The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss

On this podcast, surviving sibling, psychologist, and thanatologist, Dr. Angela Dean, helps other grieving siblings share their sibling loss stories. This podcast aims to provide an authentic space for surviving siblings to express their grief and help others navigate the complex emotions associated with this profound, often misunderstood loss. The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss delves into the profound and often overlooked topic of sibling loss, offering a platform for surviving siblings to share their personal grief stories. In each episode, listeners are immersed in the real-life experiences of those who have endured the unimaginable loss of a sibling. Through inspiring narratives, honest accounts, and stories of resilience, surviving siblings recount their journeys and share how they are learning to live with such profound grief. By connecting through shared experiences, listeners will find solace and support, discovering a community that understands the unique chal

The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss is a health podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 52 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss, a health show with 52 episodes published.

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  Episode #51

  Surviving Sibling Loss Twice, Addiction, and Meaning Making: SisterPlay

  Aug 23, 20261h 7m

  Content warning: This episode discusses addiction, suicidal ideation, incarceration, and the death of a sibling in jail after being denied medical care. In this episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss , Dr. Dean talks with Dr. Elizabeth Ostler, a Brooklyn-based theater maker, academic, and surviving sibling who has lost two of her three siblings. Elizabeth's sister Lisa died in 2016 at age 37, three days after being arrested and held as a pretrial detainee in a Salt Lake City jail, where she asked for help and was denied medical care. Six years later, Elizabeth lost her brother Rob. Together, Elizabeth and Angela talk about what it means to love a sibling through more than a decade of addiction, the grieving that begins long before a death, and why the loss you thought you were prepared for still arrives as a shock. Elizabeth shares why she couldn't speak about how Lisa died for nearly ten years, what finally made it possible, and how that became SisterPlay , a new play premiering in New York City this September. She also reads a short passage from it. In this episode you will: Hear Elizabeth's story of losing Lisa and Rob, and where she was when the call about Lisa came. Learn how grief changed shape for her over ten years, and what helped when one loss became two. Be inspired by how a surviving sibling turned the worst thing that happened to her family into a work of art that refuses to let her sister become a statistic. SisterPlay runs September 1 through 13, 2026, at The Flea Theater in New York City. Learn more and buy tickets: https://www.elizabethostler.com/sisterplay Connect with Elizabeth Ostler: SisterPlay Communal Theater Company Instagram: @communaltheater and @lizostler TikTok: @communaltheater and @lizostler700 Facebook: @communaltheater and @lizostler Resources mentioned in this episode: COPE Foundation, sibling loss support group (New York) The Other Side Academy Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson The Equal Justice Initiative Speaking Grief (WPSU documentary) Crisis Resources Content warning: This episode discusses addiction, suicidal ideation, incarceration, and the death of a sibling in jail after being denied medical care. Please take care of yourself. In the US: Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (US): Call or text 988 Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 SAMHSA National Helpline (substance use, for you or a loved one): 1-800-662-HELP (4357) Peer support / warmlines: https://warmline.org International International warmline directory: https://www.supportiv.com/tools/international-resources- Find a helpline anywhere in the world: https://findahelpline.com Send us Fan Mail Support the show If you would like more information or to share your own sibling loss story, please contact Dr. Angela Dean at contact@thebrokenpack.com or go to our website, thebrokenpack.com . Please like, subscribe, and share! Please follow us: Facebook: @BrokenPack Instagram: @thebrokenpack TikTok: @the_broken_pack YouTube: @thebrokenpack Sign-up for Wild Grief, our newsletter: https://thebrokenpack.substack.com/ Thank you! Angela M. Dean, PsyD, FT, GTMR Tony's Little Sister Credits: The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss is produced by Not Done Here Media. IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME Written by Joe Mylward and Brian Dean Performed by Fuji Sounds featuring Joe Mylward Courtesy of Not Done Here Records Licensed for use by The Broken Pack Full song: https://fujisounds.music

