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Erika Mahoney

@notesfromerika

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Journalist | Host | Creator
On-Air @nprmontereybay
Creator of Senseless @lemonadamedia
Notes on life, loss, love, and wonder.
Carmel • Boulder

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Hi, I’m Erika. If you’re new here, welcome. And if you’ve been here for a while, thank you for staying.

I’m a journalist, host, and writer. I’m also a mom of two.

I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to navigate anxiety, trauma, grief, and other hard seasons of life while still finding joy in ordinary moments. I’m always practicing the art of returning to the present moment and finding beauty in life’s smallest details.

I lost my dad when I was pregnant with my first child. He was an extraordinary person whose life was cut short by tragedy. Losing him led me to create Senseless, a limited-series podcast about moving forward after the unthinkable.

These days, I find myself reflecting, writing, and sharing more about grief. Not because I have all the answers, but because the journey has taught me so much about life, love, and what it means to be human.

Here you’ll find notes on life, loss, love, and wonder. My hope is that this space leaves you feeling less alone and more connected to yourself, to others, and to the beauty that exists even amid life’s hardest moments.

I’m so glad you’re here.

With love, Erika 🤍

#NotesFromErika
#GriefJourney
#Motherhood
#MindfulLiving by @notesfromerika

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2 months ago

This is Senseless. A podcast born out of the worst day of my life—when my dad was killed in a mass sho*ting.

Senseless is a limited-series, true crime #podcast about what happens after the headlines fade, after the court proceedings, and after the world moves on.

It explores grief, justice, survival, and the long road of learning how to live again in a country where this keeps happening.

This podcast is for anyone who’s been impacted, directly or from afar.
For anyone trying to make sense of the senseless.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts
🤍 Thank you for being here

@lemonadamedia

#SenselessPodcast #LifeAfterLoss #GunViolenceAwareness GriefAndHealing by @notesfromerika

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9 months ago

This is my why.

I carry grief with me every day, but I also carry love, laughter, and the responsibility of shaping the world my children are growing up in.

After losing my dad to a mass shooting, this work became personal in a way I never asked for. But it’s also about the future I’m fighting for.

I do this for my family.
For safer communities.
For a world where fewer families have to live this story.

Holding both—grief and hope—as we keep moving forward. 🤍

#family #love #forthekids by @notesfromerika

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9 months ago

✨ Music + Memories ✨

“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by @greenday 🎶 reminds me of my dad.

Although it isn’t necessarily about death, its lyrics have taken on a new meaning for me.

“I hope you had the time of your life.”

Because in the end, that’s all we want for our loved ones.

Music has the power to suddenly bring someone right back to you. That’s what happened when a band recently played a cover of this song, bringing up so much emotion for me.

We don’t leave the people we love behind. We carry the melody of them with us as we keep moving forward.

What song reminds you of someone you’re grieving? Tell me in the comments. I’d love to listen. ❤️

#grief #parentloss #fatherloss #greenday #musicishealing by @notesfromerika

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16 hours ago

Playing with Sunshine ☀️
A beautiful evening with a beautiful friend
@morgangoyette.

#goldenhour #nofilter taken in Carmel, California by @notesfromerika

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2 days ago

I’ve been an Aly & AJ fan for a long time. Never could I have imagined the way our paths would eventually cross.

Aly, AJ and their band survived a senseless act of gun violence in 2022 while on the road performing. Their tour bus was caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Sacramento.

Like so many of life’s most difficult moments, what happened became a catalyst for change. Aly, AJ and their team wrote a beautiful song called “Sirens” that has powerful and poignant lyrics about gun violence in America. They also stepped into advocacy around this issue. I was lucky enough to interview them for my podcast, Senseless — and little did I know, it was just the beginning.

This year, we met with members of Congress on a trip to D.C. with @march_fourth_. And then, life did something really sweet.

In September, Aly and her family visited Carmel and we got to hang out, including a double date night @rudolfoseatery. We walked along the ocean afterwards and our husbands snapped a few photos.

Aly, her family, and AJ are every bit as wonderful as I’d hoped — and also so real. Down-to-earth, funny, interesting, cool, kind, thoughtful… are all understatements. I have so much respect for the music and careers they’ve built and the way they’ve used their voices.

Grateful for this friendship — and for the beautiful, meant-to-be moments that can still find us after senseless things.

