Walking This Road Together
Melissa Bottorff-Arey has been living this path since the suicide loss of her 21-year-old son, Alex, on August 7, 2016.
She started her podcast in 2020, and the rest has taken shape from there. Her lived experience, and subsequent training, has shaped her work through The Leftover Pieces® Podcast, writing, retreats, private coaching, advocacy, and collaboration in the suicide loss space.
Her work is rooted in what she has lived and deepened by years of walking alongside grieving mothers as they learn to carry their love and grief while continuing to live forward.
Experience & Credentials
• Host of The Leftover Pieces® Podcast — 300+ conversations on suicide loss
• Master Certified Grief Coach • Reiki I & II Practitioner • Trauma-Informed Energy Healer
• Author & Legacy Project Curator
• Retreat Leader • Speaker • Suicide Loss Collaborator
1:1 Coaching with Melissa
Reframe Guilt. Rebuild You.
Click to Look at the 2 Options
When Grief Changes Us, Support Can Change Too
The loss of a child doesn’t just break the heart—it changes how we see ourselves, our relationships, and the life ahead.
Many mothers find that after the early shock of grief begins to settle, deeper questions emerge:
Who am I now?
How do I live forward while still carrying this love and loss?
What does the rest of my life look like?
Grief coaching creates a space to explore those questions with someone who understands this path firsthand.
Unlike traditional support spaces, this work is deeply personal and reflective. Through conversation, guided reflection, and gentle exploration, coaching helps mothers reconnect with themselves, release guilt that no longer serves them, and begin shaping a life that can hold both love and loss.
It is not about fixing grief.
It is about learning how to live alongside it.
A Weekly Check-In for Fellow Grievers
Most weeks, I send a short note — reflections from the rabbit hole, reminders you're not alone, and a few honest thoughts about learning to live forward after loss.
Nothing heavy. Nothing overwhelming. Just a little companionship in your inbox.-- reaching 1000+ fellow grievers. weekly
