Podcast Season 6

Natasha Smith is a Certified Grief Educator, speaker, and podcast host. She shares from a place of 30-plus years of lived grief experience, research, academic and biblical study. Her work has appeared in Guideposts, Propel Women, Influence Magazine, HerBible, and elsewhere. She and her husband, Clinton, have four children and live outside of Raleigh, NC. Her book Can You Just Sith With Me? Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life is now available wherever books are sold. And her new book Black Woman Grief launches February 2025. Connect with her at imnatashasmith.com.

Annie Sklaver Orenstein is a qualitative researcher, oral historian, and storyteller who has spent over adecade collecting stories from people around the world. Her work has been featured on NBC Nightly News,Comedy Central, Huffington Post, Politico, TIME, and Mother.ly. In 2020, driven by a desire to share these storiesbeyond the walls of corporate America, Annie founded Dispatch from Daybreak, a collection of letters written bywomxn to their earlier selves. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, children, dog, and chickens

Summer Gross, an Anglican priest rooted in the Christian classics and part of the teaching staff of Healing Care Ministry’s spiritual direction program, walks with hundreds of people into a secure attachment with the Father through podcasts, videos, retreats, and groups of various sizes on her Presence Project Patreon account.

With her warm and compassionate style, Summer sets a table for those who have heard sermons on Sunday about abiding in Christ but who are hungry for its reality.  Monday-morning-practical, her podcast and now her book takes you on a journey to awaken to the Father’s nearness through story, ancient contemplative practices like lectio divina, and simple, sensory tools.

Summer invites you to come awake to He who desires to draw you close, cup your face in His hands, and convince you your adoption is not just a sheet of paper, not just a seal for heaven, but a commitment of His constant care and connection.

Lisa Appelo became a widow and single mom to her seven children–who were 4 to 19 years old–when her husband died unexpectedly. She inspires women to cultivate faith in life’s storms through her speaking and writing at the popular blogs LisaAppelo.com and HopeinGrief.com. A former litigating attorney, Lisa loves teaching God’s Word and long enough walks on the beach to justify lots of dark chocolate. 

Dr. George Ackerman (Sharon’s son) is from Brooklyn, N.Y. Now residing in Florida, he works in the fields of law, police, and education. George lost his mother, Sharon Riff Ackerman on 1/1/2020 due to Parkinson’s Disease.

George wanted to honor his mother and continue to help in the Parkinson’s awareness cause and did not know how to bring change. We started TogetherForSharon® as a family for the purpose of keeping my mother, Sharon Riff Ackerman’s, memory alive and to share the message of Parkinson’s Awareness and hope for a cure.

Today https://www.togetherforsharon.com/ reaches thousands of individuals across the country for PD Awareness. George currently interviews individuals throughout the Parkinson’s community including various foundations, caregivers, and Parkinson’s warriors to help share their stories and causes.

Lea Turner is a heartfelt, empathetic writer and speaker who longs to meet and encourage us in our pain. Joyfully broken through three years of her family struggling with trauma and loss, including death, cancer, losing everything to a house fire, drug addiction, loss of a dream, and heart surgery, has made her a reluctant expert on grief. Lea is a soulful listener and wisdom seeker passionate about walking with grieving people through trauma, pain, and loss. She lives in Mississippi with her husband and five kids, making her a northern girl stuck in a southern world.

Corine E. Phillips is a dedicated wife, and mother of two – to her son Caleb is in heaven with Jesus, and her one-year-old daughter Zélie. Originally from Cameroon, now she calls the USA home. However, I’m currently living in Germany with her family.

In her book, “When I Lost My Son to Him,” she shares the heartfelt story of losing her 2-year-old son, Caleb. It’s a touching tale of love and loss that she hopes brings comfort to parents who have experienced similar heartbreak. But it’s not just for parents – anyone who has lost a loved one can find solace in her words.

Kelsey Scism is a mother of six, wife, author, speaker, and most importantly a Christian loving our Lord. As a former language arts teacher, she loved inspiring and encouraging her students. Today, she finds inspiration in the everyday moments as a stay-at-home mom and hopes to encourage others along the way. She and her family live in a tiny town in Kansas.

Dawn Sanders (MDiv, Bethel Seminary) is an associate minister at First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG), where she serves as the director of the sermon-based life groups ministry. Her passion is expository teaching and sharing the wonderful insights God has shown her in his Word. She does this through writing weekly discussion guides for the life groups as well as teaching several in-depth Bible studies. Dawn has written and taught extensively on overcoming adversity and creating a new life, both at FBCG and on her personal blog.

Chelsea Ohlemiller is an author and speaker passionate about the awareness of grief’s impact. She has an active and engaging social media presence and is well-known for her blog, Happiness, Hope & Harsh Realities. Her first book titled, “Now That She’s Gone” released in August. She has been featured in the national bestseller “So God Made a Mother” and two Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She’s also been published online by platforms such as Her View From Home, (in)Courage, Love What Matters, Scary Mommy and more. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and three children, which are the driving force behind all that she does.