A tragic twist of fate brought David McClain and Jamal Jones together. Now, they are turning their grief into a safe space where men can have candid conversations about emotional recovery through their podcast “Getting Back Up: Finding Life after Death.”
The idea began during a children’s play date.
“Jamal’s daughter, she had a birthday party — they had just moved back from Austin, Texas, to our area in Maplewood, New Jersey,” McClain told Scripps News. “And it was a sense of, ‘okay, let’s have a birthday party. Let’s invite people. Can we fill this out?’”
Jones recalled how the connection unfolded.
“Then my daughter, she invited a bunch of friends and thankfully she was making friends in this new town,” Jones said. “And she said, ‘Hey, by the way dad, you’ve got to meet my friend Mila’s dad, you know, you guys would get along, you’ve got a lot in common.’”
It turned out both men had lost their wives — the mothers of their children. The shared experience became the foundation for a podcast that addresses grief and the challenges of raising kids after such a loss.
“There's no script for this,” McClain said. “And so I think it’s instinct, it’s talking to people maybe who have lost someone before — in our universe. So, age-appropriate language that made sense because we’re also going through it as well.”
McClain added: “We don’t have it all figured out. We may be mature in age but maybe not mature in the sense of loss.”
Jones said navigating grief is a balance between relying on loved ones and seeking professional help.
“Having to navigate that, it is the balance between leaning on friends, family, but also knowing when to call in professionals to help you,” he said. “Either help you individually or help your children, specifically.”
Watch Scripps News' full interview with David McClain and Jamal Jones — hosts of the "Getting Back Up: Finding Life after Death" podcast — in the video player above.
