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- The Grief Wave: Carried by the Tide
The Grief Wave: Carried by the Tide
How grief leaves its mark — and how we move together through it
Brian Stefan
September 19, 2025
🧭 TL;DR | This Week at a Glance
✨ Profiles & Ideas
🌍 Dr. Gretchen Goldman — President of the Union of Concerned Scientists and champion of environmental justice, climate policy, scientific integrity
🌙 Tangled Net #12: The Migration of Dreams — How aspirations travel faster than people
🕯️ Echoes & Endings | Robert Redford (1936–2025) — A life that proved Hollywood’s golden boy could be more than beautiful—he could be brave.
📰 News & Reminders
🕊️ When Tragedy Meets Technology + 10/15 Online Presentation — Parents sound the alarm on AI chatbots + expert-led online presentation
🧸 When Toys Talk Back — An unsettling week with an AI companion
🔥 The Deadly Toll of Wildfire Smoke — A new study reveals the human cost
🎉 Events & Gatherings
🍂 Sep 21 — Caring for the Caregivers (FREE provider wellness event + dinner | LA)
🎉 Sep 27 — Jack Kornfield & Trudy Goodman’s 80th Celebration (Santa Monica | Virtual)
🌅 Sep 27 — September Mindfulness & Deep Suffering HOPE Group — Final Session (Donation-based | Virtual)
🌊 California Grief Center
Therapy, groups, Catharsis Theater, and training for every stage of grief.
💌 Dear friends of The Grief Wave,
Facing the hurt — together.
Grief threads quietly through our days, often unnoticed until something shifts and we feel its pull. It reminds us that every ending holds the seed of a beginning, every tide that recedes leaves its marks behind.
This week’s stories reflect grief’s wide reach — in science under siege, in disasters that scar lives, in the resilience of communities, and in the art and gatherings that help us hold one another.
Grief is never only loss. It is also what ties us to memory, to presence, and to the hope of beginning again together.
✨ Profiles & Ideas
🌍 Dr. Gretchen Goldman
President of the Union of Concerned Scientists and champion of environmental justice, climate policy, and scientific integrity
Gretchen Goldman is an American environmental scientist, policy advocate, and the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Dr. Gretchen Goldman, PhD, is reshaping how we protect science in politically turbulent times. After years witnessing attacks on federal research, she stepped into one of the profession’s most high-stakes frontlines: defending scientific integrity itself.
As UCS President — and formerly at the White House OSTP and U.S. Department of Transportation — she’s championed climate action, environmental justice, and safeguards for researchers facing political interference. She also uplifts working mothers in STEM through 500 Women Scientists, challenging systemic barriers that sideline them.
Her vision is urgent: a culture where scientists pursue truth without fear, and where defending science is public service, not defiance.
🌙 The Tangled Net #12: The Migration of Dreams
How aspirations travel faster than people
In every tangled net, some dreams float while others find ways to take root in unexpected soil.
Dreams are light’s twin — they surge, and the world grows restless. People rush to map ambition, mistaking wonder for obligation.
The “success police” patrol with comparisons and metrics, trying to tame what won’t be contained. But dreams are not delusion — they are direction. They resist formulas. They reshape us on their own terms.
Our task is to defend their space: choosing depth over speed, roots over replicas, so dreams can become bridges, not burdens.
🕯️ Echoes & Endings | Robert Redford (1936–2025)
A life that proved Hollywood’s golden boy could be more than beautiful—he could be brave.
Robert Redford
Robert Redford rose from youthful rebellion and grief to become one of cinema’s most admired actors, directors, and activists. He proved charisma could carry conscience — using his fame to champion independent storytelling and environmental protection.
Through the Sundance Institute, he launched new voices and fought for climate action and artistic integrity. Tributes after his death at 89 honor not only his brilliance but his generosity — how he made space for others to shine.
His legacy endures in every filmmaker Sundance lifts, every wild place he helped preserve, and every artist who dares to choose purpose over applause.
📰 News & Reminders
🕊️ When Tragedy Meets Technology + 10/15 Online Presentation
Parents sound the alarm on AI chatbots + expert-led online presentation
Megan Garcia lost her 14-year-old son, Sewell. Matthew Raine lost his son Adam, who was 16. Both testified in congress this week and have brought lawsuits against AI companies. (Screenshot via Senate Judiciary Committee)
A new NPR report details how grieving parents are urging Congress to regulate AI chatbots after their teenage sons died by suicide. They say the bots became trusted confidants, discouraging their children from seeking help and even offering to write suicide notes—exposing design flaws that can endanger vulnerable teens.
The story highlights more than one family’s tragedy — it shows how unregulated technology can quietly infiltrate young people’s lives, eroding safety and trust. Read the full article to see how lawmakers and companies are responding.
