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Episode 38: When Your Child Has an Emergency — Why It Hits Different After Loss

There’s a moment every parent dreads—the call you weren’t expecting… the one that makes your heart drop before you even have the full story.

In this episode, Jamal and David open up about their first real “emergency” moments with their daughters—times when they weren’t there, couldn’t get there fast enough, and had to sit in the space between fear and truth. From a kitchen fire scare to a child passing out in public, they unpack what it feels like to face that helplessness—and how quickly your mind jumps to the worst-case scenario.

But for widowed parents, those moments hit differently. An emergency doesn’t just bring fear—it can reopen the emotional memory of the moment you first lost your spouse. The same helplessness. The same urgency. The same need to get there now. Jamal and David reflect on how these experiences resurface old trauma, the weight of being the only parent in the moment, and the quiet pressure of knowing everything now falls on you.

This conversation also moves into preparation—how to teach kids awareness without fear, how to navigate public safety, and how to handle those moments when you simply can’t get to them right away. Because sometimes the lesson isn’t just in what happened… it’s in what it made you feel again—and how you respond moving forward.

Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward. The idea for the podcast was born after David and Jamal met in 2023. Both widowers, who had lost their wives to cancer, quickly found a deep connection through multiple conversations about pain, perseverance, and parenthood. They realized that while men often bond over music, sports, or TV, they rarely speak candidly about loss or emotional recovery. Getting Back Up was created to change that narrative—blending the everyday with the existential in a format that’s as relatable as it is real.

Getting knocked down is part of life. Getting back up is how we live.

Hosts: David McClain & Jamal Jones
Executive Directors: Marlon Jackson & Ted Winners (Like A Gazelle Productions)
Editing: Marlon Jackson
Music:
Grenada, "Treasure"
McDonald, Otis, "Phife for Life", otismusic.com

Thank you for listening! Follow us on Instagram/TikTok @getbackuppodcast and on X @GBUpodcast

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Episode 37: When Life Hits Again - Unemployed after loss

What happens when life knocks you down… again?

In this episode, Jamal and David step into something raw and unfiltered. Just weeks after being laid off, Jamal shares what it feels like to take another hit—after already navigating the loss of a spouse and rebuilding life once before. This isn’t a reflection episode. This is real time.

There are no polished answers here—just honest conversation about identity, pressure, fatherhood, and the quiet weight of starting over when you thought you were already back on your feet. They talk about what grief taught them that still applies, what feels different this time, and what “getting back up” actually looks like when you don’t have clarity—only responsibility.

If you’re in a season where life feels uncertain, heavy, or unfinished… this episode meets you right there.

Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward. The idea for the podcast was born after David and Jamal met in 2023. Both widowers, who had lost their wives to cancer, quickly found a deep connection through multiple conversations about pain, perseverance, and parenthood. They realized that while men often bond over music, sports, or TV, they rarely speak candidly about loss or emotional recovery. Getting Back Up was created to change that narrative—blending the everyday with the existential in a format that’s as relatable as it is real.

Getting knocked down is part of life. Getting back up is how we live.

Hosts: David McClain & Jamal Jones
Executive Directors: Marlon Jackson & Ted Winners (Like A Gazelle Productions)
Editing: Marlon Jackson
Music:
Grenada, "Treasure"
McDonald, Otis, "Phife for Life", otismusic.com

Thank you for listening! Follow us on Instagram/TikTok @getbackuppodcast and on X @GBUpodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 36: Finding Passion & Purpose Again

There comes a moment in the journey where survival isn’t the question anymore… it’s now what?

In this episode, Jamal and David dive into one of the hardest transitions after loss—moving from just getting through the day to actually building a life again. They explore what it means to rediscover purpose when the life you once knew no longer exists, and why so many widowers and widows feel stuck between honoring the past and wanting more from the future.

Through personal reflection and real talk, they unpack how purpose doesn’t disappear—it gets disrupted. From finding small sparks of passion to rebuilding identity through action, community, and discipline, this episode offers a grounded path forward. If you’ve been asking yourself who you are now and what comes next… this conversation is for you.

Getting Back Up: Finding Life After Death is a podcast that explores the raw, unfiltered reality of surviving profound personal loss—and finding a way forward. The idea for the podcast was born after David and Jamal met in 2023. Both widowers, who had lost their wives to cancer, quickly found a deep connection through multiple conversations about pain, perseverance, and parenthood. They realized that while men often bond over music, sports, or TV, they rarely speak candidly about loss or emotional recovery. Getting Back Up was created to change that narrative—blending the everyday with the existential in a format that’s as relatable as it is real.

Thank you for your support!

Hosts: David McClain & Jamal Jones
Executive Directors: Marlon Jackson & Ted Winners (Like A Gazelle Productions)
Editing: Marlon Jackson
Music:
Grenada, "Treasure"
McDonald, Otis, "Phife for Life", otismusic.com

Thank you for listening! Follow us on Instagram/TikTok @getbackuppodcast and on X @GBUpodcast