Sibling Loss, Death Rituals, and Grieving Publicly in a Pandemic: Kent / JH

The Broken Pack™: Stories of Adult Sibling Loss

Sibling Loss, Death Rituals, and Grieving Publicly

On this episode of the podcast, The Broken Pack: Stories of Adult Sibling Loss, Dr. Dean talks with surviving sibling, pastor and chaplain Kent Chevalier about his grief experience of sibling loss: losing his brother, JH, to COVID-19. Kent is on staff with Athletes in Action serving as the Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Kent describes the difficulty of grieving his brother in the midst of a pandemic.
• He describes how setting boundaries in his mourning period and learning to ask for help were difficult and necessary given his public roles.
• In processing his sibling loss related grief, Kent shares how many grief rituals kept him and others from truly processing grief and how he believes they can reinforce unhealthy beliefs about death.

Additional key points:

• Kent describes how processing grief through written expression and through an intensive grief therapy helped him learn to efficiently experience grief bursts.
• Together, Dr. Dean and Kent explore the pressure for helpers and leaders to be the ones helping others, making it difficult for them to accept assistance.

To learn more about Kent and his work including his podcast, please go to his website: https://www.teamchevalier.com/home

Support the show

If you would like more information or to share your own adult sibling loss story, please contact me, Dr. Angela Dean, at [e-mail] or go to our website, thebrokenpack.com.
Please like, subscribe, and share!
Please follow us on social media:
Facebook: @BrokenPack
Instagram: @thebrokenpack
TikTok: @the_broken_pack
YouTube: @thebrokenpack
Sign-up for Wild Grief™, our newsletter: https://thebrokenpack.com/newsletter
Thank you!
Angela M. Dean, PsyD, FT
Credits:
The Broken Pack™ Podcast is produced by 27 Elephants Media
"If Tomorrow Starts Without Me" © ℗ 2023, 2024
Written by Joe Mylward and Brian Dean
Performed by Fuji Sounds (feat. MYLWD.)
Licensed for use by The Broken Pack™
Now available on all streaming platforms including Apple Music & Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3vx3kk46

Chapters

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. About Kent (00:01:43)

3. About JH (00:03:03)

4. Growing Up (00:04:52)

5. Losing JH (00:06:17)

6. Boundaries in Kent's Grief (00:08:28)

7. Saying Goodbye to JH (00:11:32)

8. Coping Through Poetry (00:15:34)

9. Death Parade (00:16:28)

10. People Say Stupid Things (00:18:47)

11. Grief is an Anvil (00:20:42)

12. Remembering JH (00:24:27)

13. Grief Waves and Bursts (00:27:28)

14. Learning to Be Curious in His Grief (00:29:58)

15. Asking for Help (00:31:30)

16. Celebrating JH's Life in COVID Times (00:35:53)

17. Complex Family Dynamics (00:38:03)

18. Having Support (00:42:16)

19. Learning to Receive Help as a Helper (00:45:53)

20. Favorite Memories with JH (00:48:18)

21. Outro (00:51:48)