This special compilation brings together three voices on living with loss. Nancy Howard Cobb is an author whose work calls for honest, open conversation about death and grief. Dr. Korie Leigh is a child development specialist, grief counselor, author, and professor with more than 20 years of work alongside children and families facing loss. Danielle Elliot Smith shares what she learned about presence from the people who showed up during her own grief, and from the calls that never came.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Why grief affects your body as well as your emotions
How connection supports you when loss feels isolating
Why there is no single right way to grieve
Why presence matters more than perfect words
How silence from others deepens the loneliness of loss
What to do when you don't know what to say
How purpose and growth live alongside lasting grief
LEARN MORE
Get new episodes every Thursday
October 1, 2026
Nancy Howard Cobb, Dr. Korie Leigh, and Danielle Elliot Smith
Living With Grief: Finding Connection, Offering Comfort, and Showing Up
"We grieve because we care, because we've connected, and because someone or something has profoundly shaped our lives." - Dr. Dan Peters
TIMESTAMPS
0:10 Todd's Listener Question
9:18 Nancy Howard Cobb on Loss
19:04 Dr. Korie on Full-Body Grief
27:56 Danielle on Showing Up
SHOW NOTES
In this special compilation episode, Dr. Dan revisits three conversations about living through loss with Nancy Howard Cobb, Dr. Korie Leigh, and Danielle Elliot Smith. The episode grew out of a question from Todd, a listener on a recent Sitting Down with Dr. Dan episode, who asked how to support someone who is grieving when you don't know what to say. Grief touches our bodies, our relationships, and our sense of who we are. No words make a loss better, and a person willing to show up still makes a real difference.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Ep 58 with Nancy Howard Cobb: https://www.drdanpeters.com/make-it-a-great-one-episodes/navigating-grief-part-2%3A--from-grief-to-growth-%E2%80%93-finding-connection%2C-purpose%2C-and-authenticity-through-loss-
Ep 57 with Dr. Korie Leigh: https://www.drdanpeters.com/make-it-a-great-one-episodes/grief-as-a-full-body-experience%3A-tools-for-healing%2C-leadership%2C-and-life-with-dr.-korie-leigh-
Episode with Danielle Elliot Smith: https://www.drdanpeters.com/make-it-a-great-one-episodes/hope-comes-to-visit%3A-rising-from-grief%2C-addiction%2C-and-the-will-to-live-
Dr. Dan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdanpeters/
Key Concepts
Grief as a Full-Body Experience: Grief affects the body, the mind, and our relationships, not only our emotions.
Growing Around Grief: Grief does not shrink over time. Your life expands around the loss.
Continuing Bonds: A relationship with someone who has died keeps evolving and shaping you after their death.
The Power of Presence: Showing up for a grieving person matters more than finding the right words.
GUEST BIO
Dr. Dan Peters is a licensed psychologist, leadership coach, and host of Make It a Great One with Dr. Dan, a podcast built on hope, connection, awareness, and wisdom. He is the co-founder and executive director of Summit Center, where he works with children, parents, and families through assessment, therapy, and consultation. Dr. Dan has written books on childhood worry and parenting, including Make Your Worrier a Warrior and From Worrier to Warrior, and he speaks and coaches leaders on presence and authentic connection. In his Sitting Down with Dr. Dan episodes, he answers listener questions on the moments people rarely talk about out loud, from grief and trust to raising teens and letting adult children find their own way.
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