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Brenda Sullivan, Gravestone Girls Part 2
Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places. And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery.   In this two-part conversation, I'm joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone.   I first discovered Brenda's work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn't know what to expect — I assumed it might be spooky or "oddity-adjacent."   But within minutes of listening to her, my entire world expanded. What Brenda does is deeply fact-based, richly historical, and surprisingly emotional. She teaches us that cemeteries are not just places of death — they are places of culture, meaning, artistry, community, and connection.   In Part One (Episode 69)   Brenda shares her incredible story of leaving behind a high-powered corporate career — what she calls a "soul-sucking day job" — to fully step into the work she truly loved. She talks about: • Being a "corporate dropout" and finally changing her seat • How a hobby turned into a thriving business and national following • Why the cemetery world is much bigger and more mainstream than people assume • The surprising hunger people have to be "invited in" to these spaces • How gravestones tell us not only who died — but how people lived   We also explore the powerful idea that the more specific you get about what you love, the bigger your world becomes.   In Part Two (Episode 70)   Our conversation deepens into the history and symbolism of early New England burial grounds.   Brenda walks us through: • The earliest burial practices in the 1600s • Why colonial gravestones were meant as messages to the living • Winged skulls, hourglasses, soul symbols, and the "scared straight" visual language of death • How modern medicine has changed our relationship with mortality • Why Victorians picnicked in cemeteries — and what we've lost in our disconnection from death   This is one of those conversations that makes you look at something familiar — a graveyard, a headstone, a symbol you've passed a hundred times — and suddenly see an entire world underneath it.   Brenda is passionate, hilarious, deeply thoughtful, and proof that following what fascinates you can open doors you never imagined. This episode is split into two parts at around the 42-minute mark — so make sure to listen to both.   I cannot wait for you to step into this world with us.   Find Brenda and her work by clicking here.
Real Women's Work Podcast
https://www.realwomenswork.com/
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