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Giving Grief Grace
Giving Grief Grace is a heartfelt podcast offering a safe space where stories of love, loss, light, and healing are shared with compassion and empathy. In each episode, honest conversations woven with nurturing insights create a safe haven, fostering a community of support where sorrow is met with kindness, and the path to healing is approached with utmost care, respect, and love.
Giving Grief Grace
Episode 35 - Escaping the Berlin Wall & Grieving from Afar: Freedom, Loss & Finding Home
What does grief look like when it begins with leaving home?
In this episode, artist and musician Jacqueline van Bierk shares her extraordinary life story of escaping communist East Germany as a teenager just weeks before the Berlin Wall fell, leaving her parents behind with no way to know if they’d ever reunite.
Jacqueline opens up about growing up in a controlled, black-and-white world, her daring escape through Prague, and the emotional weight of choosing freedom while risking everything. She reflects on how displacement shaped her identity, her lifelong “gypsy” spirit, and her eventual move to the United States which is where she found both creative freedom and a sense of home.
Jacqueline vulnerably shares about the loss of her father, flying across the world to say goodbye, and returning to the stage just days later to perform through her heartbreak. She also speaks honestly about grieving from the US while her mother remains in Germany. Jacqueline has supported her mother through multiple losses, illness, cancer, and actually moved back to Germany to be her caregiver during COVID.
“After taking care of my mom during the pandemic, I packed whatever I could fit in my car and began a completely new chapter.” - JVB
This episode explores:
- Escaping East Germany before the Berlin Wall fell
- Grief, freedom, and identity as an immigrant
- Losing a parent while living abroad
- Caregiving from a distance
- The complex emotions of guilt, anger, numbness, and acceptance
- How music, creativity, and purpose became lifelines in grief
If you’ve ever grieved a loved one from afar, felt torn between ambition and family, or wondered how loss reshapes who we become, this conversation is for you.
Follow Jacqueline:
Website: pinkstarmusic.com
IG: jacquelinevanbierk
Join the January 2026 30 Day Clutter Challenge: https://pinkstarmusic.com/30-day-declutter-challenge
Thanks for tuning in, your time is valuable and we are so grateful for you!
Please share this episode with a friend or someone who could use a hug. You are not alone.
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Special thanks to:
Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music
Podcast Music Good_B_Music
