Former teacher and principal, and current K–12 literacy director, Katie Megrian has spent over two decades working in schools. She founded The Reading Symphony, a mission-driven platform that helps families and educators understand how reading develops and how it can transform lives. Behind her work lies a deeply personal story of love and loss. In this episode, Katie shares how losing her brother at age four, her aunt as a teen, and her father to pancreatic cancer just months before her wedding shaped not only her outlook on life—but her purpose.

Lisa and Katie explore how grief evolves through different life stages, why keeping a loved one’s name alive matters, and how storytelling and reading can bridge the space between past and present, memory and possibility. Together, they remind us that healing doesn’t mean “moving on”—it means making meaning through connection, conversation, and legacy.

This episode is a must-listen for parents, educators, and anyone learning to explore possibilities after loss. 

You can find Katie on:

Instagram @TheReadingSymphony

Substack: The Reading Symphony

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If you'd like to support my journey to see a world without pancreatic cancer, please consider donating to my NYC Marathon Project Purple fundraising page.

Special thanks to:

Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music

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