Too Young to Grieve
Luke Alfano started this podcast after losing his dad at 21, in his final year of university. He found comfort in podcasts but noticed a lack of shows made for young people grieving. Each week, the show features raw stories, honest conversations, and expert insights about what grief looks like for those in their teens, twenties, and thirties. The message is that you're not alone, and grief can be the start of rebuilding your life.
Episodes
Surviving Father’s Day When You’re Dad Is Gone
Father’s Day isn’t simple for everyone. This special episode answers real community questions about surviving Father’s Day after losing a dad - the firsts, the advertising, becoming a dad yourself while grieving your own, and more. If this day is hard for you, you’re not alone. Follow the podcast for weekly episodes and share with someone who needs it.
What If Grief Starts Before Death? | Ryan Ashton
What happens when grief begins long before someone dies?In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, Luke is joined by Ryan Ashton for a powerful conversation about dementia, anticipatory grief and the experience of slowly losing someone whilst they’re still physically here.Many people know Ryan through his humour and social media content, but behind that is a deeply personal story of watching his dad
Too Young To Grieve x Death On The Daily | What Happens When Grief Arrives Too Soon?
Why does grief feel so different when loss happens outside the timeline we expected?In this special crossover episode of Too Young To Grieve x Death On The Daily, Luke is joined by Tanya Wilkinson for an honest conversation about grief that arrives far earlier than expected.Tanya is the host of Death On The Daily and a certified Grief & Life Transitions Coach. In 2023, her greatest fear became
35 Grief Lessons I Wish Someone Told Me Earlier
After 35 episodes of Too Young To Grieve, I wanted to do something different.35 grief lessons from 35 episodes, five years of grief, hundreds of conversations and everything this community has taught me along the way.In this solo episode, I explore the realities of grief that people don’t often talk about - identity changes, friendships, guilt, loneliness, purpose, hope, moving forward, carrying l
How Do You Build A Life While Grieving? | Amber Jeffries
How do you keep building a life while carrying grief?In this episode, I’m joined by Amber Jeffries, founder of Grief Gang, for a really honest conversation around grief, identity, friendships, ambition and the pressure to keep functioning after loss.We talk about feeling disconnected from life, friendships changing, pressure to “be okay”, balancing grief with everyday life and future plans, and th
Why Men Don’t Always “Look” Grieving | Leodhais Macpherson
What does grief actually look like for men?In this episode, I sit down with Leodhais Macpherson, who after experiencing grief young went on to run 128 marathons in 128 days - using it as a way to channel loss into something meaningful.We talk honestly about men’s mental health, emotional suppression, staying busy to cope, and the reality that grief in men often doesn’t always “look” emotional on t
Why Grief & Mental Health Are Not Separate
Grief and mental health are not separate. Grief doesn’t just affect your emotions.It can affect your mental health, your nervous system, your relationships, your identity, and the way you experience everyday life.In this solo episode, I talk honestly about the hidden mental health side of grief - the anxiety, exhaustion, disconnection, emotional avoidance, and internal changes so many grieving peo
What If You’re Grieving Someone You Barely Remember? | Miranda Malone
What does it feel like to grieve someone you barely remember?In this episode, I sit down with Miranda Keeling to talk about the reality of losing a parent young, growing up without memories of them, and grieving the absence of a relationship you never fully got to have.We also speak about motherhood, connection, rituals, and the ways grief can quietly follow you throughout life.A really honest con
Why Grief Feels So Isolating When You’re Young | Ria Kalsi
Grief is always difficult…But when it happens young, it can feel incredibly isolating.In this episode, I sit down with Ria Kalsi to talk about the reality of young grief: what it’s like being in the minority of people your age going through loss, and why it can feel so hard to relate to others around you.We also explore the types of grief we don’t always talk about, what school never teaches us ab
Why People Disappear When You’re Grieving | Sally Douglas
Grief doesn’t just change how you feel…It changes your relationships too.In this episode, I sit down with Sally Douglas to talk about why people don’t always show up when you’re grieving, how friendships and family dynamics shift after loss, and how your perspective on people can completely change.We also get into the reality of grief itself: what it actually feels like day to day, why it’s so har
The Conversations You’ll Wish You Had Before They Die | Sam Grice
There are conversations we avoid having…Until it’s too late.In this episode, I sit down with Sam to talk about something most people don’t think about until they’re already in it — preparing for loss, the conversations we don’t have, and what it’s like to lose someone without saying everything you wish you had.This isn’t just about grief…It’s about what happens before it.We speak about the things
He Gave Himself One Year to Complete a Bucket List After Losing His Mum | Bucket List Boy Shane
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Bucket List Boy Shane, who shares how losing his mum completely changed the way he lives.After losing his mum, Shane made a decision to create a bucket list filled with activities from childhood to navigate his grief journey in a playful and hopeful way. In this episode we discuss:Losing a parent and the impact it hasWhy he created a bucket l
How Do You Live After Losing The Person You Love Most? | Jack Ciapciak
