Grief Is Not A Dirty Word started because silence was doing more harm than good.

For most of his life, Nick Gaylord followed a path that made sense on paper. Nearly three decades in the pharmaceutical industry. Quality assurance. Document control. Systems built to protect people and save lives. It was meaningful work, but it never fully satisfied the part of him that wanted to connect with people in a real and lasting way.

That missing piece became impossible to ignore after the death of his father in 2021. The grief was complicated. The relationship was unfinished. And like so many people, Nick found himself carrying emotions he did not have language for and no place to put them.

Grief Is Not A Dirty Word grew out of that space.

What began as a personal exploration quickly became something much larger. This is not a show about moving on or tying grief up neatly. It is about telling the truth. About loss, love, anger, regret, relief, humor, guilt, and everything else that shows up when someone we care about is gone. Sometimes the conversations are heavy. Sometimes they are surprisingly funny. Often they are both.

The podcast features honest conversations with people from all walks of life who are willing to speak openly about their grief. There are no scripts. No platitudes. No pressure to be inspirational. Just real stories from people who have lived through loss and are still figuring things out.

At its core, Grief Is Not A Dirty Word is about permission. Permission to talk about death without whispering. Permission to admit when grief is messy and nonlinear. Permission to laugh at inappropriate moments and to struggle long after others think you should be fine.

Nick does not position himself as an expert or a guide. He shows up as someone still doing the work, still learning, and still grieving. By sharing his own experiences and holding space for others, he has helped build a community where people feel less alone and more understood.

Because grief does not have an expiration date. It does not follow rules. And it is not something to be hidden or sanitized.

Grief Is Not A Dirty Word exists to remind people that their grief is valid, their stories matter, and they are not broken for feeling the way they do.