Before She Let Go: April Simpkins on Love, Loss, and Cheslie Kryst

Hot & Bothered

Melyssa Ford

Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Alternative Health

4.7 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 101 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this deeply moving and courageous episode, we sit down with April Simpkins—HR executive, mental health advocate, and mother of the late Cheslie Kryst—to discuss her personal journey through unimaginable loss. April opens up about the heartbreaking death of her daughter, the complexities of grief, and the long, winding road toward acceptance. With unflinching honesty, she shares how she’s navigated moments of darkness, public scrutiny, and private pain, all while finding a new sense of purpose in advocating for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Together, we talk about the importance of addressing mental health struggles in high-achieving individuals, the stigma that often silences those who are suffering, and the steps we can all take to support ourselves and the people we love. April’s story is one of heartbreak—but also of hope, healing, and fierce advocacy. This is a conversation about loss, but also about love—the kind that keeps going, even when someone is gone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.6	This program is intended for informational purposes only and does not contain medical advice.
0:35.2	As always, please contact your physician or qualified health care
0:38.4	provider with any questions regarding a medical condition. After Chesley passed, every person,
0:45.5	everything just felt unsafe. There were family members I didn't want to talk to and I didn't trust
0:51.9	anybody. Chesley was a public figure and had such a public death.
0:56.8	People were coming at us full force. Everything Chesley needed to say to me, she put in that message.
1:04.5	And I understood. There's, there's so many reoccurring themes in this book. And the fact that you say that the book was written in
1:14.0	2021 floors me. And this is the reason why. Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Hot and Bothered with Melissa Ford. I have an incredibly
1:49.4	special guest sitting next to me today. But first, as a way of introducing her, I want to remind you
1:54.8	guys of the second episode that we did for season two, which included Dr. Judith Joseph, the board-certified psychiatrist,
2:02.7	and also the now New York Times best-selling author
2:07.9	of high-functioning, overcome your hidden depression
2:12.2	and reclaim your joy.
2:15.0	If you guys go back to that episode,
	...

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