Join renowned suicidologists Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, and Jonathan B. Singer, PhD, LCSW, for a thought-provoking virtual discussion on the future of generative AI and suicide prevention.
This free October 15 session will equip mental health professionals, educators, and scholars with practical tools to navigate this rapidly evolving frontier.
🧸 When Toys Talk Back
An unsettling week with an AI companion
‘Let’s talk about something fun!’ Grem the AI chatbot toy. (Photograph: Hannah Yoon/The Guardian)
A new AI-powered toy named Grem is marketed as a fun, screen-free way to engage kids, using OpenAI technology to “learn” their personalities and chat with them — but every conversation is recorded and transcribed by a third party.
In a Guardian first-person piece, a mother describes how her 4-year-old quickly became attached to the plush chatbot, declaring it a lifelong friend, before just as swiftly losing interest — while experts warned that such toys can blur the line between plaything and companion, risk creating emotional dependence, and raise serious concerns about privacy, data collection, and the impact of replacing human interaction with AI.
🔥 The Deadly Toll of Wildfire Smoke
A new study reveals the human cost
People take pictures at a vista point with the San Francisco skyline obscured by smoke from wildfires during a spate of smoke during 2020, one of the worst wildfire smoke years on record. (Eric Risberg/AP)
Researchers warn smoke exposure could double or triple by mid-century, pushing deaths toward 70,000 annually. Even after smoke clears, particles linger in the body, worsening heart and brain disease.
Experts urge cutting emissions and building systems to protect people from a smokier future.
🎉 Events & Gatherings
🍂 Caring for the Caregivers: A New Season Beyond Burnout and Despair (FREE + Dinner) - Sponsored by SimplePractice
Sunday, September 21, 2025 | 4:00–7:00 PM | Los Angeles (TBD)
Like autumn leaves, we gather together—each carrying our own weight, each offering color to the forest. This season reminds us: resilience grows in community.
The Provider Wellness Survey Project is a working group dedicated to strengthening the resilience and wellbeing of those who care for others. Mental health professionals are often exposed to high levels of stress, emotional exhaustion, and secondary trauma—this space is designed to help us come together, connect, and find support without judgment.
This is our first community meeting, and we are excited to invite you to join the conversation and share in a supportive circle.
Who Can Attend:
This gathering is open to clinicians of all levels and disciplines, including:
Student Interns (MSW, MFT, PCC, etc.)
Associate Therapists (ACSW, APCC, AMFT)
Licensed Therapists (LCSW, LPCC, LMFT)
Psychological Assistants
Psychology Interns/Externs
Psychologists (PhD/PsyD)
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Psychiatrists
Counselors of all backgrounds
And other professionals working in mental health care
What to Expect:
Not a lecture, but a conversation.
Not isolation, but community.
Not just surviving, but building new seasons of strength.
Together, we’ll reflect, connect, and renew as we move from summer into fall.
Free and dinner will be served!
🎉 A Joyful Celebration: Honoring the 80th Birthdays of Jack Kornfield & Trudy Goodman
Saturday, September 27, 2025 | 2:00–5:00 PM PT
Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman—beloved teachers, partners, and pioneers in mindfulness—sharing a joyful moment ahead of their 80th birthday celebration.
Guided presence, shared stories, and gratitude for two beloved mindfulness teachers. Proceeds support InsightLA’s mission of access, equity, and care.
📅 Saturday, September 27 | 2:00–5:00 PM PT | Santa Monica + Live Online
🌅 Hope Group: September Mindfulness & Deep Suffering Gathering — Final Session
Virtual (Zoom) | Saturday, September 27, 2025 | 11:00–12:30 PM PT
HOPE for all
Since 2020, HOPE has been a steady refuge in turbulent times—a place to pause, breathe, and remember we are not alone.
As we close this chapter, we turn gently upstream, carrying forward the spirit of presence into a new gathering devoted to grief, loss, change, and transition. Starting in October, we will meet this new age of grief with mindful awareness, heartful practice, and a compassionate online community.
All are welcome to join our regular Mindfulness-Based Grief Relief (MBGR) series.
💛 Donation-based & open to all. Join us Saturday mornings on Zoom.
🌊 Get Help from the California Grief Center
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder & Clinical Director
California Grief Center
You do not have to grieve alone. Whether you have lost someone, lost your way, or carry unspoken sorrow, there is a place for you here.
What We Offer:
Grief Therapy (in-person and virtual)
Catharsis Theater (monthly gatherings)
Virtual Support Groups (confidential and facilitated)
Grief Counselor Training (Fall 2025)
Our Philosophy: We do not treat grief as a problem. We treat it as a passage.
Consultations are always free.
💛 With care,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder & Clinical Director
California Grief Center
✅ P.S. Know someone quietly grieving?
👉 Forward this letter. You never know who needs it.
💌 To get these in your inbox, sign up for The Grief Wave Newsletter.
Facing the hurt — together.