Today marks the last episode of Series 3, the Wash up. Wrapping up 3 seasons of Bereavement Room, several guests later, and a worldwide listen it's now time to bid you farewell. I guess you could say Bereavement Room is my love letter to brown and black communities. I created my podcast because I was discriminated in therapy when seeking support fo…

This is the penultimate episode of the third and final season, Callsuma takes us through a recap of why Bereavement Room Podcast was born. TRIGGER WARNINGS ahead of today's episode. She is joined by today's guest, Writer, Poet and Activist Maya Kalaria. We open the conversation with racism and microaggressions we both experienced as children growin…

Joining Callsuma in the room today is British Bangladeshi, Shamsul Islam. In light of South Asian Heritage Month, I have chosen to have a uncomfortable and vulnerable conversation about the impact Covid-19 has had on one Bangladeshi family. A report published by Public Health England (PHE) on the impact of coronavirus on ethnic minority groups, has…

Joining Callsuma Ali in the room today is guest Lydia Kirkland, a mother of two children working in a group home as a Case Manager for foster care children in New Jersey. Lydia runs a non-profit in memory of her daughter called Filling buckets for Brianna that helps bereaved parents with funeral costs and headstones. In addition, Lydia has a IG cal…

Today's guest in the room is Bangladeshi American, Bushra Mollick. Bushra is a writer and the Crisis Communications Manager for NYC Emergency Management. She is writing a biography highlighting her mother's life in Bangladesh and as an immigrant in New York City in the early 90s. She enjoys bird watching, cooking, and researching outdated blasphemy…

Today's guest in the room is British Bengali podcaster of Brown Don't Frown, Tania. Tania has joined me in the room to talk about her biological mother who died suddenly and unexpectedly when Tania was 10 years old. Having spent the first decade of her life in East London before moving around, she has now done a full circle and returned to her root…

Today across Britain families will be celebrating Father's Day, a day of remembrance and celebration. Joining me in the room is Abigail Tuitt, growing up in a loving and supportive family, Abi's dad was doting and expressed love with actions, dropping her off to the train station and surprising her with gifts, encouraging her to do well in her stud…

A break in the usual format in light of #DiabetesAwarenessWeek Joining me in the room is PHD student Priya, I invited her to take part in a reflective discussion about role models in our Bangladeshi community, type 2 diabetes and all things food! We all know we are going to die one day, that is a fact of life, some of us will die because of poor he…

Today's guest is Sylvester King aka Sly King, the happy hour Birmingham, Alabama radio personality joins me in the room to talk about life before and after his parents. In this episode we chat about his dad who was also a radio presenter, the hero in his life growing up in a loving and supportive family. The sadness of not having his father who was…

Welcome back to Bereavement Room Podcast, the third and final season! Kicking off season 3 is Hatim Eldawi, we both met on Clubhouse when we were on stage sharing our experiences of grief. I invited Hatim to Bereavement Room to talk to me about his dad who was living with ALS, the challenges that came from travelling to and from Sudan whilst studyi…

Hi Folks, it's the 3rd and final season of Bereavement Room Podcast, well time has flown in this room hasn't it! The final season is sponsored by friends near and far, some of my former guests, listeners and loyal supporters in the online grief community. Bereavement Room is a British born podcast that garnered a worldwide listen, and so in the fin…

Today's episode is the last in Series 2. I begin with reading out some feedback and comments received over the past year followed by a reading of a heartfelt letter written by Tasneem and my own personal reflections. I close the episode with a Q&A, thank you to everyone that sent in questions. Covering off DNACPR, what makes someone comfortable in …

Today's episode is the penultimate episode of Series 2. As the creator and host of Bereavement Room Podcast I want to remind everyone why we are here in the first place. Bereavement Room was created following the multiple deaths I had in my family coupled with poor experiences of therapy as well as inadequate support from mainstream bereavement cha…

