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Adaptive Humans™ is the podcast for real talk and intentional growth. Hosted by Jami de Lou, each episode blends meaningful stories with practical tools you can use in your next meeting, tough conversation, or high-pressure moment—and just as easily in everyday life. Together, we’ll explore how to work with emotions instead of against them, bridge differences with respect, and steady ourselves when stress runs high. With signature segments like Beyond the Bio, Brave Enough Moment, and Just Be Reset, this podcast invites you to practice adaptability in the moments that matter most.
Adaptive Humans™ Podcast — Episode 3
Content Note (00:09)
This episode discusses suicide loss. If this is a difficult conversation for you, please take extra care or skip this episode for now. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988.
Jami de Lou (00:28)
Welcome back to Adaptive Humans—the podcast for real talk and intentional growth. I’m your host, Jami de Lou. At the heart of this show are three anchors I’ll keep returning to: emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, and nervous system regulation—the compass that helps us connect, adapt, and lead, especially in stretching moments. For a short overview of these concepts, check out Episode 1.
If you caught Episode 2, we talked about grief anniversaries and their impact—individually and collectively. I also shared how grief is intimately woven into my story.
I’m honored to welcome today’s guest: Kerri Soukup, a creative leader and founder of The Sentiment Project.
Before I introduce Kerri, a quick reminder about purposeful vulnerability—a core value on this show when we address sensitive topics like grief and, today, suicide loss. Purposeful vulnerability is choosing what to share—not oversharing or feeling pressure—so we build trust, connection, and growth rather than exposure.
Jami de Lou (01:47)
Today’s guest, Kerri Soukup, spent 25 years as a purpose-driven creative advertising leader, often at the intersection of empathy and creativity. In 2019, she began sharing her story as a suicide-loss survivor. What started as a passion project grew into The Sentiment Project—a space that uses creativity to make meaning of loss and heal in community. Since then, her voice and volunteer work have been featured from State Street in Chicago to ABC Sunday Morning News. Kerri describes being in her “rest era” as she manages a consulting practice alongside the Sentiment Project. We’re grateful to have her here today.
Jami de Lou (02:34)
Kerri, welcome to Adaptive Humans. I’m so glad you’re here.
Kerri Soukup (she/her) (02:37)
Thank you, Jami. It’s great to see you.
Jami de Lou (02:40)
I’m excited for everyone to hear more of your story. In our Beyond the Bio segment, we go deeper than titles and resumes—into the values, experiences, and stories that shape who we are. You’ve said growing up in rural Kansas shaped your grit. How did it influence how you show up in the world now?
Kerri Soukup (03:09)
My Kansas roots are a huge part of who I am. I grew up in a town of fewer than 2,000 people—what we considered “the big town” among the surrounding rural communities. I’ve now lived in Chicago for 26 years, and that contrast—city experiences and a non-traditional path—helped me stay authentic as a creative leader and as a human.
Early on, I wondered, “Do I belong here?” I didn’t go to portfolio school or follow a traditional path. I’m grateful I was rewarded for authenticity early in my career. That middle-ground perspective—rural roots and city life—has been incredibly helpful.
Empathy also traces back to humble beginnings. My parents divorced when I was five. My mom raised three of us within four years of age. I felt responsibility early—babysitting, riding my bike into town, waitressing the early breakfast shift, paying my way through college. Those experiences built grit and resilience—and over time, empathy.
Jami de Lou (06:41)
It’s not just grit; it’s resilience. Diverse backgrounds matter in advertising—different lenses catch what others miss. Your story holds both small-town humility and big-city perspective.
Kerri Soukup (07:31)
I value it more with time. I used to think Kansas was “flat and boring.” Now I see the beauty—wheat fields before harvest, sunsets, stars at night. Holding space for both worlds matters.
Jami de Lou (08:12)
I’d love to explore resilience further. You lost your dad to suicide as a high-school senior—something you’ve called a defining moment. How did that shape your empathy and perspective?
Kerri Soukup (08:55)
With hindsight, I see how much started there. My parents divorced when I was five; my siblings and I were in high school—senior, sophomore, freshman—when my dad died by suicide in 1992. He wasn’t a consistent presence, which complicated grieving. Add the stigma of the time and rural Kansas. As a 17-year-old, I didn’t have the tools. I coped.
Five years later, in college at Fort Hays State University, I confronted the emotions through a graphic-design project. It became a gift I couldn’t have planned—allowing feelings I didn’t know were inside me to come up. That project was a defining moment that opened the door to grieving and, later, healing.
Jami de Lou (12:03)
For listeners who didn’t live through 1992: no smartphones, texting, or quick access to information. Creativity can be a powerful anchor for processing, regardless of technology. Tell us more about the role creativity played—especially in our Brave Enough Moment segment, where courage means taking the next step, not a Grand Canyon leap.
Kerri Soukup (13:43)
I love how you frame “brave enough.” Back then, it didn’t feel like bravery—more like a deep conviction. The project was a conceptual alphabet book. That night, the letter E became my main character; other letters supported the story. “E” now represents empathy for me. I wasn’t conscious of that then, but creating the book allowed me to grieve, which opened space for forgiveness and healing.
