Latest news with #BethBigler
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Former Hollywood producer exposes the dark side of the industry as she admits she 'exploited' pain for views
A former Hollywood producer has laid bare the dark side of the industry, confessing that she became a master at 'exploiting' pain and suffering for views. Beth Bigler, 44, spent 20 years working as a Hollywood development executive, writer, and producer. She famously worked on reality TV shows like the Real Housewives of Atlanta, as well as 'fast-paced game shows, heartfelt competition series, and gripping investigative documentaries.' Part of her job was finding people who had gone through something traumatic and were willing to talk about it on camera. She quickly learned that 'authentic pain' is what would bring in the most ratings - but she admitted that turning 'someone's most raw moments into compelling television' eventually started 'eating away' at her. After two decades working in TV, she left it all behind to do something she felt was more fulfilling: pet grief counseling. Now, she has opened up about her journey and the things she witnessed while working Hollywood exclusively with the Daily Mail. 'Here's what I learned [during my years in Hollywood]: sometimes Hollywood exploits raw emotion for ratings,' she explained. 'I became skilled at spotting authentic pain and understanding what makes must-watch television. 'I always gravitated toward stories others dismissed or overlooked. I spent decades shining a spotlight on underrepresented narratives.' While Beth admitted that she 'excelled at her job,' she said sitting back and watching people discuss their trauma started to become a 'challenge' for her. 'Unscripted TV requires you to turn someone's most raw moments into compelling television,' she continued. 'You're balancing what people want to share with what viewers want to see.' She said she often felt torn, wanting to help the subject while also thinking about how she could 'craft' their story for 'maximum impact.' Beth dished, 'When someone breaks down on camera when they're talking about an estranged parent, a mistake they made, or a devastating divorce, you're simultaneously thinking, "this person is in real pain" and "this is powerful content, how do we craft this for maximum impact?" 'You develop this split awareness where you can witness genuine suffering while calculating its entertainment value. 'I got exceptional at that dance, but it started eating at me. Reading people's grief became second nature. 'I understood what they needed emotionally, but my job was to serve the story, not serve them.' Of course, working in TV was also incredibly exciting and came with a slew of benefits. 'One day I'm in a rehearsal for a new quiz show, the next I'm on set with A-listers,' dished Beth. 'You get this backstage pass to everything: celebrities, network executives, the whole glamorous circus. 'There's nothing like the rush when a show you championed gets picked up. I remember getting calls at midnight about talent drama or being in boardrooms where million-dollar decisions were made in seconds. The adrenaline was intoxicating.' But while it was an 'amazing ride,' she often craved something more 'meaningful.' In December 2017, Beth said she had an 'awakening' after her 'soulmate cat' Arnie was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. She said it 'felt like her whole world was collapsing' so she turned to a pet loss grief counselor to help her prepare for the loss. Then, during one vet visit she bonded with a woman in the waiting room whose cat was dying, and she used what the pet loss grief counselor had taught her to help the woman. 'Sitting with her through that heartbreaking goodbye, something clicked. This was the work I was meant to do,' she said. Arnie sadly passed away soon after, and she decided it was time to leave her Hollywood job behind and start a new endeavor. She launched Honoring Animals, where she 'works with individuals and families before, during, and after the loss of their beloved animal companion.' She has also released a book on the topic, entitled Honoring Our Animals: 365 Meditations for Healing After Pet Loss, and is a regular contributor to podcasts, articles, and other media. And she believes her years in TV helped make her so good at her new job. 'It's that same ability to see [people's] truth, but now I'm thinking, "How can I support them through this?" not, "How can we use this for ratings?"' she explained. 'I now have the tools, space, and perspective to be present and make a real difference instead of only capturing their pain. 'The same skills, different purpose: bringing unheard truths into the light, whether that's on screen or in someone's grief.' She described her work now as 'much more intuitive and sacred' than before. 'Everything feels aligned now. In Hollywood, the whole industry runs on external validation: will the network pick it up? Will audiences connect? Will it get renewed? Whether something was a hit or not was completely out of my hands,' she concluded. 'But in grief work, success looks like someone finally sleeping through the night after months of insomnia, or realizing their beloved's love didn't disappear with their transition. 'These aren't metrics anyone else can measure. They're soul-deep shifts that matter. The intimacy is profound. 'Most importantly, this work touches something universal and timeless. When someone learns to honor their grief for their beloved instead of hiding from it, they're not just surviving this loss, they're becoming more equipped for all the sorrow life will bring. Our culture is grief-illiterate. This helps change that, one person at a time.'
