Spouse Loss Episodes

What happens when the person you've loved since childhood is suddenly gone — and you're left at 29 with three small children and no idea how to be an adult without them? Courtney Pray Duke doesn't answer that question with easy comfort. She answers it with her life. Widowed after her husband Andrew was killed in a cycling accident, Courtney walked through the kind of loss that rewrites everything — and came out the other side not unscathed, but transformed. In this episode, Courtney and Bri...

What if death didn't end the conversation? When Dawn Baumann Brunke's husband Bob died suddenly in September 2024, she had 20 years of experience communicating with animals across the veil. But nothing fully prepared her for losing her partner of 33 years. What happened in the eight weeks that followed became her most extraordinary book yet — Talks with Bob: A True Story of Love, Death and Life in the Afterlife. Every morning, Dawn would settle in with her coffee, open her laptop, and keep ta...

What happens when grief doesn't just visit once—but keeps coming back? In this deeply honest conversation, Vanessa May shares how she navigated losing her son Harry, then her husband Anthony, and father during the pandemic, all while battling COVID and later a cancer diagnosis. Vanessa doesn't sugarcoat. She doesn't spiritually bypass. She tells the truth about what it's like when the ground keeps getting ripped out from under you—and how she's found her way forward anyway. In this episode, w...

What happens when grief collides with faith — and suicide shatters everything you thought you believed? In this candid and raw episode of Grief 2 Growth , Brian sits down with Rachel Powell , widow, author, speaker, and founder of Hope Speaker , to explore the complicated intersection of grief, faith, suicide loss, and hope . After losing her husband André to suicide — and surviving suicide attempts herself — Rachel shares her story with courage, clarity, and compassion. This conversation goes b...

In this deeply moving conversation, Brian sits down with Michael Reed , author of The Million Stages of Grief , whose life changed forever on the night of the 2016 Gatlinburg fires. Michael lost his wife Constance and daughters Chloe and Lily in the tragedy—and today, he shares not only his story, but the wisdom, compassion, and hard-earned insight that grew from unimaginable loss. This episode explores what grief really looks like—messy, nonlinear, human—and why comparing grief (“less than,” “m...

In today’s powerful episode of Grief 2 Growth , Brian sits down with Samina Bari — author of Don’t Call Me Widow and host of the Afterlife podcast — for a raw and insightful look at spousal loss, solo parenting, grief brain, and the quiet ways we can show up for those who are hurting most. Samina lost her husband suddenly in 2023. What followed was a journey through shock, trauma, identity loss, and rebuilding life as a solo parent of twins. Her honesty brings comfort, clarity, and guidance to a...