Jami de Lou (17:57)
It’s powerful how a professor’s support helped you choose the hard subject—and gave permission to follow through. Those moments of empathy matter.
Kerri Soukup (19:31)
I still have the book: Sentiment (1997). I did the printing and binding myself—down to safely drilling a hole through the book to represent a bullet hole, a symbol of loss. The last spread reads, “E will always be a part of me.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but that acceptance emerged years later at a grief-counseling workshop. There’s no fixed timeline for grief—allow it when it comes.
Jami de Lou (22:39)
Grief is processed not just in our minds but in our bodies. Creative practices—journaling, music, painting—can help release what we carry. In 2019, you began sharing your story more publicly. Can you take us from there to The Sentiment Project?
Kerri Soukup (23:46)
In 2017, I found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Walk. Walking among strangers brought unexpected tears—an important step. In 2019, I said out loud I wanted to “walk out loud”—to be more open. I attended a grief workshop two blocks from my condo, and during it, I scribbled notes that mirrored chapters of my book. On the walk home, I felt strongly, “I’m supposed to do something,” even if I didn’t know what. My partner said, “You don’t need to know—just take your book off the shelf.”
So I did. I revisited the spreads and noticed my perspective had evolved. For example, a spread that reads “We all have problems” now feels weighted—like the heaviness so many carry. I began sharing one page a day on Instagram leading up to the 2019 Walk, then hosted a book-sharing event.
In 2020, I launched a virtual conversation series for suicide-loss survivors. We use creativity as a safe space to process trauma and grief. It became the Create–Share–Heal framework: I model the process, then participants take a month to make a piece (writing, collage, choreography, etc.) and share it with the group. The witnessing is powerful—and helps people feel brave enough to be vulnerable.
Jami de Lou (32:50)
Processing grief is unique—and it’s still loss. You’ve since expanded beyond suicide loss, right?
Kerri Soukup (34:01)
Yes. The original work is abstract and applicable to many kinds of grief. I wanted the space to include diverse losses while still clearly signaling that suicide is a primary topic so people aren’t caught off guard. Over the last year I’ve experimented with workshops for broader grief and a more approachable one-month virtual program (five sessions). Because grief itself is stigmatized—and many forms of grief are, too—I’m creating brave enough spaces where people can process through creativity.
I questioned whether “Sentiment” still fit if we expanded. It does. The name reflects emotion over logic—true of grief and the creative process. I’m more comfortable not knowing exactly where it goes—just taking the next right step.
Jami de Lou (38:48)
You and I both use lived experience in service of others—but that’s a choice, not a requirement for healing. If you feel a nudge to share, take the next step; if you don’t, that’s equally valid.
Kerri Soukup (41:17)
Exactly. When I began posting, I wrote: “to help myself and others heal.” I couldn’t have imagined how reciprocal the healing would be. Sentiment has been my teacher in allowing—trusting timing without attaching to outcomes. The word “project” in the logo underscores me in sentiment, because it starts inside. Until we do the inner work, the ripples can’t move outward.
Jami de Lou (42:57)
After my mom died, I overworked and burned out—another way grief shows up. Let’s shift to our Just Be Reset: a pause to regulate, restore, and renew. How do you personally ground yourself while leading through something as tender as grief?
Kerri Soukup (44:18)
Intention and mindfulness. I think about emotional endurance—moving at a pace that lets me show up equipped for workshops, talks, and programs. Tools I cultivated long before this work now support me: being present, quieting the noise, and creating rituals. One simple ritual is making matcha—a five-minute reset that helps me settle my nervous system and do better work.
Jami de Lou (47:41)
Many people are in a “stress era” rather than a rest era. For someone feeling stuck in grief or a big transition, what’s one small creative practice they can try?
Kerri Soukup (48:21)
Allow it. Don’t overthink. Creativity is a safe place to process emotions—you don’t need “creative” in your title. Try writing, cooking a thoughtful meal, collage, or movement. Don’t compare your grief or creativity to anyone else.
A quick exercise: list-style poetry (inspired by Rupi Kaur). Give yourself a title or theme, then write a list of lines—no pressure for form. Later, refine it. I’ve done this myself—capturing phrases after a family reunion, then shaping them into something I later shared publicly. You don’t have to know the end result; the act of capturing is the work.
Jami de Lou (52:34)
Kerri, thank you for your wisdom, creativity, and care—and for sharing your story with us.
Kerri Soukup (52:50)
Thank you, Jami. Thank you for creating space for grief. We need to normalize discussing it.
Jami de Lou (53:07)
Thanks to Kerri—and to you for staying with us. Grief carries a quiet weight and stirs many emotions. It shows up differently across cultures, families, and contexts. If there’s one thing to carry with you this week, it’s that purposeful vulnerability creates space for connection. Consider a creative step to honor your grief—write it down, walk by water, light a candle—whatever suits you.
Adaptability isn’t built in theory; it’s built in daily choices—to show up in our conversations, teams, communities, and with ourselves. Until next time, remember: I am brave. I am enough. I am brave enough—and so are you. This is Adaptive Humans™: real talk, intentional growth.