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  Episode #50

  Bright Days Do Come: Seeking Signs after Sibling Loss

  Jun 27, 20261h 7m

  In this episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss, Dr. Angela Dean talks with surviving sibling Karin McLean, author of Bright Days Do Come . Karin is Brian's big sister. Brian, the baby of the family, died at 9-years-old in a 1991 car accident that nearly took Karin's life too. Karin had helped raise him since she was twelve, and she wrote her book more than thirty years later. Together they talk about the secondary and non-death losses that follow a sudden accident, the long work of self-acceptance, and the practice of asking a sibling for signs. In this episode you will: Hear how a surviving sibling carries a loss across more than three decades. Learn what secondary and non-death loss can look like after a single accident. Gain insight into how self-acceptance becomes its own grief work. Explore the practice of asking a sibling for specific signs. Discover one family's ways of keeping a brother present. Connect with Karin McLean: Website Book (all stores): Bright Days Do Come Substack Instagram Facebook Content warning: This episode discusses a fatal car accident, the death of a nine-year-old child, life-threatening injury, alcohol use to cope with grief, and a brief mention of miscarriage. Resources: Find a Helpline (locate a local crisis or warm line) (US & International): https://findahelpline.com US Peer support : https://warmline.org International: Peer support warmlines Send us Fan Mail Support the show If you would like more information or to share your own sibling loss story, please contact Dr. Angela Dean at contact@thebrokenpack.com or go to our website, thebrokenpack.com . Please like, subscribe, and share! Please follow us: Facebook: @BrokenPack Instagram: @thebrokenpack TikTok: @the_broken_pack YouTube: @thebrokenpack Sign-up for Wild Grief, our newsletter: https://thebrokenpack.substack.com/ Thank you! Angela M. Dean, PsyD, FT, GTMR 🐺Tony's Little Sister Credits: The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss is produced by Not Done Here Media. IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME Written by Joe Mylward and Brian Dean Performed by Fuji Sounds featuring Joe Mylward Courtesy of Not Done Here Records Licensed for use by The Broken Pack Full song: https://fujisounds.music

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  Episode #49

  Dr. Ken Doka on the Sibling Bond and Disenfranchised Grief

  Jun 17, 202632 min

  In this episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss, Dr. Angela Dean talks with surviving sibling Dr. Ken Doka, the grief scholar who coined the term disenfranchised grief. Ken is Frank and Dot's kid brother. His brother Frank, thirteen years older, died a few years ago after an illness. He spoke about the relationship of his living sister Dot, who helped raise him. Together Dr. Doka and Dr. Dean talk about why the sibling bond is so often overlooked, how grievers process loss in different and equally valid ways, and what it means to enfranchise your own grief when no one around you names it. In this episode you will: Hear how Dr. Doka came to study grief, and his own experience of losing his brother Frank. Learn why the sibling bond is the longest relationship most people have, and why it is so often disenfranchised. Learn the difference between instrumental, intuitive, and dissonant grieving, and why no single style is the right one. Be inspired to enfranchise your own grief, create your own ritual, and find a grief professional who actually fits. Connect with Dr. Ken Doka: Kenneth Doka at TAPS: https://www.taps.org/kennethdoka Hospice Foundation of America: https://www.hospicefoundation.org Content warning: This episode discusses the death of an adult sibling from illness, childhood cancer and pediatric illness, perinatal loss including miscarriage and stillbirth, twin loss, and a brief reference to a murder in the host's extended family. Mentioned in the show: Hospice Foundation of America Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) The Compassionate Friends The Surviving Sibling's Bill of Rights If you are struggling, in the United States you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The Crisis Text Line is available by texting HOME to 741741. Send us Fan Mail Support the show If you would like more information or to share your own sibling loss story, please contact Dr. Angela Dean at contact@thebrokenpack.com or go to our website, thebrokenpack.com . Please like, subscribe, and share! Please follow us: Facebook: @BrokenPack Instagram: @thebrokenpack TikTok: @the_broken_pack YouTube: @thebrokenpack Sign-up for Wild Grief, our newsletter: https://thebrokenpack.substack.com/ Thank you! Angela M. Dean, PsyD, FT, GTMR 🐺Tony's Little Sister Credits: The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss is produced by Not Done Here Media. IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME Written by Joe Mylward and Brian Dean Performed by Fuji Sounds featuring Joe Mylward Courtesy of Not Done Here Records Licensed for use by The Broken Pack Full song: https://fujisounds.music

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  Episode #48

  "Were You Close?" A Surviving Sister's Writing Quest

  Jun 6, 202651 minS0

  <p>In this episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss, Dr. Dean talks with surviving sibling Anne Pinkerton, author of Were You Close? A Sister's Quest to Know the Brother She Lost. Anne's brother David, twelve years her senior and an elite athlete and radiologist, died suddenly in 2008 after falling while hiking a 14er in the Colorado mountains. More than seventeen years later, Anne shares how losing the big brother she worshipped reshaped her understanding of sibling loss, continuing bonds, and the power of writing through grief.</p><p>Anne and Dr. Dean unpack the question that gives...

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  Episode #47

  Finding Hope After Surviving Sibling Loss with Dr. Heidi Horsley

  May 28, 202651 minS0

  <p>In this episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Sibling Loss, Dr. Angela Dean talks with surviving sibling Dr. Heidi Horsley. Heidi is Scott's big sister. Scott died about 40 years ago in a car accident at 17, alongside their 17-year-old cousin Matthew. Heidi is a licensed psychologist, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the co-founder, with her mother, of the Open to Hope Foundation.<br/><br/>Together they talk about the difference between sibling loss and parent loss, finding hope after a sudden death, and the way sibling loss reshapes identity, family roles, and decisions about the future. </p><p...

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