Episodes

What if a single moment in your grief revealed a truth that rewrote your entire identity? That’s exactly what happened to today’s guest, Rich Boerner, whose life changed forever after his mother’s passing. While cleaning out her apartment, Rich uncovered a long-hidden secret about his father—one that forced him to confront love, betrayal, forgiveness, and ultimately, healing. This episode dives deep into the emotional terrain of family secrets, identity, and the surprising ways grief can open...

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,” “...

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 an...

In this powerful episode of Grief 2 Growth, internationally bestselling author and dream expert Theresa Cheung joins me to explore the deeper meaning of dreams — including the ones that frighten us, comfort us, and stay with us long after we wake up. Theresa shares why she believes we sleep to dream, how dreams reflect our soul's growth, and how they can become gateways to healing—especially after profound loss. Whether you're longing for an afterlife dream visit, navigating recurring nightma...

🎧 Episode Title: My Grief Is Not Like Yours: Theo Boyd on Layered Loss, Divine Signs & Radical Hope Guest: Theo Boyd – Author, Grief Educator, and Speaker Books: 📘 My Grief Is Not Like Yours 📗 Hope All The Way Grief Study Resource: Download the National Grief Study 💡 Episode Summary: What if grief didn’t just break you—it rebuilt you? In this deeply moving conversation, Theo Boyd shares how her life was upended by a string of heartbreaking losses: her mother in a tragic farm accide...