#friendship by @notesfromerika

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7 days ago

Moms, this one’s for you 🤍

I first found @serenitywithkarla after becoming curious about lymphatic drainage massage and reading about its benefits, particularly postpartum. I’ve been going to her ever since and have been so happy with both the visible results and the ones you can’t necessarily see.

It’s become one of my favorite ways to take a little time for myself — I always leave feeling calmer, lighter and re-energized.
I especially wanted to share this with other moms in the Monterey Bay area who might be looking for a little restoration and care, too.

And perfect timing: Karla is celebrating TWO YEARS in business this October! 🎉 Mention “Erika” when booking for 15% off through the end of October.

So happy to celebrate this local mama and the beautiful business she’s built 🤍

#LymphaticDrainage #NervousSystemRegulation #SelfCare #PostpartumWellness #MontereyBayMoms taken in Carmel, California by @notesfromerika

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10 days ago

My mom saved so much of my work from childhood, and recently I found this poem I wrote in fifth grade about Georgia O’Keeffe.

I’ve always loved words, and strangely enough, this poem is about finding your voice.

For the past few months, I’ve been feeling called back to poetry… reading it, writing it, making more space for it.

So, it feels especially sweet to find this again just as I’m about to begin a poetry class next week with @sara_rian_books, one of my all-time favorite poets whose books have lived on my shelves for years, and @thememorycircle, who I met at a grief retreat in 2024 and whose words about loss, life and being human move me every day.

I’m so excited to learn from them, to write, and to see what comes out.

Maybe some things have been with us all along.
— note from Erika

#poetry #poetrycommunity #writersofinstagram #findingyourvoice #creativeexpression by @notesfromerika

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15 days ago

I finally transferred my dad’s ashes into a permanent urn.

For the past five and a half years, they’ve traveled with me through all the moves and changes that came after losing him.

There’s really no timeline for grief. No right time to hold something differently or to finally feel ready for something you weren’t ready for before.

And then, suddenly, this felt right.

— note from Erika

#grief #fatherloss #ashes #urn #lovedforever by @notesfromerika

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16 days ago

When life feels relentlessly heavy, the rough edges can become familiar. But we can break patterns. We can break free.

a note from Erika 🤍

#griefjourney #griefandloss #lifeafterloss #healingphase #mentalhealth by @notesfromerika

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22 days ago

I said these words this summer at Grief Happy Hour in Boulder.

Today, I’m thinking about the Evergreen High School community, one year after a shooting wounded two students and changed so many lives.

I’m also thinking about the extraordinary courage shown by students that day — kids who never should have been asked to be that brave.

These anniversaries stay with me. Maybe because I know what it means for a date on the calendar to become a dividing line — a before and an after.

More than five years after my dad was killed in a mass shooting, he is still my why. My why for continuing to speak about gun violence. For refusing to accept that this is simply the way things are. For believing we can hold space for grief while also working toward a world where fewer families ever have to experience it.

Kids should not be dying in their classrooms. People should not be dying at the grocery store. This is preventable.

Grateful to Lily Sharp and KGNU for capturing this conversation, and to Dona Laurita for creating a space for it.

Holding the Evergreen community especially close today. ♥️

#GriefAwareness #GriefSupport #GunViolencePrevention #SurvivorVoices by @notesfromerika

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a month ago

Something I’ve been working on is officially out in the world 🩵

I partnered with the National Mass Violence Center to create a Survivor-to-Survivor Guide for navigating the news media after mass violence.

I’ve experienced the media from both sides of the microphone — as a journalist covering breaking news, and as a survivor suddenly navigating national media attention after my dad was killed in a senseless act of gun violence.

In the days after the mass shooting, the interview requests came quickly. Even with my background as a journalist, it was overwhelming. There were so many things I learned in those first days, months and years that I wish every survivor knew.

So when @nmvvrc asked me to write a tip sheet for survivors navigating the news media after mass violence, I was honored to share what I’ve learned in the hope that it might help someone else.

This guide offers 10 tips for survivors and families — from setting boundaries and preparing for interviews to choosing how you want your loved one remembered.

But the most important message is this:
“It’s your story. It’s your narrative. And it’s your choice whether you want to tell it, or not.”

There is no right or wrong way to engage with the media. You are in charge.

I hope you never need this guide. But if you do, I hope it helps. And I hope it finds its way to the people who need it most.
 Link in bio.

#SurvivorSupport #survivortosurvivor #MassViolence #Journalism #GriefSupport by @notesfromerika

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a month ago