Grief isn't where Love Ends It Just Finds a New Way to Speak

What happens to love after loss? Does it vanish into memory, or does it find new ways to stay alive in us? That’s the question at the heart of this week’s Real Talk with Tina and Ann.

My guest, Tony Stewart, lived this question firsthand through his extraordinary journey with his wife, Lynn. Their love story stretched across three decades, through creative projects, international adventures, and ultimately, Lynn’s battle with cancer. When Tony sat down with me to share his story, it became clear: grief doesn’t end love, it simply changes its form.

💔 Grief Isn’t Linear

Tony admitted something that so many of us secretly feel but rarely say out loud: grief isn’t a straight line. He thought he’d move steadily upward, day by day, until the pain softened. Instead, grief surprised him...showing up on quiet mornings, sneaking into unexpected moments, sometimes just when he thought he was doing “better.”

His honesty was refreshing. It reminded me that healing doesn’t have to follow society’s neat timelines. Sometimes it’s messy. And that’s okay.

🌿 Finding Beauty in Hospice

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation was when Tony described Lynn’s final weeks. To most, hospice means heartbreak. But Tony called it “the most beautiful time of my life.”

He spoke about how those weeks stripped everything down to what mattered most: presence, touch, words of love. What many might see as an ending, he experienced as a sacred beginning...a deep, soul-level connection that death couldn’t take away.

🕊️ Love’s New Language

Tony’s story reminded me that love doesn’t die when a person does. It changes form. It shows up in the way we carry their wisdom forward, in the rituals we create, and in the moments when we still feel them close.

His book, Carrying the Tiger, captures this beautifully. Inspired by a Tai Chi movement where one lifts a tiger to make it less threatening, the title symbolizes how he and Lynn faced life’s fiercest challenges together - not by running from them, but by carrying them with grace.

💡 Lessons for All of Us

As a certified grief educator now, Tony carries these lessons into the lives of others who are hurting. His words, “You can’t heal what you don’t feel,” echo like a truth we all need to sit with. Avoiding grief doesn’t lessen it. Feeling it is what eventually transforms it.

For anyone navigating loss, Tony’s story offers comfort, but also a quiet invitation: maybe grief isn’t where love ends. Maybe it’s where love finds its new voice.

✨ Final Thought

Listening to Tony reminded me that grief doesn’t have to silence love. If anything, it amplifies it. Love keeps talking- through our memories, through our actions, through the way we choose to live in honor of the ones we’ve lost.

This week on Real Talk with Tina and Ann, Tony Stewart helps us see grief not as the end of connection, but as the place where love changes form and keeps us tethered, even beyond goodbye.