Episode 2 - Angie's story from losing a child to widowhood to a bereaved sister and more

On this episode you will listen to Shannon share her story of her loss to light, in particular her daughter Sara that had died in a car accident.  Shannon connects with the other side as she is an intuitive and was able to see and hear from her daughter Sara the night she died.  Shannon also found her light after she almost lost her own life and was on a ventilator for eight days and made a remarkable trip to Heaven and then returned to finish up here on earth.   
Shannon shares with us "It is not what happens to you it is about how you handle yourself, the choices you make, right and wrong, good and evil.  Heaven is home, and very indescribably wonderful."  She is currently residing in Iowa and writing a book "Listening to the Light" to describe her experience in Heaven.  She also has plan in the work entitled "Sara's Song".  

Our guest for episode 17 shares with us how he has found his light after the loss of his identity after the sell of his families 93 year business.  Doug shares amazing insight and advice for all of us to lean into for ANY life lessons.  Give this episode a listen through as we talk about so many aspects of loss and how light is found and perspectives we all take. 

LinkedIn profile: Douglas Burns is a fourth – generation Iowa journalist and the former long – time co – owner of the Carroll and Jefferson, Iowa newspapers. Burns is a regular contributor to La Prensa Iowa Spanish – language newspaper and Des Moines City View magazine. Burns, who lives in Carroll, Iowa, where he has overseen the newsrooms of his family’s newspapers, has written for Inside Washington Publishers in Washington, D.C., The Palm Beach Post in Florida and the Ames Tribune and Iowa Independent . Burns is also the business development director for Latino IQ, an organization that helps clients build connections in the Iowa’s growing Latino Community. Burns is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative which features several prominent Iowa authors and journalists. He is an instructor at the Okoboji Writers Retreat each fall and is 2019 Carroll (Iowa) Citizen Of The Year. Burns is an alum of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Burns is also the founder of The Western Iowa Journalism Foundation.

In Episode 16 we chat with Stacey Powells on her breakdown to eventual author and how she has managed her struggles with great drive and empathy and humor towards others.  She is funny and shares so many "AHA" moments that many of us journey through. Her journey through life is interesting from the beginning as she shares her dad's career as "THE" Beverly Hills Pharmacist to her job at Paramount pictures and her untimely divorce to a benign cancer scare and so much more.   

She is a published writer and journalist since 1996, Stacey’s articles and news pieces have covered everything from parenting issues, local news, travel, and a hodgepodge of everything else. Her work has appeared in several magazines including Island’s and Divulge. Her book of personal essays, Empty Cupboards, launched on Amazon September 2022, reaching #1 in several categories. She co-edited and contributed to the newly released anthology, “We See You, We Hear You,” and she has been a featured guest on several podcasts. Her play Stirrups was a 2016 New York Theater Festival selection an continues to be produced nationwide. Stacey’s TV interview show, “Slightly Filtered,” is streamed on lpptv.us.

You can purchase her book Empty Cupboards on amazon by clicking the title name.  You can also purchase the We See You, We Hear You on Amazon.  You can also find any of the writing classes that Stacey chatted about here: Story Summit. They have paid and FREE online writing classes as well.  

***NOTE: we are using a new program and we had some connection/audio issues so we apologize if this episode seems a little broken in spots, but we portrayed all our points the best we could!! Thank you for the patience and understanding. 

On this episode we sit down and chat with author Kelly Cervantes.  Kelly and her husband Miguel lost their little girl Adelaide to epilepsy.  The road from the beginning of her life to her young death has been nothing short of hard for this family.  They navigated the loss of their daughter the the crazy epidemic of covid that hit the world, to an unbelievable move to NYC for Miguels performance as Hamilton in the broadway play Hamilton.  They were navigating all this while raising their son and navigating loss.  What has been born out of something so tragic is a beautiful book written by Kelly called "Normal Broken" which has become a USA Today best seller.   Kelly also writes a blog called inch stones and shares very deep and heartfelt life stories of grief, loss, and living.  Kelly also works on the podcast "Cure Epilepsy" as she interviews other families in the epilepsy community.  Give Kelly a follow on any of the platforms we have listed and take a look at her book, she did a beautiful job talking about it in real terms that any parent can understand who has lost a child.  Congratulations also go out to her husband Miguel as he finished his 7.5 year career as Hamilton on broadway in the first week of January.  Give Kelly a follow to see what their journey looks like next and what impacts they are making in the grief community. 