Today's guest is Myira a BACP Accredited Counsellor, Therapeutic Coach and qualified Supervisor, working in private practice, under her organisations ‘Myira Khan Counselling’ and ‘Grow To Glow’. Myira is also the Founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network (MCAPN). MCAPN connects Muslim counsellors, therapists and psychologists. In…

Today's guest is Humanistic Gestalt Counsellor Marvis Stewart. She joins Callsuma in the room for a chat about Gestalt therapy, practicing self compassion, forgiveness and her own experience of bereavement when her grandmother died. Marvis has been living in England for more than a decade and is British Venezuelan, we look at Latinx bereavement and…

Today I am joined by 2/2 Co-hosts of Thinking Out Loud Podcast, Jermaine Omoregie. Thinking Out Loud is a podcast that explores the unspoken truths about grief, mental health, masculinity and much more from the perspective of Black British male voices. Representation in the bereavement and grief space is very low so when i stumbled across Jermaine …

Today I am joined by 1/2 Co-hosts of Thinking Out Loud Podcast, Ben Acquaah. Thinking Out Loud is a podcast that explores the unspoken truths about grief, mental health, masculinity and much more from the perspective of Black British male voices. Representation in the bereavement and grief space is very low so when i stumbled across Ben and Jermain…

Today's guest is Sherine Kerr, Sherine is a qualified integrative therapist and the founder of the Black families support group based in Suffolk for local black/brown people. She has joined Callsuma in the room to talk about her mum who died of Cancer in 2008, we explore what it means to grieve forever, family dynamics, and the power of being heard…

Today's guest in the Bereavement Room is Chelsea Koomson, she joins Callsuma to talk about her mum who died unexpectedly in October 2018. Sharing her personal experiences and what it's like not knowing the cause of death. Chelsea is also the owner of the instagram page Griefluencer, helping raise awareness about grief & mental health. As always tha…

Today's guest is Priya, she has joined me during Baby Loss Awareness Week to talk about her son Shayen. Priya gave birth to Shayen at full term, he was born sleeping. Priya walks me through that harrowing moment she was told there was no heartbeat with her husband and family by her side. Diversity in loss is the entire fabric of Bereavement Room Po…

Today's guest is Laura Marven, Laura graduated from the University of Leeds in 2019 majoring in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Laura has an interest in travelling despite Covid-19 and is a regular listener of Bereavement Room podcast, she has joined me to share her lived experience of grief and loss. Today we remember her mum who died in 2018 wh…

Today's guest in the Bereavement Room is Baffour Ababio, a psychoanalytic intercultural psychotherapist and clinical supervisor in private practice and at Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre. Baffour completed his training at University College London and the Guild of Psychotherapists and is a member of UKCP and BAPPS (British Association for Psy…

In today's episode of Why we do what we do I am joined in the Bereavement Room by the Co-founder of Talking Wellbeing App, James Boston. Having heard James speak about Identity at a webinar I knew I just had to get him in the room! James takes me through what lead to a meant to be partnership with Godfrid Bosse and the journey that continues. Packe…

Welcome to Series 2 of @BereavementRoom Podcast! A little welcome back from me, I hope you had a peaceful summer! In this episode I take you through what to expect, Series 2 is about Why we do what we do, the new theme in the slightly adjusted format. We all have a story, I certainly have a story that's why we are here. Of course we will still be r…

Today we release the final episode of Series 1 of Bereavement Room podcast. The first part of 2020 has been a journey, with the unexpected death of my father and then covid-19 followed by a global lockedown and now life slowly starting to resume it's new normal, it's been a rollercoaster. The final episode is part 2 of my own story, former guest Va…

We return to the Bereavement Room for the Penultimate episode of Series 1. Former guest Lekhani Chirwa returns to the show to facilitate today's episode where host Callsuma Ali takes the guest seat. Callsuma goes back in time, 10 years since her Mother's death in December 2010. We discuss the challenges we face with healthcare, advocating for ourse…

Today's guest is British Ghanaian Linda , Linda is talking to Callsuma about her uncle who died of Cancer in 2017. Linda takes us through how she navigated her grief, thinking that her Uncle was getting better and coming home but in actual fact he was dying. We open up about the fact that all families are convoluted and how this adds to journey of …

