Grief 2 Growth Podcast

Grief 2 Growth Podcast

Grief 2 Growth examines how the greatest tragedies of life often are opportunities for the most advancement. Planted, not buried is the motto of Grief 2 Growth. Unless a seed is planted, it remains full of unrealized potential. But, once that seed is planted, it can bring forth much fruit. Brian is a grief survivor. After the sudden and tragic passing of his fifteen-year-old daughter in 2015, he became inspired to live his life to the fullest to honor her and make her proud. Grief 2 Growth presents guests who have overcome tragedies and share how they have survived those tragedies. Afterlife experts are often featured. Brian also hosts healers and experts in grief through both education and experience inspire us each to be the best we can be. Brian shares insights he has learned with the hope they will help you on your journey.

Reviews

Brian and Grief2Growth are a true gift!!!

"Brian Smith is a compassionate gift to those who are grieving. Through his Grief 2 Growth podcast, he offers a rare combination of humility, wisdom, and emotional courage. With an ego-free approach, …"

Sally Hawk | July 29, 2025

Enlightening

"An enlightening podcast that can help listeners expand their perceptions on life, death, and grief. Brian’s guests walk many different paths and each has valuable wisdom to share."

Eileen R. | March 6, 2025

Compassionate Conversations

"I so appreciate Brian’s calm, attentive and thoughtful way of guiding conversations about some of life’s most difficult experiences. Through his compassionate conversations with guests who have navig…"

mgbenyo | Jan. 8, 2022

This podcast is a touchstone

"This podcast is a touchstone for anyone walking through grief or needing to remember that LOVE never dies! I am so inspired and grateful for Brian, his masterful interviews, and the hope and LIFE sha…"

Lynnie Ellis | Nov. 22, 2021

I’m smarter than I used to be!

"I am so grateful for Brian’s intelligent empathetic and accessible podcasts. He’s allowed me to meet some phenomenal people and better understand widely varied concepts and experiences. I love that…"

claudia @hfh | Nov. 16, 2021

So helpful during my grief journey

"Brian’s podcasts are very interesting, informative and a balm to this grieving Mothers heart. His guests are interesting and he is a great interviewer. His insights and those of his guests are though…"

Country273 | Aug. 15, 2022

I’m hooked!

"I just found this podcast a week ago and I am hooked! I’m listening to a couple episodes daily and have found all of them interesting and enlightening. Great show for people that want proof along wi…"

Averjndrh | Feb. 6, 2023

A great tool to help you escape the grief pit!

"Whether you're seeking comfort, understanding, or guidance, From Grief to Growth provides a supportive space to explore the transformative power of resilience and hope."

Kim Harms | Jan. 26, 2025

Wonderful Podcast

"I get something out of every episode I listen to. Wonderful guests telling their stories to Brian who is a great listener. This podcast is nourishment, comfort, and information for grief and for li…"

squarehand | July 24, 2023

"I have to say that I have been invited onto hundreds of podcasts, and whislt they have all been lovely, Brian's was the most welcomng of all. Just his quiet and unassuming presence set me at ease, I…"

gmgt2020 | July 31, 2023

"Brian is doing and modeling to the world the amazing, empowering work of mining from adversity and grief the spiritual gold we all learn to choose. This is the alchemy of true godlings, awakening to …"

mycailinmohr | Oct. 10, 2023

Comfort and connection

"I haven’t liked a podcast this much since Oprah’s Super Soul. The content and Brian’s demeanor brings me so much peace as I navigate my grief. Brian, you will never know the depth of how much you hav…"

AngelginaB | Oct. 27, 2023

Grow with Grief2Growth!

"Brian is not only a fabulous human and man, but such a good podcast host, dealing with sensitive human experiences in such a profound, respectful manner. His show will be a support to anyone who has…"

Matthew Brackett | Jan. 14, 2024

Very Inspiring

"Brian does an amazing job of guiding others through the grief process. He is so kind and compassionate. Grief can be debilitating and this podcast helps provide strategies to support those dealing wi…"

Alexandra Wyman | April 16, 2024

Amazing Work To The Benefit of All From an Heroic Human Being

"I love all of Brian Smith's work. He's doing heroic transformations of grief and adversity to growth in character and love at every turn. I have the utmost respect for him and his efforts which are …"

Cailin J Callaghan | April 17, 2024
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Recent Episodes

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What My Mother's Deathbed Visions Taught Me About What Comes Next | Alexandra Grabbe | EP 503
503
Sept. 1, 2026

What My Mother's Deathbed Visions Taught Me About What Comes Next | Alexandra Grabbe | EP 503

