Now that I've been through it, I can say it: I don't care what the listeners thought. 

Well... at least it's not a top priority. 

First and foremost, Good Grief is for me. 

In Episode 7, I write my estranged, dead father's wife a letter, but this wasn't my first attempt. Below is an edited version of an essay written in February 2016 laying out possible letters I could send her. Obviously, I never sent these. 

Grief ebbs and flows. It's not a simple step-system. First, capital-D Denial. Second, capital-A Anger. That's bullshit. You grieve not only the loss of the person, but the loss of the missed opportunities, the loss of resolution and closure. At least, that's what I grieve. My grief isn't conducive to the "Five Steps." 

At first, I envisioned the latest episode to look at lot like Episode 4 with my mom and little brother, a sit-down style interview where we all talk about our feelings, I bring some context to the situation, blah blah blah. 

A lot of people have told me that the tape that makes you cringe while listening is probably the best material to include. 

While that's right, it doesn't make it easy to include. 

Episode 4 is an embodiment of that. 

Life is crazy, so instead of giving y'all an audio episode 3 extra (Don't worry, I'll make it up to you all later with that), I went to what I know best: Road trips & playlists.

Catholicism is an important thread in the Mohawk tradition. Either you are Catholic or you're a traditionalist, or someone who goes to the Longhouse. I attended a Sunday mass while I was in Akwesasne, despite not being super religious. 

Episode 3 comes out on Monday (Happy first Monday of the month!!!), but it's been a pretty crazy month behind the scenes here at Good Grief because the media has found us!!! 

Here's a roundup of where we've been mentioned so you know who to also put on your radar because all of these people are amazing. 

When I traveled to Akwesasne, I didn't have expectations or goals. I blindly went with the hope of learning something, anything. 

What I got was pretty remarkable. 

Driving to Akwesasne took 15-20 hours. Part of that is because of a pretty important detour I made to find photos from my father's college years.