EPISODE 79: Transformational Shifts After Loss with Suzanne Anderson

Welcome to LEAP, where we sit down with people from all over the world to hear their transformational stories and perspectives on their grief and loss journeys.

In this episode, I’m joined by Suzanne Anderson, who shares her journey of grief and loss and the transformational shifts she went through to find hope and healing.

Starting with her background in transformative work, we delve into how her experience studying women in development has helped to shape her outlook on life. We then explore how her world shattered when her husband died by suicide.

Suzanne shares her highs and lows, from discovering her husband’s business problems after his death, to receiving a letter from him after his suicide, and following a ritual a breaking of a vessel. We learn what sparked the desire to write her second book and what guided her on her process. Suzanne shares the guilt she carried after David’s death, and how she found hope after such a painful and traumatic loss.

Finally, we discuss the shift that happened in her healing journey as she was writing her book, and what self-love means for Suzanne today.

Suzanne Anderson, MA, is the founder of The Mysterial Woman, a psychologist, author, coach, leadership consultant, and transformational teacher. Her pioneering work in guiding women to awaken their full Feminine and Masculine strengths combines insights and practices from ancient wisdom, depth psychology, and modern neuroscience. She has dedicated the past thirty years to decoding an embodied, integral, and accelerated archetypal pathway to unlock the next level of our innate potential. Combining her graduate studies in women’s developmental psychology together with her decades as a leadership consultant, Suzanne wisely guides women to awaken to the next level of consciousness and leadership capacity, making the changes in themselves they want to shape in the world.

She facilitates global online programs, workshops, and retreats, and is the author of You Make Your Path by Walking: A Transformational Field Guide Through Trauma and Loss and is the coauthor of the triple award-winning book The Way of the Mysterial Woman: Upgrading How You Live, Love, and Lead. Originally from Canada, Suzanne now lives in Seattle, WA.

Join us for this inspiring and powerful conversation about transformation and finding hope in the face of grief and loss.

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode covers sensitive subject matter and is not suitable for all listeners. If this topic could be a trigger for you, listen to this episode with a friend, a sibling, a loved one or a parent so you can talk about any emotions that come up for you. The contents of this episode are not intended to replace therapy and should not be taken as such. If you need immediate help, please call the crisis hotline listed below in our resources.

Listen in as we talk about:

[2:30] How Suzanne got into her transformative work
[4:40] Her work studying women in development
[5:30] Finding her deceased husband and not knowing he died by suicide
[6:30] Navigating the multi-dimensional and writing her second book
[11:50] Persephone Demeter myth
[18:00] The highs and lows of how she navigated her 10-year journey with grief and loss
[23:45] Discovering her husband’s problems in business after his death
[25:20] Receiving a letter from her husband after his suicide
[29:25] Following a ritual breaking of a vessel
[35:25] What sparked the desire to write her second book, and how she got started on the process
[38:30] Did Suzanne carry guilt over David’s death?
[46:00] Finding hope again after painful and traumatic loss
[47:30] The shift that happened in her healing journey as she was writing her book
[55:10] What self-love means for Suzanne today