The Ebbs and The Flows with Jess Sofarnos: On grief, wholehearted love and the joy of creativity.

Welcome back to The Ebbs and The Flows: soft chats about hard stuff.

The Ebbs and The Flows with Jess Sofarnos, actor, writer and director. A conversation revolving around grief, our willingness to love deeply and openly, the joy of creativity and curiosity. 

Edited by Tom Harmon
Thank you to Chantelle Clark for designs used to promote this episode

Today's guest is Jess Sofarnos, actor, director and writer, with 'Breaking Up' as one of her most recent credits, a short film about the grief and loss of a relationship about to end. The backstory of her appearance on this podcast is a challenging one. Her mother Sue appeared on a podcast I produced with my father throughout 2017-the start of COVID in 2020 called 'Generation Balme'. Sue and my father Neil got on like a house on fire, both being coaches, mentors and administrators in sport for much of their life. Tragically, Sue died suddenly in 2020, and the outpouring of grief in her community of Williamstown and the ripple effects felt in lacrosse and those who were touched by a special person were felt deeply and painfully. This conversation touches upon grief and loss, but also is a beautiful look at how death brings powerful perspective and leaves the mark of hope and love on a daughter who was incredibly close to her mother and best friend. 

As always, this episode includes segments such as 'A Note to Self', 'Work in Progress' and 'Weird Fishes', and there are so many gems of wisdom that will seep through your headphones and keep you thinking long after you listen. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

To Watch Jess' short film 'Breaking Up', head to https://www.nobudge.com/videos/breaking-up

To check out her local recommendation, head here: https://www.instagram.com/backyardstories_/

To watch 'Letters To Anxiety', buy tickets for the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival here at The Nova on the 30th July - tickets here: https://ticketing.cinemanova.com.au/Ticketing/visSelectTickets.aspx?cinemacode=1&txtSessionId=295721

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.