Discovering Yourself In Tragedy: Steph Catudal On Love, Grief, Healing & Finding Meaning in Life’s Profound Moments

Your darkest moments will either break you beyond repair—or make you stronger.
This was the choice faced by Steph Catudal as she navigated mortality, motherhood, and the search for self while her husband—beloved ultra-runner Tommy Rivs—battled a rare form of lung cancer that nearly took his life.
Beautiful and heart-wrenching, Steph relates the intimacies of this experience in her New York Times bestselling memoir, Everything All At Once—an arresting, must-read perspective on trauma, rebellion, faith, tragedy and the painful struggle to identify one’s place in the world.
If you count yourself among the millions deeply impacted by Tommy Rivs’ brush with death and return to life—one of the most beloved episodes the history of this podcast—then today’s conversation is non-negotiable.
This is a conversation about the big things in life: trauma, death, grief, pain, identity and faith.
An artist with words, Steph shares the details of her complicated upbringing, the loss of faith that catalyzed a decade of rebellion, her journey with substance abuse, and the experience of very nearly losing her husband Tommy—juxtaposed agains the mirrored trauma of losing her father to lung cancer during her adolescence.
This is about seeing healing as a never-ending journey—and the importance of assigning meaning to life’s profound moments.
It’s also about how to cultivate gratitude—how to recognize love and beauty amid tragedy, while also holding space for pain, anger, and sorrow.
In other words, how to allow everything all at once.
I was very moved by Steph’s vulnerability—and the power with which she owns her story.
May you find this conversation equally impactful.

Show notes + MORE
Watch on YouTube
Newsletter Sign-Up

Today’s Sponsors:
On: On.com
Momentous: LiveMomentous.com/RICHROLL
BetterHelp: BetterHelp.com/RICHROLL
Babbel: Babbel.com/RICHROLL
Squarespace: Squarespace.com/RICHROLL
Seed: Seed.com/RICHROLL

Plant Power Meal Planner: https://meals.richroll.com

Peace + Plants,

Rich