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I sit down with Jack Ciapciak to talk about losing your fiancé and what partner loss actually looks like beyond the surface.This isn’t just a conversation about grief.It’s about the life you were building together.The silence after the funeral.The physical exhaustion no one prepares you for.And learning how to carry love when the person isn’t here anymore.We
Why Grief Changes Who You Are Forever (And Why That’s Normal) | Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell - a clincal psychologists and author of the fantastic grief book The Loss Prescription - for a powerful conversation about how grief changes who you are.After loss, many people feel like they should go back to who they were before. The reality is, grief often reshapes your identity in ways you don’t expect.In this e
The Grief Of Not Having The Parents You Needed With Josh Connolly
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Josh Connolly for a powerful conversation about a different kind of grief - the grief of not having the parents you needed.Not all grief comes from losing someone.Sometimes it comes from growing up in environments where your emotional needs weren’t met.We explore how childhood experiences shape who we become, the emotional patterns we carry int
Why Grieving People Look For Signs From The Afterlife With Travis Holp
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Travis Holp, an evidential medium whose work explores the connection between grief and the possibility of life after death.Many grieving people find themselves searching for signs or moments that feel like a connection to the person they’ve lost.In this conversation we explore why grief often brings those questions to the surface.We discuss:• W
How Do You Live Again After Losing Your Person? | Ross Kent
⚠️ Content Note:This episode contains discussion of suicide and suicide loss. If this is a sensitive topic for you, please take care while listening.If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. In the UK you can contact Samaritans on 116 123, or visit samaritans.org for support.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Ross Kent for a deeply honest conversation about losing a partner and na
Clinical Psychologist Explains Why Grief Changes You | Dr Erin Hope MBE
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Dr Erin Hope MBE — Clinical Psychologist and founder of The Loss Foundation, a national cancer bereavement charity.We dive into the reality of grief after losing someone to cancer, how it can impact you at any age, and what support actually helps when life feels completely shaken.Dr Erin shares both professional insight and personal perspective
Why So Many People Are Quietly Struggling Right Now With Ben West
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Ben West - a mental health campaigner and creator of reasons to stay. This is a powerful and honest conversation about grief, pressure, and why so many people are quietly struggling right now.We talk about Ben’s early experience of loss, how grief can shape you at a young age, what he’s learned through building the Reasons To Stay movement, and
Losing Your Mum Young Changes Everything with Daniela Martinez
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I’m joined by Daniela Martinez, also known as @amakeupfairy, for a deeply honest conversation about mum grief and the mother–daughter bond.We talk about what it feels like to lose your mum young, how it changes your sense of safety, and what it’s like growing into womanhood without the person who was meant to guide you through it.This is a gentle, real conve
Why Dating Feels So Scary After Loss
Dating after grief can feel confusing, scary, and lonely.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, we talk honestly about what it’s like to open your heart again after loss — the fear of getting attached, the guilt of enjoying love again, and how grief changes the way you see relationships forever.This conversation explores:– Why love feels unsafe after grief– The fear of losing someone again– How g
How Grief Changes the Course of Your Life with Dev Kalra
In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I sit down with Dev to talk about how grief changes you over time, and how it’s still possible to live a full, loving and meaningful life after loss.This isn’t about the moment everything broke.It’s about the years after, through lived experience. We talk about how grief reshapes your identity, how happiness and sadness can exist together, and what it really
The Questions Grief Forces You To Ask | Listener Q&A
In this special listener Q&A episode of Too Young To Grieve, Luke answers the most honest, difficult, and heartfelt questions sent in by young people navigating loss.Together, we explore:• Does grief ever actually get easier?• Why loss changes the way we see life and the afterlife• The guilt of feeling happy again• Loneliness even when you’re surrounded by people• Anger in grief and why it’s n
What It’s Like To Lose Both Parents Before 23 with Freddie
Losing a parent is life-changing. Losing both while you’re in your early 20s reshapes everything.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, I sit down with Freddie — a runner, content creator, and someone who lost both of his parents at a young age — to talk honestly about grief, identity, rebuilding, and learning how to keep living after loss.We talk about:• Navigating your 20s and 30s after losing
The Truth About the 5 Stages of Grief
The five stages of grief are often presented like a checklist — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.But real grief rarely works that neatly.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, we break down the five stages of grief and gently debunk the myths around them: including the idea that you’ll experience them in order, experience all of them, or eventually “complete” them.This episode ex
How to Face a New Year While You’re Grieving
