The Grieving Project is an inventive, unique spoken word audiobook from award-winning artist, author, playwright Aoede (Lisa A. Sniderman), that sets the stages of grief to music to help us move from surviving to thriving… the entire audiobook-all 22 tracks-is spoken over original musical compositions.

Four different people. Four different chronic illness experiences. Plunging through 14 stages of grieving and thriving, through a melding of spoken words and an emotional orchestra. Taking us on a moving journey from surviving... to thriving.

What can you do when you struggle with an illness or disability that doesn’t go away? You can deny it. You can suffer from and live in fear of it. You can scream at it and demand to know why it’s there. You can come to terms with it. You can feel sorry for yourself. You can make friends with it. You can learn to live your life with it. You can grieve. And perhaps if you grieve, you can awaken, express, rejuvenate, activate, connect, shine and thrive, not only despite, but because of it.

During the 12 years I’ve lived with my rare progressive muscle weakness disease, dermatomyositis, I forgot to grieve. In The Grieving Project, I’ve invited myself to grieve and thrive; to express and feel in ways I’ve intentionally avoided, and from my own experiences, created seven new stages of thriving that pick up after grieving.

Though presented as separate stages, grieving and thriving do not follow not linear timelines; they are a roller coaster with myriad twists and turns; an intense jumble of simultaneous physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual feelings and reactions.

The Grieving Project is a road map to our hearts, an invitation for you to grieve your loss, your change, your unexpected and unwanted transformation, and the inspiration and encouragement you need to awaken, express, rejuvenate, activate, connect, shine and truly thrive.

Cover: Jasmine Raskas (unusmundusart.com)

Produced by Angelo 'Scrote' Bundini