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February 4th, 2025

Bullies, Cancer, and Poetry—How Holly Peppe Found Purpose in Life’s Hardest Moments

  1. Bullies, Cancer, and Poetry—How Holly Peppe Found Purpose in Life’s Hardest Moments Emily Thiroux Threatt 27:07

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Holly Peppe, a poet, author, and literary executor, who also spent over 30 years in global media, PR, and crisis communications, advocating for clients in Education, the arts, health, and human rights. She taught literature at both high school and university levels, including serving as Director of the English Department at the American College of Rome. More recently, she has published An Absence of Fear, a poetry collection reflecting on love, loss, and resilience, and Sophie and the Swans, a children’s book addressing bullying. 

Throughout this episode, Holly shares her deep passion for writing and poetry, explaining how it has been a lifelong means of self-expression and healing. She talks about her professional journey—from teaching literature to running a global PR firm—before returning to poetry, which she had long kept private. Facing a terminal illness, she found the courage to publish An Absence of Fear, a poetry collection that captures her reflections on love, family, and illness. Holly reads excerpts from her work, including poignant poems about her mother, father, and her own experiences with cancer. She also discusses Sophie and the Swans, her anti-bullying children’s book, and the importance of helping others through writing. She encourages listeners to embrace creativity as a tool for coping with Grief and emphasizes the value of human connection and altruism.

Tune in to episode 308 where Holly Peppe shares how a terminal diagnosis led her to publish her poetry, the inspiration behind her anti-bullying book, and the role of creativity in finding meaning.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

A life dedicated to writing & poetry (1:18)

A terminal diagnosis & the urgency to publish (4:02)

The power of writing in processing emotions (6:33)

Holly reads selections from An Absence of Fear (9:55)

Cancer and humor as a coping mechanism (12:22)

Helping others and staying active amid grief (13:38)

Connection with others and moving beyond self-centeredness (17:09)

The Story Behind Sophie and the Swans (22:24)

Finding meaning through creativity & connection (25:23)

Final thoughts & encouragement (26:07)

Connect with Holly Peppe:

Website

LinkedIn

Book: Holly Peppe – Sophie and the Swans

Book: Holly Peppe – An Absence of Fear

Let’s Connect:

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

The Grief and Happiness Alliance


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Thiroux Threatt Podcast Host, Facilitator, Author

Having gone through the experience of the deaths of so many loved ones, I have learned to face life with love, optimism, and joy.

I have kept journals and written to express myself most of my life which led me to a career of teaching writing and writing books. I naturally turned to writing to help deal with my grief, then I discovered I could use writing to help friends deal with grief, too.

In contemplating how I could best help the grieving people I was working with, my Ignite moment came when realized the importance of helping people understand the importance of happiness and how they could grieve and be happy at the same time.

To share my message, I host the Grief and Happiness podcast, I wrote the book Loving and Living Your Way Though Grief, I facilitate weekly meetings of the Grief and Happiness Alliance, I founded the Grief and Happiness nonprofit foundation, I publish a weekly newsletter and blog, and my new book, The Grief and Happiness Handbook is coming out soon.

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