The new year is supposed to feel hopeful.A fresh start. A reset.But when you’re grieving, it can feel heavy instead.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, we talk honestly about what it’s like to enter a new year carrying loss, why it can feel harder than expected, what emotions often show up, and how to approach the year ahead without pressure or guilt.This episode covers:• Why the new year can
Rebuilding Life After Loss With Max Maudsley
People often talk about “moving on” after loss, but rebuilding feels far more honest.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, Luke is joined by fitness coach and grief content creator Maximillian Maudsley for a grounded conversation about rebuilding life after losing a parent young.Together, we explore:• Why “moving on” doesn’t sit right for many grievers• What rebuilding actually looks like after
How Grief Changes the Way You Love and Think After Sibling Loss With Madeline Eastwood
Grief doesn’t just affect how you feel, it affects how you love, how you connect, and how you show up in relationships.**Content note: This episode includes discussion around grief, mental health, and suicide. Please take care while listening.In this episode of Too Young To Grieve, Luke is joined by Madeline Eastwood, a grief and fitness-based content creator, for an honest conversation about how
The Best and Worst Advice You Hear After Losing Someone
When you’re grieving, the things people say can really help…or really miss the mark.In this episode, we talk honestly about the best and worst advice people give after you lose someone, especially when you’re young and trying to understand a world that suddenly feels different.We cover things like:💬 “It gets better with time”💬 “You’ll move on eventually”💬 “Stay busy so you don’t think about it”💬 “
Finding Your Way Again After Loss
Losing someone changes everything, including you.In this episode, we talk about what it really means to rebuild your life after loss. Not “bouncing back” or pretending you’re okay… but slowly finding your feet again when everything feels different.This isn’t a roadmap, it’s a reminder that there’s no right timeline and no perfect way to heal.In this episode, we cover:🧠 Why grief changes your ident
Why People Stop Checking In After You Lose Someone
People show up heavily in the first few weeks of grief… then life goes quiet. In this episode, Luke breaks down why support fades, why it doesn’t mean people don’t care, and what you can actually do when the silence hits. A calm, honest conversation every young griever needs to hear.
Why The Festive Season Feels So Heavy When You’re Grieving
The festive season hits different when you’re grieving.Everyone else is celebrating… and you’re just trying to get through the month.In this episode, we talk about why Christmas/Holidays and New Year can feel heavier, lonelier, and more overwhelming when you’ve lost someone, especially when you’re young and everyone around you expects you to be “fine again.”We dive into:🎄 Why the holidays trigger
Why Anxiety Hits Harder After Grief
Anxiety after grief hits completely differently.It’s not just stress it’s fear, uncertainty, overthinking, and feeling like life can flip again at any moment.In this episode, Luke talks about what anxiety feels like after losing someone young, including his own first panic attacks at uni and how he kept everything bottled up instead of talking about it.We break down:🧠 Why grief triggers anxiety🫁 L
Zack Ubi: The Truth About Finding Purpose After Loss
Joined by my good mate Zack, founder of Souls & Soles a community built around faith, purpose and helping others build connection again.We have been through a lot together so it was only right we spoke about grief, purpose, community, social media, and how life changes when you start doing something that means something.Zack shares how loss shaped the way he sees the world, what led him to cre
The Pressure to Be Okay After Loss
After loss, people check in for a few weeks and then life goes quiet.You’re expected to go back to normal, even though nothing feels normal anymore.This episode dives into the silent pressure to “be okay,” how grief lingers long after others move on, and what it really means to heal at your own pace.Raw, honest and comforting this one’s for anyone still trying to hold it together when the world th
How Grief Destroys Your Sense of Safety and How to Rebuild It
After loss, the world stops feeling safe.The person who made life stable and predictable is gone, and suddenly everything feels uncertain from your confidence to your sense of control.This episode explores how grief shatters emotional safety, why anxiety and fear take over, and what it actually takes to rebuild trust in yourself again.A real, honest conversation about learning to feel grounded aft
Why Grief Changes You: The Truth About Life After Losing Someone Young
Grief doesn’t just take someone you love, it changes you.In this episode of Too Young to Grieve, I talk about what really happens after loss, especially when it happens young. When I was 21 and lost my dad, everything I thought I knew about life shifted. I always say there’s a life before grief and a life after grief. I went from shy and fearful to realising how short life is and that tomorrow’s n
The Loneliness of Grief: Why It Hits So Hard When You’re Young
Loneliness is one of the hardest parts of grief and it’s something almost every young griever experiences.When I lost my dad at 21, in my final year of uni, I often felt invisible. I’d sit in lecture halls full of people and feel completely alone. Nights out with friends, Christmas with family, even surrounded by people, I couldn’t shake the emptiness.In this episode of Too Young to Grieve, I talk
Too Young to Grieve: Why I Started This Podcast
In my final year of university, at just 21, I lost my dad. At the time I felt completely alone in my grief. My friends were finishing degrees, starting jobs, living life — and I was trying to figure out how to keep going without the person who was meant to guide me through it all.Back then, I turned to podcasts every single day just to survive, but I quickly realised there wasn’t really a space fo