Business Insider
22-06-2025
- Health
- Business Insider
I left my Hollywood career to become a pet grief counselor. It changed the way I think about life, loss, and money.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Beth Bigler, a former Hollywood development executive who gave up her film career to start a business as a pet grief counselor. It has been edited for length and clarity. It all started with my soulmate, Arnie. Arnie, my cat, was with me earthside through many of life's ups and downs — he was my absolute best friend, my truest, most loyal companion. The sun rose and set on him in my house. But when he was only 11, he got a devastating cancer diagnosis, and when that happened, I just kind of spiraled. I didn't know how I could survive living in a world without him. Fortunately for me, I found an incredible pet loss grief counselor myself. I started doing anticipatory grief work with her, and I found it deeply transformative. She really helped me understand why I was feeling so intensely, and most importantly, helped me step up so I could really show up for Arnie in his time of need. Chemotherapy worked for Arnie at first, and he went into remission, but I kept feeling a lot of anxiety around his illness, so I kept working with my counselor. At the same time, I had the opportunity to help support somebody in a waiting room at a veterinary clinic. While waiting on an appointment for Arnie, there was a woman in the waiting room whose cat had ingested some lilies — which are very toxic to cats —and she didn't have anyone with her to support her. I started talking to her and ended up staying with her the whole day, supporting her and helping her through her cat's euthanasia. That was the moment when I realized that I had a calling. I had a very clear realization that this was what I wanted to do with my life. At the time, I was working as a Hollywood executive in film and television development, so I thought this would be something I could do when I retired or maybe as a side hustle at some point. Unfortunately, just a few months after that first realization, Arnie had a new symptom, and when I took him to the vet, we discovered that he had developed a completely different aggressive cancer in a very short amount of time. There was nothing we could do, so we had to make the really difficult decision to compassionately euthanize him, and I felt completely blindsided. It was then that I thought, 'Arnie, what are we waiting for? Let's go help people through this.' I knew I needed to grieve and process what had happened, but I viewed Arnie's transition as my sign to go out and support other people who are experiencing this same pain, so I could help empower, educate, and nurture grieving animal guardians everywhere. So, I completed my certifications to become a counselor and opened my private practice, where I support individuals, couples, and families in their grief. I started my Instagram, which has been a real success, and then started writing my book, "Honoring Our Animals," and things have really rolled from there. It wasn't full-time work in the beginning, but it grew very quickly. Between grief groups and smaller sessions, I see anywhere from 30 to 60 clients a week in online appointments, and I've helped over 1,000 clients since I began. Things are so busy that I'm bringing on two additional practitioners that I've been training, so that people can also have more options about who they work with. The nice thing about my career now is that I work for myself. I'm my own boss, so it's up to me how much I want to work, which determines how much money I can make. When I worked in Hollywood, even though I loved it, I primarily worked for other people, so I was limited in my ability to do that and control my money. Very few people do this kind of work. It's extremely niche, and some people really don't understand it, but pet loss is ubiquitous. While I really appreciate everything I did earlier in my career, and I had a great time doing it, I can see that change is happening because of this new work. People are starting to look at pet loss more seriously, and it feels nice to be making a positive change in the world. I believe pet loss grief is a transformative experience. We go through a seismic shift when our soulmates transition, and we are not the same afterward. We cannot be, and there is no "return to normal." So many people I work with really struggle with that, like "Who am I now?" I know I did. If I hadn't loved Arnie so deeply and been so profoundly shaken by his loss, I don't believe I would have ever discovered this work. Now, I encourage anybody who's thinking about shifting their gears and changing careers, or just people who are grieving, to embrace the idea that you can make a change. You don't have to stay doing what you're doing, and you don't have to return to who you were before. I just want to write that permission slip for people. If they're feeling a desire to make a change, my goal is really to empower people to let that be OK. You can let your grief catalyze you into something different. I did, and it changed my life.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Grief Expert Debuts New Book That Sparks a Cultural Shift in How We Mourn Our Animals
A groundbreaking, heart-forward guide to grief as connection, not closure LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Internationally recognized pet loss grief counselor Beth Bigler is breaking the silence around one of the most misunderstood forms of grief with the release of her deeply moving debut book, Honoring Our Animals: 365 Meditations for Healing After Pet Loss (Wellfleet Press/Quarto Publishing Group). In a world that often tells us to "move on" after losing a beloved animal, Bigler offers a brave and compassionate alternative: to move with the grief, honoring the unbreakable bond that remains. This transformative guide reframes pet loss not as an ending, but as an evolution of love, one that can continue long after the physical presence is gone. With 365 meditations, affirmations, and grounding practices, Honoring Our Animals becomes a daily companion for those navigating the profound sorrow of pet loss. Drawing on her years of experience as a grief counselor, animal chaplain, and end-of-life doula, Bigler walks with readers through the emotional landscape of loss and provides language, validation, and tools for resilience. "This book is a labor of love," says Bigler. "It holds the wisdom I've gathered from years of sitting with heartbreak. My hope is to help people stay connected—to the animal they loved, to their own strength, and to the truth that their grief is an expression of love, not weakness." With her signature heart-centered voice, Bigler introduces terms like "beloved" instead of "pet" and "transition" instead of "death," inviting readers to grieve with tenderness and intention. The book includes a "grief feelings wheel" and gentle journaling prompts designed to help readers process complex emotions like guilt, longing, unmooring, and anxiety. This is not a manual for "letting go." It is an invitation to stay close, to remember, to honor, and to continue the relationship in new and enduring ways. Honoring Our Animals is more than a book. It is a movement to bring pet grief into the light, to affirm the love that animals leave behind, and to create a culture where mourning them is met with understanding and care. Available now on Amazon and at major retailers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. About the Author Beth Bigler is a globally respected pet loss grief counselor, certified end-of-life companion animal doula, pet chaplain, and founder of Honoring Our Animals. She supports individuals, families, and veterinary professionals around the world through anticipatory and post-loss grief. Her work is grounded in the belief that love never ends, and neither should the care we offer those who grieve. Follow Beth's journey and connect with the community at @honoringouranimals on Instagram. MEDIA CONTACTS: James Weir Anderson Group Public Relations AGPR@ 323-655-1008 or Laurie D. Muslow It's All Good Entertainment 818-808-0868 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Beth Bigler Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
