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Good Life Project

Good Life Project

Not All Pain Has a Purpose | Marisa Renee Lee

Aug 6, 2026 · 53m

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About this episode

What if the kindest thing someone told you about your pain was that it didn't have to mean anything? Marisa Renee Lee has spent her career inside other people's grief and her own. She's the bestselling author of Grief Is Love , a former deputy director in the Obama White House, and now CEO of Beacon Advisors. Her new book, Waiting for Dawn , comes out of her own experience with chronic illness, and it argues against nearly every wellness cliché about turning pain into purpose. In this conversation, you'll explore: Why Marisa refuses to promise anyone that their suffering serves a purpose, even her own family's "Gray grief": a name for the grief that has no end date, no diagnosis, and no…