Ep. 193: Colin Campbell — Finding Solace After Unfathomable Loss
My guest this week is Colin Campbell. He wrote an amazing book called Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose (affiliate link), about his experience of incredible grief and loss. I really enjoyed talking with Colin—as you’ll hear, he’s frank, down-to-earth, compassionate. I know you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.
Topics we discussed included:
- The events leading up to the sudden death of Colin’s two teenaged children
- Choosing to address grief head-on
- Finding solace in our pain
- The practice of time-honored traditions for grieving, as in Judaism
- Balancing leaning into one’s grief, while also “pacing” oneself
- Lessening pain by engaging with it
- The universality of grief
- The importance of actively grieving
Colin Campbell is a writer and director for theater and film.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Seraglio, a short film he wrote and directed with his lovely and talented wife, Gail Lerner.
He has taught Theater and/or Filmmaking at Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, Cal Poly Pomona University, and to incarcerated youth through The Unusual Suspects.
His one person show titled, Grief: A One Man ShitShow, premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival where it won a Best of Broadwater Award.
He lives in Los Angeles and sometimes Joshua Tree.
To learn more about Colin, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.