12 years. 12 reasons. One conversation we need to have.

October 11, 2026 marks 12 years since Cassidy died. This year, I am stepping behind the microphone solo to talk about something our world still struggles to talk about:

grief.

What it is. What it needs. Why it doesn't follow a timeline. Why we need to keep saying our children's names. Why grief and joy can live side by side.
And why, sometimes, grief simply needs a witness.

This is more than an episode about my grief. It’s a conversation for anyone who has lost someone they love—and for everyone who loves someone who is grieving.

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

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Two years ago, Kelli Swank's world changed forever when her 24-year-old son, Jack, died unexpectedly from unknown causes.

In this deeply honest conversation, Kelli shares what it's like to live with unanswered questions, how grief transformed her family, her journey to sobriety after trying to numb the pain, and how Jack's final gift of organ donation saved four lives. And so much more we can learn about child loss grief.

Building Jack's Legacy is bringing comfort and joy to children in hospitals, one Lego set at a time.

Building Jack's Legacy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578224261919

Donate A Lego Set! AmazoneLego Wish List:

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/3W12ZVOEQRC0W?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_NMSBHZ6SC94QH1VTTA5K&language=en-US&fbclid=IwY2xjawTv28dwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTlJQXcxdkg3aDkzbWlLbktzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeS24S2sFyW5qDFKDkzPw406OmiuNdOy273em3dqH-qG4lDDVM6Qy5DRj5DF8_aem_N2SFZMPiTFMcXFIzYpI-jA

Building Jack's Legacy Website: buildingjackslegacy.org

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

We’re back this month for the second half of our conversation with Pattie Gallant, a bereaved mother who shares her story of losing her son Evan to cancer, and the journey she is now on 9 years later—leaning into his legacy—to find peace.

We encourage you to revisit Episode #46: Anticipatory Grief, where Pattie shares her experience preparing for Evan’s passing, and the lessons she learned from him about dying, and living.

Referenced in this episode:

Gosnell Memorial Hospice House is an inpatient facility for end of life care in Scarborough, Maine.

David Kessler is a world-renowned expert on death and dying. He has published many books, including Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Grief he co-wrote with psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

There is no handbook for grieving the loss of a child. We learn to grieve exactly where we are. Words of wisdom from Pattie, a bereaved Mom whose son Evan died from cancer at age 21. Pattie shares her anticipatory grief as she prepared for her child’s passing; the complicated guilt of wanting the suffering to end; and the nine year journey of caring for her son, while still parenting a young child. There was so much to share that we produced a two-part episode.

Part 2 of our conversation with Pattie airs June 11.

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

This month on Holding the Light, we welcome Joyce Vigue-Morrissette — a retired nurse who shares what grief looks like from the caregiver’s side of child loss. Joyce called into our Listener Line after hearing Holly Caron's episode "Grief Has No Timeline" and the story of her daughter Heather, who died from a brain tumor. Joyce was Heather's nurse. This episode reminds us that it's not just families who carry grief.

Joyce references the podcast episode with Holly Caron. We invite you to listen to that episode here: Grief Has No Timeline https://www.buzzsprout.com/1914805/episodes/18567861

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

We are joined this month by a fellow bereaved mother who shares how losing her son five years ago reshaped her life, and led her to advocate for change. She is also the current United States of America Mrs. Maine—someone who chose to carry her grief into the public eye, not for attention, but for impact. Learn how she is advocating for better workplace bereavement leave policies and hear why Jessica believes "there is always hope on the darkest days." This is what happens when a bereaved Mom decides to turn grief into purpose.

If you’d like to have Jessica speak to your organizational leadership about workplace bereavement support, you can contact her at jmashe83@gmail.com.

To follow Jessica's USOA Mrs. Pageant Journey: unitedstatesofamericapageants.com

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

For any parent listening to this podcast who worries that time hasn’t ‘fixed’ their grief—this conversation is proof that there is no timeline we need to meet. Eighteen years after losing her daughter Heather to brain cancer, Holly Caron shows us what enduring love looks like—quiet, honest, and deeply present. This conversation affirms what so many families live but rarely hear acknowledged: Grief has no expiration date. Love does not fade with time—and neither does the bond between a mother and her child.

Resources cited in this podcast:

Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area: https://www.hvwa.org/

The Center for Grieving Children: https://www.cgcmaine.org/

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others

This episode honors the enduring bond that even murder cannot break. We sit down with Zorimar Betancourt, whose world shattered when her son Stefano was carjacked and murdered while she drove behind him, trying desperately to help him on the phone. This conversation is raw and real, but it's filled with grace, a reminder that ever when violence steals life, it can't silence a mother's love. Learn how Zorimar tirelessly advocates for organ donation in Puerto Rico, and has made it her mission to help other parents navigate grief during trauma -- all in honor of her son, Stefano.

The Stefano Steenbakkers Bentancourt Foundation: https://www.fundacionstefano.org/

To reach our guest Zorimar Bentancourt:

100 Av. San Patricio, Guaynabo Puerto Rico, 00968

1-787-607-4990

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamstefanopr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamStefanoPR

Referenced resources in this episode:

"Finding Meaning" by David Kessler: https://grief.com/

Dougy Center, The National Grief Center for Children & Families, Portland, OR: https://www.dougy.org/

A Second Chance Organ Donation: https://www.asecondchanceproject.org/

Life Net Health: https://www.lifenethealth.org/

What did you think? Share your feedback in a text message.

Holding the Light is an original, monthly podcast created and hosted by Monica and Colby Charette, edited and produced by Monica Charette, with support from Julia Vigue and Sophia Speeckaert. EMAIL US (shineoncass@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or a request to join us as a guest. We also welcome you to visit us at ShineOnCass (www.shineoncass.org) where our family continues to Shine the Light of Cassidy.

Our podcast’s theme music is As Long As You Love (Scarlet Wings) written and sung by Cindy Bullens, from the album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth produced by Blue Lobster Records (1999). Available on CD or download at www.cidnybullens.com. Mention Holding the Light Podcast and receive a signed copy!

Love what you heard?

• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
• share our podcast with others