How do we hold love in one hand and suffering in the other — without breaking? In this beautiful and soul-stretching conversation, Brian sits down with Zach Beach to explore the deep connection between our capacity to love and our capacity to hurt. Zach brings wisdom from spiritual traditions, psychology, and lived experience to illuminate why grief is not something to “fix,” but something to honor. This episode is rich with insights on compassion, presence, mindfulness, and the human journey...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond Have you ever felt like your emotions are running your life—despite your best efforts to control them? In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Cedric Bertelli, founder of the Emotional Health Institute and co-developer of MRAS (Emotional Resolution). Together, we explore the groundbreaking difference between regulating emotions and truly resolving them. Cedric shares how emotional pain is not a life sentence...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond When we think of grief, we often picture death. But what about the silent grief that comes from illness — the kind that alters your identity, steals your energy, and isolates you from the world? In this powerful episode, I speak with Brenda Snow, a woman who turned a life-changing diagnosis into a movement that’s touched millions. After being dismissed by doctors and told her symptoms were “all in her head,” Bren...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond Have you ever wondered why we suffer, where we go after we die, or what grief really means for the soul’s evolution? In this eye-opening and deeply healing episode of Grief 2 Growth, Brian Smith welcomes spiritual teacher and mystic Hans Wilhelm, the creator of the wildly popular Life Explained video series and author of over 200 books with 40+ million copies sold. Hans uses simple visuals and timeless spiritual ...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond “Our time on Earth is just one little page in a never-ending story.” – Charlie Bynar After the tragic loss of her only child, 16-year-old Isaac, Charlie Bynar’s world fell apart. What followed was a breathtaking journey through unimaginable grief, mysterious signs, and undeniable communication from the other side. In this deeply moving conversation, Charlie and Brian explore love that doesn’t die — and what it m...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What happens when a mother loses her child—and chooses to live bigger than grief? In this heart-opening episode of Grief to Growth, Brian D. Smith sits down with Melissa Hull—author of Dear Drew: Creating a Life Bigger Than Grief, speaker, and coach—on the very day her book launches. Melissa shares the heartbreaking story of her 4½-year-old son Drew’s drowning, and how that unimaginable pain became the foundation...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What happens when your entire belief system unravels—and something deeper begins to rise? In this moving conversation, host Brian D. Smith welcomes back Effie Linke, a spiritual medium whose journey from Greek Orthodox tradition to intuitive channeling was anything but predictable. Effie didn’t seek out a spiritual awakening—it found her. Through heartbreak, resistance, and a fateful reading that cracked her wide...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What happens when your soulmate isn't a romantic partner — but your best friend — and they're suddenly gone? In this heart-opening episode, I sit down with writer, performer, and podcast host Hannah Rumsey to explore the often-overlooked pain of grieving the loss of a friend. After losing her friend Lauren in a tragic accident, Hannah found herself in a grief no one seemed to understand — one without rituals, rec...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond This episode is different. It’s tender. It’s raw. And it’s something I feel deeply called to share. A grieving parent recently whispered to me, “Maybe God took my child because I strayed.” That sentence — that pain — has echoed in my heart ever since. In this special episode, I speak directly to that voice inside so many of us… the one shaped by fear-based theology, wondering if loss is somehow our fault. W...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond Is the chaos in the world a breakdown... or a breakthrough? 🌍✨ In this powerful return to Grief 2 Growth, Rafael Garcia dives deep into the massive awakening happening across the planet. Once a hard-charging entrepreneur, Rafael was forever changed by a near-death experience that opened him to the Akashic Records, parallel lives, and communication with higher dimensional beings. In this episode, host Brian Smith ...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond In this deeply moving episode of Grief 2 Growth, Brian Smith sits down with Deb Strebel, founder of Lee Alexander & Co., to explore the rarely discussed experience of sibling loss — and how creativity can be a powerful path through grief. When Deb lost her 15-year-old brother Lee to sudden myocarditis, her world shifted forever. What followed was a painful but transformative journey through trauma, therapy, a...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What happens when life cracks you open—and won’t let you go back? Brian talks with Allura Halliwell, a consciousness mentor whose spontaneous out-of-body awakening led to seven years of deep integration. We explore core wounds (“unloved, unworthy, unknown”), why pain is a portal—not the enemy—and how to stop outsourcing safety by becoming emotionally sovereign. What You’ll LearnThe anatomy of a spontaneous awaken...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond 📌 Episode Description: What happens when you let go of everything—and awaken to who you really are? In this moving conversation, Brian speaks with Eva Müller, a spiritual teacher and founder of NextElevations.com, about her rapid and life-changing spiritual awakening. After years of pushing through stress and emotional wounds, Eva hit a breaking point—and found her way into beingness. 🌱 In just 3.5 years, Eva exp...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond In this episode, recorded aboard a cruise ship sailing through the Ionian Sea, I share lessons learned from slowing down, reconnecting with old friends, and experiencing the beauty of Greece, Croatia, and Italy. You’ll hear about: 🏝️ The breathtaking sights of Santorini, Mykonos, and Venice🎶 How music united people from all over the world in a ship’s piano bar🕊️ Reflections on empathy, violence, and finding commo...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond 🎙️ Lessons From the Aegean In this special episode, I’m recording from Mykonos, Greece, during a once-in-a-lifetime Mediterranean vacation with some of my dearest friends. If you know me, you know I don’t usually enjoy long trips or being far from home. But this journey has surprised me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Over the past week, I’ve: Faced my fears of being “stuck” at sea for 48 hours.Learned to slow ...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond When your child transitions into spirit, nothing is ever the same. In this deeply heartfelt episode, Brian speaks with Betsy Thibaud Stephenson, author of Blackbird: A Mother’s Reflection on Loss, Grief, and Life After Suicide. Betsy’s son Charlie transitioned at age 21, just eleven weeks after expressing thoughts of self-harm. During that same six-week period, her beloved mother-in-law and family dog also transi...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What do you do when the life you dreamed of is shattered overnight? Weston Brandon was just 23 when his wife, Lauren, died days after giving birth to their premature son. In this raw and powerful episode, Weston shares how he moved from heartbreak to healing, how he reopened his heart to love, and how he now helps others rediscover purpose after profound disruption. From signs from the other side to the powerful ...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond What if the pain you carry from religion isn’t a personal flaw—but the result of deep emotional and spiritual conditioning? In this powerful episode of Grief 2 Growth, host Brian D. Smith welcomes Dr. Maurice “Dr. Moe” Turmel, a seasoned spiritual psychologist, trauma survivor, and author of Breaking the Spell of Religion. Together, they explore the profound and often hidden impact of religious trauma—and how to ...

Send me a Text Message- please include your contact information so I can respond The Email I Almost Ignored — And Why It Changed Everything Episode Summary Sometimes the most meaningful reminders of why we do what we do come when we least expect them. In this episode, I share the story of an email I almost deleted—a message buried in my inbox that turned out to be a powerful affirmation of the work I’ve been doing for nearly 500 episodes of Grief 2 Growth. I open up about what it’s really lik...