Podcast on a mission to get men talking openly and honestly about grief
To mark International Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day, hosts of the Dead Parent Club podcast Kat Hooker and Emma Jones will be joined by some special guests throughout June, who will be sharing their personal experiences of grief.
Guests include pundit and former footballer Robbie Savage, singer Jake Quickenden, producer and presenter of the Big C Steve Bland and rapper, author and broadcaster Guvna B, who are all open and honest about how it feels to lose a parent or family member and how it changes your life.
Robbie Savage opens up about losing his father at just 63 years-old after a 5 year battle with Pick’s disease, a form of Alzheimer’s, in 2012. New dad Jake Quickenden will be talking fatherhood and losing both his father and brother within four years of each other to bone cancer. Steve Bland, the late husband of The Big C podcast presenter Rachael Bland, who died from Breast cancer, tells us what it’s been like to raise a son through grief. Guvna B is urging men to not let toxic masculinity hide their grief away after he noticed his own coming into play after losing his father unexpectedly in 2017.
Co-host Emma Jones wants us all to normalise talking honestly about grief and get men saying how they really feel, she says: “It’s great to see more and more men speaking openly about their feelings. We want to continue to encourage and empower men to vocalise their hurt and pain, and understand that it’s valid. With Father’s Day happening in June, it seems the perfect opportunity to remind men how important it is for them to talk.”
Kat Hooker, who started the podcast in 2019 to help young people and normalise speaking openly and honestly about grief after losing her own mother when she was in her early twenties, adds: “The podcast was created to provide all young adults that are grieving the loss of a parent with a safe space to start processing their grief and a community where they don’t feel alone in their experiences.
“There are strong links between grief and mental health, and we want to do all we can to show men that it’s ok to talk about loss, and to reach out for help if they’re struggling.”
The first episode of the ‘Get Men Talking About Grief’ series will be with Steve Bland and available on Friday 4 June with following episodes each Friday on all the usual podcast platforms and the Dead Parent Club Youtube channel.