Grief, Sobriety, and the Courage to Feel
Jun 02, 2025
Grief, Sobriety, and the Courage to Feel: A Conversation with Marie Burgess
Some episodes feel more like sacred conversations, and this one was exactly that.
On this episode of Sober Fit Life, I sat down with Marie Burgess, licensed therapist and founder of Genuine Connections Psychotherapy. Marie works with grieving families, particularly parents who have lost children, and brings her own lived experience to the work. She doesn’t just talk about grief—she has lived it.
Marie lost her son Harvey in 2015 after a life filled with complex medical needs, rare diagnoses, and the kind of love that reshapes everything. Harvey’s strength and spirit inspired her to return to school, pursue licensure, and create a therapy practice that helps families navigate the unthinkable.
We talked about the layers of grief people don’t talk about—the PTSD symptoms, the identity crisis, the anger, the brain fog, and the way it changes absolutely everything. We also talked about the things people do to try and cope with it, including turning to alcohol, food, or anything that can offer a temporary escape.
Marie shared honestly about her own experience with alcohol after Harvey's death—how it became something she leaned on more heavily, even to the point of blacking out during an anniversary gathering. She knew she wasn’t helping herself, but like so many of us, she didn’t feel ready to fully feel the pain either.
Eventually, she chose a different path. Her turning point came not just from physical symptoms or fear, but from a deeper value shift. She realized she wasn’t practicing what she preached as a therapist, and that alcohol was preventing her from fully aligning with the healing and modeling she offered to others.
I loved how Marie talked about the importance of modeling emotional honesty for her children and clients. She believes that grief demands to be witnessed—and if we avoid it, it doesn’t go away. It waits. It builds. It floods us when we least expect it. And if we’re numbing ourselves, we lose the opportunity to heal it.
We also talked about how society often encourages numbing, not just personally but socially. When someone is grieving, people don’t always know what to say—so they offer a drink. They avoid the hard conversations. They don’t name the person who died. That avoidance, Marie says, just deepens the loneliness.
Her work today is all about helping people come back into connection—with themselves, with their loved ones, and with the truth of their experience. She supports parents, siblings, and children through grief, including traumatic grief. She also makes space for sobriety conversations in her work, knowing how common it is for grief to trigger substance use.
Marie reminded me that grief isn’t something to "get over." It’s something we carry. But with the right support, we don’t have to carry it alone.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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Marie's therapy practice: Genuine Connections Psychotherapy
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Marie's Instagram: @genuineconnectionspsychotherapy
If you’re grieving or supporting someone who is, please remember: you are not alone. There is support, and there is space for healing—even when it feels impossible.
Stay tender. Stay connected. Stay sober fit.
Listen to the episode here 🎧
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✨ Maureen
