped parents find other parents whom they can best relate to. Of course, I discovered very quickly that although the nature of the loss is unique, there are a lot of common experiences and things we can learn from each other.

► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?

https://www.andysmom.com