Kelly's blog: www.InchstonesByKC.com

Kelly's podcast: https://www.cureepilepsy.org/seizing-life/

Kelly's book: www.NormalBroken.com

Cure Epilepsy: www.cureepilepsy.org

We were honored to have a special guest, Beth M. Howard on our podcast sharing her story of loss to light through the making of pie.  Yes, making pie has transformed into something I'm sure Beth never saw coming, but is running with it and thriving.  Beth M. Howard is an author, blogger, pie baker, TEDx speaker, world traveler, peace advocate, and an Iowa farm dweller.  
Beth has been featured on the History channel, CBS This Morning, MSNBC, LA Times, Hallmark channel , Real Simple magazine, Country Woman magazine, Country Living and SO much more.  

Beth M. Howard

https://theworldneedsmorepie.com/

Email  beth@theworldneedsmorepie.com
Facebook  The World Needs More Pie
(I post most often here.)
Twitter  worldneedspie
Instagram  TheWorldNeedsMorePie
Goodreads  Beth M. Howard
Pinterest  TheWorldNeedsMorePie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gRkP9J7Vrg

https://bethmhoward.com/books/pie-memoir/

https://bethmhoward.com/books/

https://theworldneedsmorepie.com/pieowa/

Episode 13 is here and we are chatting with a special Loss Mom, Sarah Speichert.  Sarah and her family's young son Jack died from a brain tumor.  She tells us the story of how they found out he had a brain tumor, what the initial process and testing all entailed, their journey to St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis and their brave journey to bring Jack home for his final days.   

Sarah shares what they have done since starting their non-profit "Operation Super Jack".  Here are just a few things that have been accomplished: 

$25,000 to Children’s for the positive pressure room in the ER (in Omaha, NE)

$250 to every newly diagnosed family (100 families per year in NE )— supported 70 families so far in 2023

$7,000 to Grace for her battle (local Nebraska girl)

$1000 to a Lincoln family that was in need (Lincoln, NE)

$10 in each grab n go bag towards the Cafeteria (at Children's in Omaha, NE) 

They are on a mission to do MORE, grow MORE, and do bigger things come 2024!   Here are just a few fundraisers they are scheduled to do:

Save the Date: 

Golf Tournament, June 6th at Pacific Springs Golf Course in Omaha, NE
Current fundraiser until 12/31/23:

Need to clean up that vehicle? For only $10, with $6 of it coming back to OSJ (Operation Super Jack)!! Use the link to buy as many as you’d like. They send your washes directly to your phone for easy accessibility. And they are also good for one year from date of purchase at any location!
https://rocketcarwash.com/fundraiser/operation-super-jack/

To find out more about Operations Super Jack you can go to www.operationsuperjack.org, To find out more about St. Jude's Hospital: www.stjude.org, You can find them on socials at Facebook: Operation Super Jack and on Instagram: @operationsuperjack

In episode 12 we welcome our special guest Cathy Fox, Field Education Director for the Social Work Program at Creighton University. Cathy has a stealth knowledge of grief and loss.  Cathy has been a pillar within the Omaha, NE community with grief work and working in many areas building the guidance and knowledge of how to cope with loss in a persons life.   In this episode Cathy shares so many tips on how to navigate one of the harder seasons a griever may go through.  We talk all about the holiday season and Cathy gives us practical guidance to navigate the season. 

