A Letter from the Heart of Pacific Palisades

Last Tuesday afternoon my family evacuated our home in Pacific Palisades, where I was born and raised. Since then, I have watched our community burn,  witnessed the heroism of our firefighters, and experienced countless amazing acts of friendship, humanity, and community. 

We are safe, evacuated, and miraculously (at the time I’m writing this) still have a home - but over 60 of our friends have lost theirs. Our whole community is gone. Everyone is  devastated. And so…we mourn. And when we are ready, we will rebuild. 

Today, in an effort to help my community and everyone feeling loss and uncertainty, I recorded a podcast that is on Goop called “Processing the Emotions around Loss." 

Originally I was scheduled to be speaking on Goop about a New Year’s related topic, “Creating a Life You Like” but that felt inappropriate given the state of events. And so, from my family’s evacuated airbnb, with my anxious dog, I wrote a few words to share some tools, thoughts and comfort. 

Then I invited grief expert, therapist, and author, Claire Bidwell Smith to join me to go deeper into the topic of grief and loss. We recorded this at the home studio of my friend, author and podcaster,  Laura Tremaine who was on evacuation watch. She then edited this special episode. I felt so incredibly supported by these wise, wonderful women. And also supported by Gwyneth Paltrow who invited me to be on her global platform.

I hope this podcast brings comfort and validation to all who are suffering with loss and grief. 

What I know is this: We will get through this. It may get worse as we move through the stages of grief and learn of the details (the lost pets, the left behind cherished items, the families in distress, the lost jobs). But we will get through it. We need to learn now how to process this pain. 

I also know that, with any loss, we don’t need to have all the answers right now. We just need to take one tiny step after the other. 

Living with uncertainty is a skill. I actually think in this new era, it is the skill to have.

We will figure this out. In time it will be okay. That’s what I’m choosing to believe.

If you need some support, reach out. I’m here for you.