Feels Like Healing

To round off the third series, I've compiled this highlights episode where we will hear once again from all of my guests from throughout this series:Matilda Heindow, Curtis Stewart, Jude Rogers, Marcus Elliot, Suzie Fletcher, Si Martin, Dr Lesel Dawson, Stephen Wilson Jr, Jo Ritchie & Laura McDonagh, Turt Summers, Carly Attridge & Annie Frost Nicholson and Chris Kage.Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how their creativity has helped them heal.These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand ourselves and reach a place of healing.::You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Chris Kage, an artist/producer from Brooklyn New York. Through the years, Chris has primarily operated behind the scenes, as a songwriter in bands and as a backing musician, touring with the likes of Willie Nelson (and his sons Micah, Lukas) and Kris Kristofferson. In his mid-twenties, after ending up on a psychiatric ward for three days, Chris was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But rather than be totally destroyed by this, Chris decided to turn it into a collection of songs to share with others; these songs would become his debut album 'Cycles'. Chris states that this album is about trying to emotionally communicate his truths, in a way that can support others with theirs.In addition to inspiring the songs written for Cycles, Chris' experiences with his own mental health also led him to start Sound Mind Live, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to create a shared space where music and mental health can coexist. You can find Chris on Instagram @chriskageofficialSound Mind Live - visit their website: https://www.soundmindlive.org/Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guests are Carly Attridge founder of the Loss Project and Annie Frost Nicholson a multidisciplinary artist from London. Both of them have worked on projects which have focused on how we can use creative practices as a catharsis for our grief. Carly started The Loss Project (a social enterprise focused on helping people find ways of processing grief) after she reflected on her own wellbeing struggles following various losses in her life and realised there was something lacking from what was on offer to support people.Annie's own devastating loss happened in 2011 when several members of her close family died in a tragic accident. Ever since, grief has been a subject she’s explored in a myriad of ways, including a film ‘Into Your Light’, a monthly Grief Mixtape that she hosted on Soho Radio and more recently, the Fandangoe Whip, Skip and the Grief Rave, which in turn, would spawn the Fandangoe Discoteca, their latest touring collaboration where bereaved people could dance out their grief.For more information on The Loss Project visit their website: https://www.thelossproject.com/Annie Frost Nicholson visit her website: https://www.anniefrostnicholson.com/Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Turt Summers, a vocalist/rapper/songwriter from South London and one half of the jazz rap group Summers Sons. They have released 4 albums as well as working with some of the UK's and Germany's finest producers. They have also toured with Children of Zeus, Melodiesinfonie & Flo filzz - solidifying themselves as one of the UK's best underground trios. Their 2019 album The Rain focuses on the grief Turt felt following the loss of his stepdad Bill. In this episode we discuss the making of the album 'The Rain' and the impact opening up about his grief in song has had on Turt.You can purchase 'The Rain' over on Summer Sons Bandcamp page here: https://summerssons2.bandcamp.comSongs featured in this episode include:Never Walk Alone - Summers SonsThe Rain (pt.1) - Summers SonsThe Rain (pt.3) - Summers SonsFeels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Stephen Wilson Jr. a singer/songwriter from rural Indiana (USA). As a teenager Stephen moved to Nashville to pursue a degree in Microbiology. After completing his degree, he worked for several years as an R&D scientist at Mars until one day, faced with the prospect of a life climbing the corporate ladder, Stephen decided to take a leap of faith and pursue his dream of becoming a songwriter. A few years later his father – Stephen Wilson Sr - died at 59 and this set Stephen on a path to becoming an artist in his own right. He is quoted as saying that music was the only thing that had any ability to help him understand grief. The proof of this is in Søn of Dad, his debut album which came out to critical acclaim in 2023You can find more information about Stephen's music at https://www.stephenwilsonjrmusic.comSongs featured on this episode includetwisted by Stephen Wilson Jr.Father's Søn by Stephen Wilson Jr.Grief is Only Love by Stephen Wilson Jr.Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guests are Jo Ritchie and Laura McDonagh, the team behind 'Projecting Grief'. Projecting Grief tells the stories of people finding comfort, distraction or hope in a creative pursuit after losing someone they love. After losing her brother Jack in 2017, the last thing photographer Jo Ritchie wanted to do was pick up her camera. But as she started to search for others who had been through a similar experience, she was intrigued to meet many whose grief had been the catalyst for a creation. Fascinated and uplifted by this discovery, Jo began actively searching for people using a creative practice for distraction, relief or an expression and asked to take their portraits. In 2019, she enlisted the help of writer Faye Dawson to interview sitters and write up their stories. Faye worked on the project for three years before deciding to take a step back from Projecting Grief in 2022. Laura McDonagh’s mum Anne died suddenly in 2019. Afterwards, Laura felt compelled to write about family, identity and home; to get things down before anything else could be lost. Laura was featured on Projecting Grief in 2020, before joining the team as an interviewer and writer. You can see more of Jo’s photography at www.joritchiephoto.comYou can find Laura at www.heylauramc.comFeels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Dr Lesel Dawson, an academic at the University of Bristol. Lesel is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Bristol, her academic research explores grief, literature and the history of the emotions. She is currently writing a book on grief and creativity.Her work includes co-producing two short films on children, grief and creativity; partnering with charities on an article on mandatory grief education; collaborating on an illustrated booklet on grief and baby loss; writing the screenplay for a fiction film about disenfranchised grief; and working with theatre company Crowded Room on an audio story. Lesel is also the Arts and Culture Lead of the Good Grief Festival.In this episode we discuss what initially drew Lesel into exploring society's relationship between grief and creativity and what insights she's gained regarding the benefits of pursuing creative endeavours in the wake of loss.Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Si Martin, founder and managing director of Heads Above the Waves, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help young people deal with the root causes of self-harm. Having experienced self-harm himself as a young person, Si wanted to share his experiences and let others know that they weren't alone. As well as spending his time creating what HATW does, Si Martin is also a drummer for his band Junior and renowned Welsh act Novo Amor.In this special live episode we discuss how Si turned to drumming as his healthy coping mechanism and how music helped him overcome his desire to self harm. We discuss how this led him to want to help others find their creative outlet and healthy coping mechanisms.During this conversation Si offers advice to those seeking ways to alleviate their stress, anxiety and harmful behaviour.If you're affected by the issues covered in this episode; you can find more information about Heads Above the Waves on their website: https://hatw.co.uk::::Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis

This week my guest is Suzie Fletcher, a Master English Saddle Maker and the resident leather expert on BBC One's The Repair Shop. Originally from Oxfordshire she has been in the restoration and repair industry for over four decades. She is an avid rider since early childhood, which lead to her career in saddle making, leather goods and leather furniture making. Through various commissions Suzie was offered a position in America and she soon found herself running her own business and working all over the US. Suzie specialised in designing and making saddles for the female rider and settled on a homestead farm on the Eastern plains of Colorado with her husband Rob and a collection of horses, dogs and cats. Her life all changed in 2013 when her husband passed away after a short illness. Suzie returned home to the UK and soon found herself in front of cameras for a new BBC program called “The Repair Shop” alongside her brother Steve.In this episode we discuss Suzie's memoir, "The Sun Over the Mountains" in which Suzie writes about overcoming some of life's most difficult challenges, from complicated relationships to grief. She talks about how putting these experiences down on paper became an incredibly cathartic exercise and how her work as a master-saddler and her love of animals have brought her immense healing over the years.Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.::You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis