The Grief That Doesn't Get A Funeral: Juniper Wong on Grief Out Loud

1 day ago

3 min read

A Podcast Episode with Juniper Wong On Ambiguous & Ancestral Loss

Sometimes, grief is obvious. Other times, we might not recognize our experience as grief until a major life transition shifts our perspective entirely.

We are incredibly proud to share that Grounded Grief’s own Juniper Wong, MSW, LICSW, was recently featured on Episode 365 of The Dougy Center’s renowned podcast, Grief Out Loud. In this beautiful, vulnerable conversation with host Jana DeCristofaro, Juniper opens up about her personal and professional journey through the types of loss that often go unrecognized by society.

Navigating Ambiguous and Ancestral Loss

In the episode, Juniper shares how caring for her father during the final weeks of his life profoundly changed her understanding of grief. This experience, coupled with her journey into motherhood, sparked a deep recognition of how much of her own life—and her own fears—had been shaped by the loss and grief passed down through her family line.

As a therapist who specializes in supporting grieving individuals through self-compassion, mindfulness, somatic experiencing, and Internal Family Systems (IFS), Juniper discusses how she used meditation, movement, writing, and imagined conversations with her ancestors to make sense of the heavy emotional inheritance she was carrying.

Making Room for Laughter and Dark Humor

All of these personal experiences inform the vital work Juniper does to help clients name and process their grief. It also heavily inspires her approach to Happy Hour for Sad People, a monthly gathering she hosts here at Grounded Grief in Portland, Oregon.

By building a genuine safe culture around loss, Juniper emphasizes that healing doesn't mean forcing constant positivity. Instead, it means creating spaces where laughter, dark humor, tears, and authentic connection can completely coexist.

In this episode, Jana and Juniper discuss:

Recognizing how grief so often underlies other challenges, like anxiety and depression.
How caring for a dying parent can fundamentally transform a relationship.
The overwhelming grief that can surface when someone simply no longer has the energy to keep it buried.
Ancestral grief and the profound losses we may carry without ever knowing their origins.
Ambiguous loss and navigating "the grief that doesn't get a funeral."
Creating non-traditional spaces and rituals to stay connected to the people who have died.

About the Host & The Dougy Center

If you aren't familiar with Grief Out Loud, we highly recommend subscribing. The podcast is hosted and produced by Jana DeCristofaro, LCSW, the Advocacy & Education Manager at The Dougy Center. Jana has been coordinating peer support groups and providing consultation for grieving families and community organizations since 2002, bringing an incredible depth of warmth and expertise to every interview.

The Dougy Center itself is the National Grief Center for Children & Families. Based in Portland, Oregon, they provide a safe place for children, teens, young adults, and families to share their experiences before and after a death. Their unique approach to peer grief support, known as The Dougy Center Model™, is considered a gold standard of practice and has been replicated in over 500 sites across the globe.

Listen to the Episode

If you have ever felt like you are carrying a weight you can't quite name, or if you are looking for permission to let humor and sorrow coexist, this conversation is for you.

Listen to Episode 365 on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.

Listen on The Dougy Center Website.