156:  Always a Sibling – An Interview with Annie Sklaver Orenstein

156: Always a Sibling – An Interview with Annie Sklaver Orenstein

Author: Suzanne Andora Barron April 6, 2026 Duration: 57:50
When Annie lost her brother Ben to a suicide bomber in 2009, she went to a bookstore looking for a book about sibling grief. She couldn't find one. So she wrote it. Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief is a practical and compassionate guide for one of the most overlooked groups in grief — the sibling. In this episode, Annie shares: The story of her brother Ben — his service, his values, and how he was killed by a suicide bomber in October 2009Why she catastrophized his dea...

Life has a way of stretching us, often in directions we never anticipated. Finding Joy in the Hard, hosted by Suzanne Andora Barron, is a weekly space that meets you right there, in that stretch. This isn't about bypassing pain or forcing positivity; it's about the honest, often quiet work of navigating grief, personal growth, daily struggles, and those sudden turns that leave us reeling. Each episode offers a grounded conversation with your own experience. Suzanne's solo minisodes provide candid reflections intertwined with gentle nervous system awareness and simple, embodied practices-tools to help you find a steadier footing when the ground feels anything but solid. The podcast also features conversations with guests who have walked their own difficult paths, people who have discovered genuine light in dark places and, yes, found joy in the hard. It’s a resource for anyone looking to cultivate resilience not as a concept, but as a felt sense in the body and mind, exploring the intersection of mental and physical well-being through a lens of compassionate realism. You'll hear a blend of personal narrative, practical wisdom, and supportive dialogue, all aimed at making the challenging parts of being human feel a little more manageable and a lot less lonely.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Finding Joy in the Hard
Podcast Episodes
#145 My Mind Was Fine—But My Body Wasn’t | A Grief Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:35
Today is the anniversary of my dad's death - December 4th. And I have felt off all day long - only I didn't make the connection until about 20 minutes ago. I may feel fine mentally, but physically my body feels the loss.…
On days when everything feels like an effort, meet yourself here. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:11
Some days even coming up with what you’re grateful for feels like too much effort. If that’s you today - listen to this. The information presented on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to d…
#143   A Thanksgiving Gift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:53
Thanksgiving holds so many feelings — missing and love, joy and sadness, longing and gratitude. I created this Thanksgiving meditation to help you feel supported, grounded, and held in whatever rises for you. Inside, you…
#142 Do you ever get tired of being with yourself? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:20
Have you ever thought about it? It's okay to admit. It's actually very freeing and we give ourselves a break. We don't have to figure everything out. Admitting we sometimes get tired of being with ourselves is a form of…
Why are you judging yourself? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:18
So much of the judgement we receive comes from our own head. In this episode, I recorded while driving—because I just had to share it—I explain how when we're in the present moment - fully in the present, we can be mindf…
#140 What if you don't fill up all your space? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:17
Not the space in your home but the space in your mind, in your schedule. Do you give yourself a chance to ponder, explore or dream? Do you allow yourself to sit and do nothing and simply receive the gifts from God. Or do…
#139 What if you don't have to understand? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:00
What if you don't have to understand? Our minds want to make sense of everything - that's what minds do. But sometimes we don't have to understand. In this episode, I share how my not needing to understand helped me in a…
#138 You are Stronger Than Your Worst Fear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:47
Whatever loss or unexpected life change you might be going through right now - remember you are stronger than your worst fear. Often we tell ourselves, we won't survive. We can't do it. We won't make it. But if you're li…
#137 Might that Fear Be Scarier in Your Head? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:01
A lot of us worry or fret about what might happen in the future. We try to figure out in our heads how we'll get through it. Here's the thing we can't think our way through a future fear. We have no idea where we'll be,…
#136 What are you worrying about that won't matter tonight? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:14
What are you fretting about that won't matter tonight or even later today? In the moment. it's so hard to decipher. It feels like it will matter always. Some things naturally work themselves out, e.g. worrying about bein…