What if the strangest moments at the end of life are actually the most meaningful? In this episode, Alexandra Grabbe joins Brian to talk about the seven months she spent caring for her 96-year-old mother, Bea, at home — and the deathbed visions that changed how she understands what happens when we die. Alexandra shares the exhaustion, the tenderness, and the moments of unexpected grace that shaped her new memoir, Seeing Joy. If you've ever cared for a dying parent, sat with someone in their f...
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Why This ICU Doctor No Longer Fears Death- with Dr. Adam Rizvi | EP 502
Aug. 18, 2026

Why This ICU Doctor No Longer Fears Death- with Dr. Adam Rizvi | EP 502

What does an ICU doctor see when he's present at the exact moment someone dies? Dr. Adam Rizvi has spent his career in critical care medicine, standing at hundreds of bedsides during life's most sacred transitions. Trained as a physician but grounded early in comparative religion, Adam has watched patients return from clinical death with vivid experiences medicine can't explain, felt rooms fill with light, and even witnessed a whirlpool of light appear at the exact moment a patient passed awa...
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Loneliness After Loss: Miist on Finding Your Voice and the 15 Seconds That Can Save a Life | EP 501
501
Aug. 11, 2026

Loneliness After Loss: Miist on Finding Your Voice and the 15 Seconds That Can Save a Life | EP 501

Miist was five years old when her parents removed themselves from her life. Not through death — through choice. As she tells me in this episode, that distinction made the wound deeper, not shallower. She knew they could come back. They simply didn't. By 28, she had a terminal cancer diagnosis and doctors telling her she had a month, maybe three. And here's the part that stopped me: she still doesn't hold any bad feeling toward that diagnosis. It's the thing that finally brought her family bac
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Reclaiming Divine Feminine Power with Maya Tiwari | EP 500
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Aug. 4, 2026

Reclaiming Divine Feminine Power with Maya Tiwari | EP 500

At 18, Maya Tiwari was given a death sentence — six months to live. Instead, she spent six months alone in the Vermont woods, and came back a different person entirely. That single decision set her on a path that led through 25 years as a Vedic monk, a pioneering role bringing Ayurveda to North America, and now, a new book calling women — and men — back to a power she says we've forgotten how to hold. In this conversation, Maya and Brian explore Shakti — the divine feminine primordial power —
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John Promised He Would Come Through in Music. Then Marcie Heard Him. with Marcie Dean | EP 499
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July 30, 2026

John Promised He Would Come Through in Music. Then Marcie Heard Him. with Marcie Dean | EP 499

Within two weeks of meeting John, Marcie Dean received a message she hoped was only fear: enjoy this, it's real, but he's going to die. He'd been getting the same feeling before they ever met. He was 38, healthy, five years younger than her. They chased down every explanation, found nothing, and made a different choice. They decided to love each other completely, and they made a plan. If anything happened, he would come through in music. In June of 2023, John passed while saving his son's lif
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Healing After Suicide Loss: Breaking the Silence That Keeps Survivors Stuck | Jayne Madigan EP |
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July 28, 2026

Healing After Suicide Loss: Breaking the Silence That Keeps Survivors Stuck | Jayne Madigan EP |

When someone passes by suicide, the casseroles don't come. Neither do the cards or the phone calls. Jayne Madigan's sister lives in a neighborhood with a meal train for every birth and every death. When her 24-year-old son Brandon passed, she got nothing. That silence is its own second loss, and it's what this conversation is about. Jayne has been living inside suicide loss for 33 years. Her uncle Ray, who was also her godfather and the closest thing she had to a father, passed on New Year's ...
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About the Host

Brian D. Smith Profile Photo
Brian D. Smith

Grief Guide | Life Coach | Consultant

Brian Smith is a certified life coach, a grief guide, and a small business consultant. Brian's mission is to help others by sharing lessons he has learned from decades of experience and study.

Brian became well acquainted with grief in 2015 after the sudden passing of his fifteen-year-old daughter Shayna. After Shayna's passing, Brian felt his life was over. He had to learn to survive for the sake of his wife, Tywana, and their daughter, Kayla. Brian has studied the nature of life and death and how to progress through grief.

In his grief work, Brian provides a safe space where you can safely share what you are experiencing. Brian shares techniques that he discovered and developed after his devastating loss. Perhaps most importantly, he can help you understand that death is not goodbye and that your relationship with your loved one can continue. His understanding is not a religious-based belief, but a position arrived at based on reason and evidence.

Shortly after Shayna transitioned, Brian discovered Helping Parents Heal, a non-profit peer-to-peer support group for parents of children who have passed. Brian volunteers with Helping Parents Heal and is a leader of the Helping Parents Heal Online group. Brian has worked with hundreds of parents who have lost children. Brian is a member of the Board for Helping Parents Heal. He volunteers for the SoulPhone foundation.

Brian is on the board of the SoulPhone Foundation and Helping Parents Heal. Brian is the author of "Grief 2 Growth: Planted. Not Buried." He is the host of the Grief 2 Growth podcast. You can find Brian at www.grief2growth.com.