The Unfolding: Presented by The Loveland Foundation

World Mental Health Day Special: Sara Bareilles on Grief, Vulnerability, and Joy

• The Loveland Foundation

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In this World Mental Health Day episode of The Unfolding: Presented by The Loveland Foundation, host Rachel Keener welcomes Grammy Award–winning artist Sara Bareilles for a deeply personal conversation. Rachel introduces Sara not just as a celebrated musician, but as someone who has shown genuine commitment to supporting Black women’s mental health through her connection with the Loveland Foundation.

Sara shares her experiences with mental health, discussing the stigma around therapy and self-care. She and Rachel explore the role of community, vulnerability, and connection in healing.

Sara also explains how songwriting is her form of journaling to process fear, anxiety, and grief. She speaks about losing close friends and how those experiences shape her upcoming album, which focuses on themes of loss, healing, and renewal. A reminder of joy, not as fleeting, but as resistance and restoration, is threaded throughout. The episode reminds us of the power of music, therapy, and community to carry us through.

More about Sara Bareilles:

Sara Bareilles is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, producer, activist, and New York Times best-selling author whose accolades to date include two Grammy® Awards, three Tony® Award nominations, and three Primetime Emmy® Award nominations. As a recording artist and songwriter, she has sold more than 3 million albums and 15 million singles in the U.S., and her songs have been streamed more than 3.5 billion times worldwide. On Broadway, she composed music and lyrics for Waitress, stepping into the lead role both on Broadway and in the West End. Other musical theater credits include her Tony-nominated performance as ‘The Baker’s Wife’ in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, a song on the Tony Award-nominated score for SpongeBob SquarePants, and an Emmy Award-nominated appearance as Mary Magdalene in NBC's “Jesus Christ Superstar Live.” She plays Dawn Solano on the Emmy-nominated musical comedy series “Girls5eva”, the third season of which is streaming now on Netflix, and is currently at work on a musical theater adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s best-selling novel The Interestings, alongside author Sarah Ruhl.

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The Unfolding: Presented by The Loveland Foundation podcast is an additional resource not only to the public but also to our therapy fund cohort members. The Loveland Foundation therapy fund and resources are only made possible through support from our community. 

At The Loveland Foundation, we are committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls. Our resources and initiatives are collaborative and they prioritize opportunity, access, validation, and healing. Since our founding, the Therapy Fund has provided financial support for therapy to over 13,000 Black women, girls, and non-binary individuals across the country.

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