Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah's list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend and was the subject of a previous interview on this podcast. Today she discusses her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing, which is being released in paperback format on August 1, 2026. Learn more at her website:
maryfrancesoconnor.org
In this episode:
-How Mary-Frances was inspired to do research on grief
-As a society we tend to ignore the body and grief can push us further in that direction
-Why we need to pay attention to the messages from our bodies, particularly when we are grieving
-The importances of social connectedness during grief and all of life
-Sitting with someone who is calm can help us co-regulate when we are stressed in our grief
-Why bereavement should be a public health issue
-How we gradually build capacity to carry our grief
-Why every experience of grief is different for us - and that's natural and normal
-How there is a lack of studies on crying in bereavement even though it has multiple functions
-Emotional tears contain different hormones than irritant tears
-Cardiovascular events related to acute grief
-Strategies for managing grief holistically and growing through the process
🍃 Subscribe to my email list: eepurl.com/ExfLL
🍂 Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop: bookshop.org/lists/books-by-karen-wyatt-md and Indiebound:
7 Lessons for Living from the Dying : indiebound.org/book/9781786783110
The Journey from Ego to Soul: indiebound.org/book/9780982685563
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🍂 Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past: eolupodcast.com/series
🍃 Join the team at my Patreon page patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
🍂 Intro Music Credit:
"Bright Wish" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah's list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend and was the subject of a previous interview on this podcast. Today she discusses her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing, which is being released in paperback format on August 1, 2026. Learn more at her website:
maryfrancesoconnor.org
In this episode:
-How Mary-Frances was inspired to do research on grief
-As a society we tend to ignore the body and grief can push us further in that direction
-Why we need to pay attention to the messages from our bodies, particularly when we are grieving
-The importances of social connectedness during grief and all of life
-Sitting with someone who is calm can help us co-regulate when we are stressed in our grief
-Why bereavement should be a public health issue
-How we gradually build capacity to carry our grief
-Why every experience of grief is different for us - and that's natural and normal
-How there is a lack of studies on crying in bereavement even though it has multiple functions
-Emotional tears contain different hormones than irritant tears
-Cardiovascular events related to acute grief
-Strategies for managing grief holistically and growing through the process
🍃 Subscribe to my email list: eepurl.com/ExfLL
🍂 Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop: bookshop.org/lists/books-by-karen-wyatt-md and Indiebound:
7 Lessons for Living from the Dying : indiebound.org/book/9781786783110
The Journey from Ego to Soul: indiebound.org/book/9780982685563
🍃 Subscribe to this podcast on
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/end-of-life-university/id1033282990
Google: podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9sZXNzb25zZnJvbWR5aW5nLndvcmRwcmVzcy5jb20vZmVlZC8
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7bdr4odBlaaDy8NoJhcFsL
iHeart Radio: iheart.com/podcast/256-end-of-life-university-31099550
Stitcher Radio: stitcher.com/show/endoflife-university
🍂 Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past: eolupodcast.com/series
🍃 Join the team at my Patreon page patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
🍂 Intro Music Credit:
"Bright Wish" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