Angie has had a first hand account of the exceptional work Cathy gives as her and Cathy met at Ted E. Bear Hollow, a non-profit organization that works with children and families during loss.  This non-profit is now called "The Collective for Hope" and you are able to contact them if you are in the Omaha, NE area and see if there is an option that will fit your family at: https://www.thecollectiveforhope.org

Cathy also talked about the organization NACG (National Alliance for Children's Grief); which Cathy was just appointed as a new board member to.  She will start her role as a board member with the NACG on January 1, 2024!  Congratulations Cathy, we are proud of you!  This organization is an abundance of resource for children's grief, you can look them up and see what they all offer at: https://www.nacg.org

If you are looking for other mentoring options or resources, Cathy says feel free to reach out to her and she will see if she has the resources and information to guide you.  You can reach Cathy at: CathyFox@creighton.edu

We want to thank Cathy for being a part of our podcast and for sharing so many wonderful tips and advice for navigating this Holiday season (a lot of this can also be used every day throughout the entire year as we go through the hard dates and anniversaries).  Michelle & Angie are also holding space for ALL of you, our dedicated listeners in our hearts this holiday season.  If you feel there is anything we can guide you with, feel free to reach out to us directly via our socials or email us at: losstolightpodcast@gmail.com  If at anytime you have unwanted, harmful, or negative thoughts, please reach out to the appropriate resources that are able to help you in an emergency. 

To receive a 15% discount on Michelle's book to gift during the holiday, you can reach out to her at: @authormichellecowan and message her directly for the information to process that.   As always, you can reach Angie and her shop at: https://www.butterfliesandhalos.com and if you listen to the podcast you can use code: Podcast15 to receive 15% off your entire purchase.  Angie has many gifts such as ornaments, notebooks, notepads, and cards to share with a grieving friend. 

Cathy's favorite song that she references at the end "Good Grief" by Bastille https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgunJrw2lrc

Episode 11 is a beautiful story of recovery with our guest Betts Blum Jones.  Betts shares a traumatic story of an injury she endured when a headstone fell on her legs.  She tells the scary details of the most freak accident that happened.  She goes into her recovery journey and then when the unthinkable happens within the year of her recovery.  Betts became a widow after her husband Rick was killed in an accident.  This story is nothing short of amazing when Betts tells us the story of organ donation.  

We recorded the episode on the anniversary day of Betts accident.  Her journey is nothing but miraculous and then her strength after becoming a widow is nothing short of resilient.  Betts honors her recovery through both events by having her faith on her side to lean into and her family from both sides to walk with her through this journey.   

Episode 10 is showcasing our guest Sue Roberts.  Sue shares the beautiful and loving story of her daughter Heather.  Heather died November 8, 2016 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor; Heather lived and fought with such dignity.  Jon & Sue Roberts have created a lasting legacy in Heather's honor by creating an organization called "Leap for a Cure".  Leap for a Cure is a grassroots organization in Omaha, NE that has funded many tools for people with brain injuries whether it's been a brain tumor or from an injury with the help of Methodist Hospitals Foundation.  Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/LeapForACure4BrainCancer

The Robert's family "live" by never forgetting Heather's memory, they have not moved on; they have learned to make each day count as they live for Heather's honor.  They live by sharing all the funny stories of Heather and live for the HOPE that we are given each day.  Today we honor Heather as we release this episode on her "Death Anniversary" after her passing 7 years ago today.  

***TRIGGER WARNING - THE TALK OF SEXUAL ASSAULT & SUICIDE ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE***

Welcome to our 9th episode with the Wenday Cooper from Iowa!  In this episode Wenday dives into her spiritual journey, her drive to receive a couple very important degrees in life, a relapse, and her eventual sobriety and where she is at today.  Wenday is truly an inspiration to all she meets and shares so much insight into her soul and her mission of surviving this life she has been given. We should all reach into our souls and see where we are at and how we can give grace like the strong and amazing Wenday does. 

Wenday shared on this episode the book that really helped her through the journey; The Magdalene Diaries (Illustrated Deluxe Edition): Inspired by the readings of Edgar Cayce, Mary Magdalene's account of her time with Jesus

by Robert J. Grant , James M. Hart, et al. | Sep 29, 2017; you can find this book on Amazon. 

Wenday owns her own boutique in Council Bluffs called "Wendays Kitchen Boutique"; you can find her here at: wendayskitchenboutique.com or on Instagram: Wenday's Kitchen Boutique.  She also has her own YouTube channel: Wildflowers & Honey. If you have questions or anything you can reach Wenday at Email:Wenday.cooper@gmail.com