Sheinelle Jones on Grief and Joy
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to All There Is. Wherever you are in the world and in your grief, I'm glad you're here. You're not alone. It's been a bittersweet week for me. I finished my last story at 60 Minutes after more than 20 years there. I left because I wanted to spend more time with my two little boys, Wyatt and Sebastian, but it's hard to leave a job that you've always loved. The good news is that it makes it easier for me to do more of these podcasts, which I'm grateful for. My guest on this episode is Chanel Jones. In January, she began hosting, along with Jenna Bush Hager, Today with Jenna and Chanel, the fourth hour of the Today Show. In May 2025, Chanel's husband, Uche Oje, died from glioblastoma. They met when they were in college and have three kids, a 16-year-old and 13-year-old twins.
Chanel has a new book out, Through Mom's Eyes, which is full of life lessons and stories from the mother's well-known, highly accomplished people. But our conversation is about the loss of Uche and Chanel's grandmother, who died seven months later at the end of 2025. Thank you for doing this.
You have been, and I mean this so sincerely, the soundtrack to my healing. You, along with all of the people that you've talked with, when you hear other people share, it is healing, and you don't feel as isolated, you feel less alone, and so I feel like you've created this beautiful quilt of nurturing our hearts, and so I am honored to be part of this quilt.
It's still so recent.
So recent. And the truth of the matter is, after he was diagnosed, I still thought he would beat it. Like, you couldn't tell me that he wasn't going to beat it. It was just a matter of finding which trial or something. But I knew that he was going to beat it. Even though all the evidence was very clear, I still didn't believe it. The first time the doctors recommended hospice, I said no. I wanted him to be able to be home. He wanted to be home. And I was like, I'll do it. And he's big now. He's strong. And I'm I was trying to do all the things, you know, lifting and all the things. And we have a lot of stairs. So that became a bit of a challenge. And I did it for maybe two or three months on my own. There are people who do this for years.
And anyone listening, if you are a caretaker, God bless you.
I just did an interview with a woman who has a very aggressive form of brain cancer, and she's trying to prepare her kids.
What personal losses does Sheinelle Jones discuss in this episode?
I saw her story.
And she's writing letters to her kids for the future. My mom's dad died when she was 15 months old, and she had this fantasy her entire life that he had left her some letter somewhere that might arrive in the mail. And I sort of had that fantasy for my dad as well.
I tried. I tried. It was the only time things got a little... Because if I say, hey, I think you should write something for the kids, that means that I think you're not going to make it. And there was one point where I said, why don't you write it? And then at our daughter's wedding, we'll read it and we'll show that you're still here. And I think... For him to write it would have been accepting that maybe it wasn't going to go that way, his way, and I don't think he was willing to do that. And I think by the time he was like, okay, maybe, I think it was probably too late. Towards the end, I started videotaping everything, whereas before I didn't. He also played a lot of instruments. My son plays a lot of instruments, and so he would come in, and my son would be playing the guitar, and I would show him playing the guitar and show my husband's face and the pride that he would have when my kind was playing the guitar or whatever.
If my daughter's in music theater and she's Matilda, I would come and show him. And then I would record him being proud. And even now, I have so much that I haven't given them yet because I think it's like in doses. I can only handle so much, so I know that they can only handle so much.
I mean, how do you do this with kids?
As a mom, it's tough because you don't want to make them sad. I have three teenagers, you know, so we're all in one chat.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–2:30
2
What personal losses does Sheinelle Jones discuss in this episode?
2:30–4:19
3
How does Sheinelle cope with grief while parenting?
4:19–8:00
4
What challenges does Sheinelle face as a caretaker?
8:00–13:42
5
How does Sheinelle navigate conversations about grief with her children?
13:42–14:34
6
What does Sheinelle mean by 'carrying two things' in grief?
14:34–26:31