We continue to talk to our guests from across the African American diaspora, today's episode is a Father's Day special with Darwyn Dave from Dealing with my grief podcast. Darwyn was 10 years old when his father was murdered. We discuss what unraveled on that day and what followed over the years since that day. We look at gun laws, apology letters …

PLEASE NOTE TODAY'S EPISODE HAS EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO SUICIDE. Today's episode is in memory of Geneva Guerrieri. Sue Guerrieri a Mindset & Grief Coach joins Callsuma to talk about who Geneva was before she died of suicide in 2018, age just 22. We also discuss emotions and are black and brown ethnic groups doing the emotional work to heal from gene…

We are pleased to say that @BereavementRoom has a worldwide listen with the USA being our second biggest listening base. This week Callsuma is joined by our first African American guest Keri Pugh from Baltimore, Maryland. Keri is talking to us about her Father-in-law who died of Colon Cancer and Leukemia. Keri was her Father-in laws caretaker, we d…

This week Callsuma is joined by 3rd year Birmingham University student Kajol Desai. Kajol is taking us through her journey as a young carer for her mum from the age of 10. Kajol's story is also one of dual reality and how this impacted her over the years and the beauty in finding her way back to her identity. Thank you for listening. Your host Call…

A break in the usual format, to talk to our friend Adrian Rowe. Adrian isn't actually in the club, but he is surrounded by friends that are and is a great source of support. He joins us to discuss his perspective on what it means to have a father figure in your life, (something that has definitely shaped both of our lives and who we are today) what…

Sikh Derby man Kalwinder joins Callsuma in the Bereavement Room to talk about his father who died by suicide in 2006. We reflect on his experiences of being impacted by suicide, poetry as a source of expression and support and the triggers of loss following the recent global pandemic, COVID-19. In this episode we also talk openly about the challeng…

This week we are joined by Journalist Amar Mehta, Amar is talking to Callsuma Ali in the Bereavement Room about his father who sadly lost his life in a tragic car accident in 2008. A story of living the American dream and then adjusting to sudden life changes. Amar opens up about mental health from the perspective of a Indian male, the triggers of …

After an extended break we return to the @BereavementRoom for more intimate conversations about death and grief. Due to the unexpected death of Callsuma's father she reunites with old friend Siddharth Nigam over a decade later sharing experiences that have bought them closer together. Siddharth talks to us about the recent death of his Grandfather …

It's time to talk and today's guest is Henna Shah from #CharitySoWhite @CharitySoWhite Henna talks to Callsuma Ali about child bereavement and what it was like when her mother sadly died when Henna was 10 years old. Originally from the "Endz" that is the wonderful Hounslow to all the way to Oxford University. This is Henna's #TimeToTalk…

This week Callsuma is in Scotland speaking with 3rd year English Lit student Vai Ramu about her grandfather who sadly died when she was 12 years old. We also talk about racism in Scotland and what it's like growing up on the borders.By Callsuma Ali

Lydia Okoibhole is in the Bereavement Room talking to Callsuma about her father who sadly died unexpectedly when she was a teenager in the summer she received her GCSE results. In this episode we also discuss how culture can sometimes get in the way of respect and do charities do enough to let communities know what support is available when grievin…

Lekhani Chirwa is in the Bereavement Room to talk about her father who sadly died when she was in Malawi in 2016. We discuss all things grief, identity and her one woman show, Can I touch your hair?By Callsuma Ali

Tasneem Choudhury born and bred in East London, joins Callsuma in the Bereavement Room to talk about what it was like to be bereaved as a teenager. Tasneem's mother died of breast cancer when she was 15 years old.By Callsuma Ali

Welcome to the Bereavement Room. A podcast for our community, faith and culture, featuring representative voices from across the U.K. A safe space for people to tell their stories of grief and loss. So often ignored or silenced by society because they are not told from a white perspective that fits into a neat and tidy box. Our experiences very rar…