On National Grief Awareness Day, Nora McInerny Reminds Us: We Don’t Move on from Grief—We Move Forward with It
19 Aug 2025
National Grief Awareness Day is on August 30th and writer, APB speaker, and podcaster Nora McInerny offers a powerful, compassionate reframe of grief in her celebrated TED Talk. Her words ring truer than ever, reminding us that loss isn’t something to be escaped—it's something we learn to carry.
In this heartfelt and humorous talk, McInerny recounts the devastating string of losses she endured in 2014—miscarriage, her father's death, and then the loss of her husband, Aaron, to brain cancer—all in the span of just weeks. She invites us to rethink the notion of “moving on” from grief. The reality is that we don’t leave grief behind; instead, "we move forward with it"—carrying love, loss, and memory wherever we go.
National Grief Awareness Day is dedicated to "raising awareness for the experience of grief"—creating space to understand that everyone’s journey looks different. It’s a day to recognize that grief isn’t linear or uniform, to encourage open communication about loss, and to learn how to support ourselves and others in compassionate ways. Through McInerny’s talks, audiences gain powerful tools to shift perspectives, honoring grief not as something to "get over," but as an emotional companion on the path forward. Let this day serve as a reminder: while grief doesn’t fade, it can coexist with healing, humor, and hope.