Here's how I got here...

 
 

When my estranged father passed away in January 2015, he left behind a lot of unanswered questions...

What parts of me come from him and not my mom? Why did he leave me and my family and never look back? Why is my complexion just a tad darker than the rest of my family's?

Before he died, no one acknowledged these questions. He had left when I was 5 years old, and after that, we didn't talk about him — until now. 

Good Grief is a serialized podcast that tells the everyday stories of grief in a serialized format. In Season 1, I share my own story. In the weeks following my father's death, I learned two things: 1) He had a second family, and 2) that second family was me. 

Future seasons will share your stories. Season 2 is in production now. 

Good Grief is hosted & produced by Sam Sabin. Editing help from Lydia Thompson and Rachel Wolf. Logo design by José Valle. Theme music by Indian Wells. 

Travel, equipment and audio course costs for this project were provided by the UNC Creative Writing Program. Banner photo for this page by José Valle. 

More about Sam:

Sam Sabin (that's me! but talking in third person is a lot more fun.) is an independent radio producer newly based out of Washington, D.C. During the day, she's a journalist covering the D.C. tech community. At night, she's acting like she knows a lot more about wine than she does and re-watching Parks & Recreation (the greatest show on Earth). 

Sam was also one of the 2016 Association for Independents in Radio New Voices Scholars, where she received a full scholarship to attend the 2016 Third Coast Conference in Chicago. 

Special thanks to the those who made this happen: 

  • UNC Creative Writing Program and the Bolch family
  • Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies and those at the 2016 "Making It Sing" Audio Institute
  • Two bomb-ass UNC creative writing professors who helped come up with the idea for this creative endeavor: Joy Goodwin and Stephanie Elizondo-Griest
  • My family for letting me record them and interview them about some private family things
  • Some of my closest friends: Danny Nett, Sarah Vassello, José Valle, Rachel Wolf, Lydia Thompson and many others
  • The many people who helped me make Akwesasne feel like home
  • And many more !!!