Grief Story Takes Center Stage for Country Music Star

Today we are  talking about a podcast about the loss of a child. Country music singer Granger Smith shares his story of loss, grief and finding joy along the way. He has also written a book about his loss. The book is called Like a River : Finding the Faith and Strength to move on after Loss and Heartache. 

Grief Story: Chapter One 

“On June 4th, 2019 country music singer Granger Smith was enjoying a final evening with his kids before heading to Nashville for the CMT music awards and his next tour. While helping his daughter London with gymnastics, his youngest son fell into their pool. Granger did everything he could to get to him, but he was too late. River drowned and Granger’s world shattered.”

Death is not the climax of the grief story

Granger Smith and podcast host Annie F. Downs sit down to talk about his grief story and his path back to joy. He immediately references his book and mentions how the death of his son is talked about in the first chapter. He comments that having the story of the death in the first couple pages was a good indicator the death was not the climax of the story. Often you must read through the ups and down with curiosity. As the story comes to a climax it is then that the horror is unveiled. Granger made a point to say the death of his son was not the climax of the story but what came after was. 

Granger’s story compels us to allow ourselves grace in grief. Not only does he remind us that grieving can look anyway you need it to, he also encourages you to be open to joy along the way. 

Different grief schedules

Granger shared some insight into his own grief and how it intersected with the grief his wife, children, brother and other families had. While he is grieving the death of his son, his brother is grieving his nephew. He was able to give space and grace for each person to grieve in their own way. 

Because grief manifested differently for each person he found they were rarely on the same grief schedule. When one was feeling better the other was struggling. This meant they each had to understand where the other person was at and be ok with it.

Grief and joy can coexist

The climax of Granger’s grief story really is that grief and joy can coexist. There is no shame in smiling and laughing even in the depths of your sorrows. 

Moving forward

One of the biggest takeaways was that you never move on from such loss. You are different because of it. Life will not be the same and that’s okay. Granger’s story shows us that there is hope after loss. It shows us that healing is possible. You don’t move on but you move forward.

This was an emotional and inspiring story of how grief changed one man’s life. Check out the podcast here. 

If you are struggling with grief and need support connect with us.