ep. 191: David Ferrugio--A Grieving Son and the 25th Anniversary of 9/11

Grief Is My Side Hustle: David Ferrugio on Talking About Death Out Loud David Ferrugio was twelve when his father was killed in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Most of us get to grieve in private. David grieved while the whole country watched the same footage every September. He took all of that and built DEAD Talks, a podcast where people talk honestly about death and grief and laugh much more than you’d expect. His podcast and social channels have passed 1M followers, with more than 330,000 subscribers on YouTube, and his first book, You’re Not Dead Yet: How Grief and Loss Can Teach You to Live, came out September 8, 2026 from Jossey-Bass. inklinkl David and I agree on almost everything, including the radical idea that you’re allowed to laugh in a grief conversation. Bring snacks. In this episode we talk about: Growing up as a 9/11 kid, and what it’s like when your private loss is also a national anniversary that shows up on every screen each year Why David started DEAD Talks, and what six years of guests have taught him about how people actually grieve Writing You’re Not Dead Yet, and what it took to put his own story on the page after years of holding space for everyone else’s How joy and grief can live in the same room, and why giving yourself permission to feel good is part of the work Connect with David Book: You’re Not Dead Yet: www.deadtalks.net/book castbox Website: www.deadtalks.net chartable Instagram: @deadtalkspodcast (show) and @davidferrugio (personal) blubrry TikTok: @deadtalkspodcast blubrry YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_jnuH15XMk2Vx_7_-aIAw blubrry Facebook: @deadtalkingpod matchmaker Patreon (early and ad-free episodes): www.patreon.com/deadtalks cleberg All links: https://linktr.ee/deadtalks apple See David live David joins 29 other grief authors at the Grieftastic Book Fair on November 13 at the Luxe Hotel in Los Angeles. It’s like your middle school book fair, only sadder. Details at www.grieftastic.com. Connect with Meghan Instagram: @meghan.riordan.jarvis Grieftastic: www.grieftastic.com Book: Can Anyone Tell Me? Essential Questions About Grief and Loss